DarthSydodyas
rusting
After this seeing this yesterday at the local shithole, I have to say it is the best film from Jet Li in recent years.
Spoilers herein
The story is about Huo Yuan Jia (Jet Li), the man who ends up starting the Jing Wu Martial Arts school, with a message of unity, and promotion of the mind, body and soul. On the whole, the story flows satisfactorily, although there was one point where I did get lost (damn flashbacks) but this might have been because it was edited with a reduced running time. grumble.
The fights are probably more on par with how Jet Li used to fight in films like Once Upon a Time... Without a doubt, there were some dogs bollox moments, especially when he has to fight a WWE wrestler! It may not be the best fighting out of all of his films, but it is certainly was one of the few memorable ones.
Jet Li does a good job, imo, as Huo Yuan Jia. Our journey with him is from his childhood to his death. Focused on winning-it-all, Jia's life perishes when his arrogance results in the death of his mother and daughter. Losing his sanity, he leaves the village, wandering endlessly. At one point, he attempts to drown himself in the river but is pulled out by some villagers. He is taken care of by a blind woman and her grandmother, and spends a number of years with them. Here, he learns the true meaning of martial arts, which formed the basis for his Jing Wu school.
When he returns to his old village some years later, Jia is shocked to see what the influences of the west has had on it. To add to his dismay, an article in a newspaper potrays the chinese as weak, promoted by an unbeaten western fighter. Jia gathers the funds and goes to Shanghai to challenge this fighter, and fights his with his new found philosophy of the arts. Upon his victory, Jia starts up the school.
Western powers (and a myterious Japanese one) are unsettled by Jia's success and set him a challenge, where Jia must taken on (1-on-1 matches) 4 of the best people from the various countries represented (britain, germany, japan and I 'tink the US).
The film starts from this particular fight scene, where we witness Jia fight 3 of the 4 fighters successfuly. Upon facing the Japanese one, we start our flashback journey into the life of Jia, as he was, and how he become what he become.
Overall, I'd rate it 9 out of 10.
Spoilers herein
The story is about Huo Yuan Jia (Jet Li), the man who ends up starting the Jing Wu Martial Arts school, with a message of unity, and promotion of the mind, body and soul. On the whole, the story flows satisfactorily, although there was one point where I did get lost (damn flashbacks) but this might have been because it was edited with a reduced running time. grumble.
The fights are probably more on par with how Jet Li used to fight in films like Once Upon a Time... Without a doubt, there were some dogs bollox moments, especially when he has to fight a WWE wrestler! It may not be the best fighting out of all of his films, but it is certainly was one of the few memorable ones.
Jet Li does a good job, imo, as Huo Yuan Jia. Our journey with him is from his childhood to his death. Focused on winning-it-all, Jia's life perishes when his arrogance results in the death of his mother and daughter. Losing his sanity, he leaves the village, wandering endlessly. At one point, he attempts to drown himself in the river but is pulled out by some villagers. He is taken care of by a blind woman and her grandmother, and spends a number of years with them. Here, he learns the true meaning of martial arts, which formed the basis for his Jing Wu school.
When he returns to his old village some years later, Jia is shocked to see what the influences of the west has had on it. To add to his dismay, an article in a newspaper potrays the chinese as weak, promoted by an unbeaten western fighter. Jia gathers the funds and goes to Shanghai to challenge this fighter, and fights his with his new found philosophy of the arts. Upon his victory, Jia starts up the school.
Western powers (and a myterious Japanese one) are unsettled by Jia's success and set him a challenge, where Jia must taken on (1-on-1 matches) 4 of the best people from the various countries represented (britain, germany, japan and I 'tink the US).
The film starts from this particular fight scene, where we witness Jia fight 3 of the 4 fighters successfuly. Upon facing the Japanese one, we start our flashback journey into the life of Jia, as he was, and how he become what he become.
Overall, I'd rate it 9 out of 10.
