Drunken Tai Chi (1984) User Reviews

Donnie Yen: Break dancing Mime

[ScottPortals · 5/10 · 21 September 2014]

Donnie Yen's breakout role comes at the tail end of the old school martial arts boom in Hong Kong. Under the direction of Yuen Woo Ping it could go one of two ways: A kung fu based movie in the vein of Drunken Master and Snake in Eagle's Shadow or an even sillier excursion like Miracle Fighters or Shaolin Drunkard. This lands somewhere in the middle. I won't go over the plot, you can find it on other reviews.

This is mainly a goofy comedy with the fighting for the most part played for laughs. Puppets, fireworks, break dancing, bicycles are used as gags through the fights with the last couple fights displaying more of traditional styles. So is it any good? Let's get one thing straight: there is no drunken tai chi. I'm guessing the title was chosen to cash in on the drunken boxing craze that was on its last leg at the time. There is some great Tai Chi on display here. The training sequences are fun and the application is great. Donnie Yen also has a couple scenes using the rope dart which are stand outs.

If you are a big fan of Donnie Yen or just very goofy comedies with the Yuen clan's usual weirdness this will be up your alley. If you are looking for something more packed with fights and less goofy comedy I'd recommend Magnificent Butcher, Knockabout, or Legend of a Fighter, all classic Hong Kong films directed by Mr. Yuen.

It's no Drunken Master, but good fun nonetheless

[rde · 5/10 · 24 February 1999]

Look up 'Shameless ripoff' in the dictionary, and you'll find a picture of Donnie Yen practising tai chi. The startlingly original plot -- our hero gets beaten up and sees his family killed, forcing him to learn a new style of martial arts so he can defeat the evil killer -- is enhanced by... well, okay. Not enhanced. But there are a few slight variations from tradition in an effort to give this film some semblance of a plot, such as the evil baddie being a loving daddy. But let us gloss over such trivia as plot --as did the director -- in favour of the characters and the kung-fu, the two essential ingredients in any movie of this type. Plot? Pah!

Anyway, the Sam the Seed character is a drunken tai chi master (that's a master of tai chi who's drunken, not a master of drunken tai chi. If you you were expecting differently from the film's title, tough). There are no amusing styles, and the tai chi bears as much resemblance to the actual art as does real-life kung fu to its cinematic equivalent. Do I sound like I didn't like the film? I hope not, because I *did* enjoy it, while recognising that it hadn't a shred of originality or thought behind it. Most of the fight scenes were good fun, and the bits in between, while unfunny, weren't as painfully so as they usually are in this sort of film. Yuen Woo Ping's reputation was made by Drunken Master, and this film was his most obvious attempt to cash in. I'm inclined to blame the studio more than the director for this though; not that blame particularly needs to be apportioned. You won't come away from this film thinking it was a masterpiece, but you won't be grumbling and demanding your money back either.

Too many wires!!

[nhlgumby · 6/10 · 8 July 2002]

Drunken Tai Chi, while directed by the same director from Drunken Master (awesome Jackie Chan movie), is in an entirely different category of kung fu movies than that of Drunken Master. The movie bears a strong resemblence to that of another titled "Drunken" movie called Drunken Wu Tang. In that movie, the use of wires was at it's greatest, very similar to the amount of wires used in Drunken Tai Chi. Another similarity is the fact that the "uncle" in Drunken Tai Chi, was a character named "Rat Face" in Drunken Wu Tang. And, if you look into his face, I think you can see the resemblence of why he's called "Rat Face."

Ever since I watched a Bruce Lee interview where he denounced the recent (of his time) kung fu craze of unreal fighting (the use of wires, mainly), I have been against the use of wires in kung fu movies myself. I used to think that they were ok, and sometimes pretty cool, but now I see they take away from the elegance of true kung fu. In this movie, wire use was rampant. A couple of scenes worked, while many others didn't. I really thought the scene where the fat woman crossed he bridge and juggled the two packages on wires was unnecessary and not effective. Many other times when someone was hit, and was pulled back by a wire was also very poorly done. I don't know whose idea it was in the first place to incorporate wire use into kung fu, but whoever it was, they took a delicate part of kung fu out of kung fu, and that is realism.

I actually liked the use of tai chi in this movie, however I have one comment... I didn't know that tai chi was an aggressive style. I always thought of tai chi simply as movements, not attacks. But, by the way the movie ran, the rat face looking guy covered his tracks pretty well, claiming that the "soft" of tai chi countered the "hard" of other attacks. This is where the yin and yang of China first came into play in my life... rather, where it was first effectively explained and used.

