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Jet
Li and Chin Siu Ho are both students at the shaolin temple who enjoy
joking around and generally causing trouble. But one day Chin falls
foul of his master and he and Jet are banished from the temple -
after they beat everyone up. They must now make a new life for themselves
in the outside world. They hook up with Michelle Yeoh, a drunken
freedom fighter who has just been dumped by her rich boyfriend.
However, unlike Li, Chin is not happy with his meagre existence
and leaves to join the red army. However, as the years pass Chin
gets more and more power hungry and eventually turns against his
friends in an epic battle against the freedom fighters. Li must
invent his own style (Tai Chi) in order to reprimand his brainwashed
friend.
Out of all the new wave films I have seen this undoubtedly contains
the most fighting - and it's all good. Yuen Woo Ping manages to
combine an excellent story, excellent fights and an excellent cast
to it make both his, and everyone's involved best film of the nineties.
The scale of the piece is astounding and you can see Yuen Woo Ping
has learnt a thing or two from his time with Tsui Hark on 'Iron
Monkey'. There are a number of twists which catch you unawares and
one of those "I don't believe I just saw that!" moments that Hong
Kong cinema does best. Perhaps the end fight sequence is too short
but by the end of this you will not care, as there is enough top
quality action to keep any kung fu fans attention. Chin Siu Ho has
always showed some real potential but never quite become a star
here, he fits the part perfectly and one particular fight scene
(where he must prove his skills in front of the army) makes him
look an extremely powerful screen fighter.
Yuen Woo Ping has made yet another excellent addition to Hong Kong
cinema. Let us just hope that he, Li, Yeoh and Chin team up again
soon as the obvious financial backing that these names bring with
them can finance such a large scale production. It is unfortunate
that Tai Chi II was not a direct sequel to this as I would love
to know the next chapter in the story.
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