kjjames81
Right where do I start with this one?Watched thus on Netflix and I thought great thus is going to be an excellent film, WRONG.
the tiresome story- how many times has this been done, the okay fight scenes - watch Ip Man, a brilliant film displaying awesome acting and the fight scenes are one of the best ever seen on screen. the STUPID Bruce Lee noises in the final fight - come on Donnie your much better than this., Jet Li done this character in Fist Of Legend and did a much better job.Do yourself a favour and don't watch this, you will be disappointed, go and watch Ip Man.
samuel shen
Where to start….? Watched it on Netflix, and was really excited for the first 10 minutes because for once in my lifetime I finally came across a MA movie that's not telling me the story about how the Chinese being invaded from whomever for whatever reasons. I was wrong, miserably wrong.At one point I was still looking at Donne Yan killing German solider in the Western battlefield, minutes later he became Chen Zhen (played by Bruce Lee in the 1972 blockbuster, "Fist of Fury") in a black suit kicking Japanese's asses. Don't get me wrong, the fight scenes are crystal clear, fast, and furious; but for every 5 minutes fight scene comes a 35 minutes "Chinese trying so hard to be united against the Japanese", I just couldn't help but to skip through the so-called "acting" part. I knew what's coming next, you probably knew too, in fact everyone who have ever watched a MA movie would have known exactly what's going to happen next.This is not about being incredibly stereotypical, this is not about absolutely zero character development; this is not even about being predictable. This is about the epic failure of the Chinese movie industry, the fact that they DO NOT have the brain power to think of anything new that's suitable in a movie to tie with Martial Art.To conclude this, history is history, we do not need another and another and yet another movie to emphasis the past. We won't be nemesis trying to revenge the Japanese, this is not "glorious bastard", and we do not want to fall back in the same pattern and same routine, that's why we study history. And Just a side note, never did a single Chinese troop fought outside of Asia during WW1, try harder next time.
xpqs
The good parts of this movie include using Shangahi in the 20's as the backdrop for the romance between sultry lounge singer Shu Qi and world weary veteran Donnie Yen at the Casablanca Club. Targeted at the Chinese market however, the movie marches very quickly into mindless homages to Bruce Lee and the all consuming xenophobia & victimization themes we've become familiar with in modern Chinese movies.The numerous racial epithets ("white skinned dogs", "f****g Japanese pigs) and Communist slogans about the Chinese people make for a tiresome soundtrack to the wire-fu and political conflict.Jet Li's version of the story "Fist of Legend" is said to be far better.
David Fu
The action scenes with Donny Yen are incredible. There is some Parkour in this film. (A few monkey vaults, impressive moves.)The film also alludes to one of Bruce Lee's greatest fighting scenes. However, those who see all martial arts films for just action will miss the themes of the movie. The importance in a film or a work is the message and meaning it conveys, not the plot.This is a film not fully based on historical events. Chen Zhen is a work of fiction, as is any superhero.Martial arts, Traceurs, and those who can connect to the characters all have a reason to watch this film.