The plot was awfully unoriginal, although I did like the making of the bad guy a good dad. I actually felt torn if I was in the bad guy's place after Cheng safely brought back his son, since the bad guy was paid to kill Cheng, yet Cheng had just saved his son.

Weaknesses: A man fighting in a woman's dress and wig weakly portrays the fat woman in all her fighting scenes. Wires. Mimes. Puppets. Bad makeup bumps.

**Final Judgement** Lay off the wires!!

-Scott-

The Goodness of Yen

[Masta_Ruthless · 9/10 · 24 December 2004]

First off let me say that most people that give reviews don't know what they are talking about. This movie is Donnie's first and is a very good one. He definitely did better on his first than Jackie Chan (Young Tiger) and Jet Li (Shaolin Temple). This movie is not about drunken tai chi, it's about a drunk teaching a young man tai chi. That's the difference when you get original titles vs American titles. Yen's action is remarkable as well as his acting skills, and the fact that the Yuen family backs him up more than proves his credit in the movie business is A+++.

In this movie you can't help but to feel sorry for Yen as he tries to make his brother feel just as special as he is vs his rotten greedy father. Only to wind up losing them both is when the heart break shows up, but back to the review Donnie more than proves that he is the man for the job once he gets his hands on the Killer Bird. If you want some good ole Asian action, then try this movie out. There are a lot of critics out there but let's see if they can recall America ever coming out with action this good.

Best viewed while drunken.

[nickthegun · 18 October 2002]

One of donnie yens first. It is pretty funny, the obligatory training sequence is well done and the fight scenes are pretty decent. Its one of the last of the Shaw Brothers style films. No wire work and the like.

If you really need a reason to see this film check out the practice scene, set to 'Love is the drug' by Roxy music. Very funny.

Kung Fu-Kung Fu = this...

[poe-48833 · 4/10 · 6 January 2016]

DRUNKEN TAI CHI is FAR less funny than many (any?) of the Old School Kung Fu Comedies that preceded it. One can't just say "F--- physics" and call it Funny; STUPID is what it is. (And, yes, there IS a difference between Funny and Stupid; a sometimes subtle difference that apparently not a lot of Filmmakers understand...) In this one, it's a baby-faced Donnie Chen who dangles endlessly from the harnesses during some terminally interminable scenes. (It's nigh impossible to tell if Chen was ever really any good at the whole Kung Fu thing: he spent so much time swinging from wires and being "enhanced" by cg that an accurate assessment just isn't possible.) And loads of pyrotechnics don't help- not one bit. Take from the equation what makes these movies truly unique- the Human Element, honed to a razor's edge- and what's left isn't worth watching. Wireless was better.

Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo Ping? A match made in heaven.

[lordburn591 · 8/10 · 30 May 2003]

I have to start off by saying that after seeing Iron Monkey, I went out and looked for every Donnie Yen movie I could find. And after all of that hard work, I realized that they all sucked! From his John Woo-like flop Ballistic Kiss to his numerous appearances (and subsequent deaths) in films like Highlander, Blade 2, and Shanghai Knights, on thing is apparent: Mr. Yen has got to get a new agent. His ability in martial arts is virtually unsurpassed, but the only other movie I've seen that challenges his abilities like in Iron Monkey was Drunken Tai Chi. With a goofy storyline of revenge (surprise!) and training to become stronger than the bad guy, Yuen Woo Ping has expertly melded comedy and action to create a fantastic party movie, something that anyone with a sense of humor can appriceate. Donnie is in top form, which is surprising given that this was his first starring role. He shows fantastic flexibility and a certain charisma that's hard to explain. I seriously hope that Donnie gets together with Yuen Woo Ping and creates another masterpiece soon, because getting killed in every film you're in is no way to make a legacy. (Ask Sean Bean.)

A bad Drunken Master ripp-off.

[Kungfuzombie · 4/10 · 12 April 2002]

I loved Woo-ping's and Jackie Chan's Drunken Master, packed with some of the best fighting (especialy the drunken boxing) you will ever see on film. The only thing I didn't liked about that movie was the strange and simple humour. Well... Drunken Tai Chi is full of that! Stupid slapstick complete with the stupid sound effects that go along with that. Ok, there are some great fight scenes. Donnie Yen is one of the best kickers! But there is too many unapealing slapstick. And you will never forget the image of Donnie Yen dressed like a puppet BREAKDANCING!

