Reviewing action movies can be weird, because I recently gave the Van damme starring movie Hard Target 4.5 stars. But that was a 90 minute John woo movie where at least 45 minutes of it was some of the greatest action ever put to film. Was the rest of it schlock? Yeah, but it was fun and cannot be missed for an action fan.
But this movie? This movie has ideas . Ideas, themes, ambitions. The first act is pretty great, but then it kind of loses steam for the rest of it. I’m okay with a movie slowing down for a while, but ultimately it doesn’t lead to much. Compare this film to hero, another ambitious Li movie, and you will find it lacks emotional resonance in comparison.
That’s not to say none of it works. In broad strokes, the journey that Huo goes through works. It’s fun to see a hero learn that violence is not the way, and the idea of watching him suffer through and overcome grief is interesting. But again, the depth just is not there. I can respect the attempt, but it ultimately cannot live up to its own ambitions.
The action is also what I would describe as “good,” with a couple great moments, but ultimately there are about 300 Chinese martial arts movies with “good” action and what we see here is not even very plentiful. The final tournament where Lee has to fight 4 opponents in a row is blazed through, with the first 3 matches lasting about 5 minutes total. This movie (the non butchered directors cut) is 2 hours and 20 minutes long!
Compare the action to the incredible action in once upon a time in China, and again, you see a movie that basically is solid all around, but does nothing especially noteworthy.
Worth a watch, but only if you are already interested.
Reviewing action movies can be weird, because I recently gave the Van damme starring movie Hard Target 4.5 stars. But that was a 90 minute John woo movie where at least 45 minutes of it was some of the greatest action ever put to film. Was the rest of it schlock? Yeah, but it was fun and cannot be missed for an action fan.
But this movie? This movie has ideas . Ideas, themes, ambitions. The first act is pretty great, but then it kind of loses steam for the rest of it. I’m okay with a movie slowing down for a while, but ultimately it doesn’t lead to much. Compare this film to hero, another ambitious Li movie, and you will find it lacks emotional resonance in comparison.
That’s not to say none of it works. In broad strokes, the journey that Huo goes through works. It’s fun to see a hero learn that violence is not the way, and the idea of watching him suffer through and overcome grief is interesting. But again, the depth just is not there. I can respect the attempt, but it ultimately cannot live up to its own ambitions.
The action is also what I would describe as “good,” with a couple great moments, but ultimately there are about 300 Chinese martial arts movies with “good” action and what we see here is not even very plentiful. The final tournament where Lee has to fight 4 opponents in a row is blazed through, with the first 3 matches lasting about 5 minutes total. This movie (the non butchered directors cut) is 2 hours and 20 minutes long!
Compare the action to the incredible action in once upon a time in China, and again, you see a movie that basically is solid all around, but does nothing especially noteworthy.
Worth a watch, but only if you are already interested.