And now for the biggest disapointment... THERE IS NO DRUNKEN BOXING! It's about a tai chi master that is drunk most of the time. If you want to see some drunken boxing see Drunken Master, Drunken Master 2!!! or even Jet Li's Last hero in China!

Tai Chi is much more than people know...

[ghost_75_24 · 23 March 2008]

To Scott...

Yes, hard to believe Tai Chi can be a fighting system. Yes, it is. The problem with that is the image of Tai Chi that Americans or most people in the world is of the "soft", slow movements that are practiced in parks by elderly persons. Movements can be just a general term to describe a technique or a series of techniques in the martial arts. Basically in all martial arts, there are movements, whether they are an attack or a defense that can either be soft or hard in nature; Tai Chi is no different. Because of the health benefits of Tai Chi, instructors normally teach those movements. The hard movements, or shall I say the techniques that you would relate to the more "harder" styles of Kung Fu/Wushu are taught by emigrate Chinese instructors or instructors who have studied with such instructors or have trained in China. I guess it just comes to persons like you or die-hard martial arts enthusiasts who are interested in that aspect of Tai Chi.

One of the best martial arts movies

[david-martial-artist · 10/10 · 1 March 2011]

All of movie fans know that there are few movies every year (or maybe every decade) that you can watch more that one time. but i think it's one of them.

this is the first movie that Donnie yen has played a major role. I am a huge fan of Donnie's and have seen almost all his movies. I can say that this is one of his bests.

The plot is a simple yet functional and interesting one. action scenes are really good and well choreographed. and comedy is also good. it's very difficult to use comedy that can make people with different cultures laugh. but this movie does it. I really laughed at many scenes.

If you are an action fan, martial arts fan, Donnie yen fan or even comedy, never miss this movie.

I give it 10 out of 10 because it's one of the best movies I've seen.

Excellent Kung Fu movie

[TS_836 · 9/10 · 26 April 2003]

Donnie Yen does a pretty good job in this movie, both in acting and in the fight scenes. Theres some wire work here and there, which is expectable when you watch ANY martial arts movie anyway. The fight scenes are really well done(Donnie Yen is obviously really good at Tai Chi and a great kicker!)Theres also a lot of comedy in this movie(better than that in Drunken Master with Jackie Chan). People shouldnt compare this to Jackie Chan's Drunken Master, it has a different plot and theres not a focus on drunken boxing(theres pretty much none!). Some of the Yuen Brothers are also in this movie like the Tai Chi Master and Killer Bird. Overall a good fun kung fu film and one of Donnie Yen's best! Overall: 9/10

A fun little movie.

[kurtisroth · 11 August 2002]

Donnie Yen's first movie with Yuen Wo Ping. RE: similarities between this film and DRUNKEN MASTER -- there is so much crossover between their casts and crews, and HK filmmaking in general was so homogenous at the time, I find any similarities not only forgivable, but forgettable.

Donnie wasn't much of an actor at the time, but his performance is bolstered by a supporting cast which includes two of Yuen Wo Ping's brothers: Sunny Yuen as the villain, Killer Bird, and Yuen Cheung Yan as the Master. I have a lot of affection for both actors. You might remember Yuen Cheung Yan as Jet Li's mentor in TAI CHI MASTER, or as police Captain Jie in FIST OF LEGEND. Sunny Yuen played a similar villain in DREADNAUGHT opposite Yuen Biao, the brave-but-bumbling Chief Fox in IRON MONKEY, the protagonist Shang in BUDDHIST FIST... and if you look closely you'll notice him getting clobbered by Hwang Jang Lee in the opening battle of DRUNKEN MASTER.

Anything Donnie lacked in the acting department was more than made up for by his martial arts skills. DRUNKEN TAI CHI is an enjoyable first look at a promising new action star.

best movie yet!!!

[cutzie_angel · 10/10 · 20 March 2001]

this was an earlier movie donnie was in and the best that i had ever seen. well, the first i had ever seen with him in it...but the best and all the way comedy. so sad of brotherly love and at the end made a new friend along the way. no doubt to not miss this movie!!!

Drunken Tai Chi

[gorytus-20672 · 10/10 · 22 April 2021]

Apr 2021

One of the 4 amazing Yuen Clan comedy martial art films from the early 80s, that have to be seen to be believed. This time the Yuen Clan are joined by a young Donnie Yen as the lead role and we also get Lydia Sum to provide some extra comedy moments.

The scene on the bridge with Lydia Sum is worth the price of admission alone, i don't know how they come up with all these wonderful ideas.

Watch and enjoy.

10 out of 10.