True Legend (2010) User Reviews

ALMOST ! But not quite ! Yet still good !

[iam_themx · 7/10 · 28 March 2011]

This movie is a work of art in many ways.

The Martial Arts displayed are really one of the best I have seen in a long time, yes it relies on flying and jumping everywhere, yet the fight scenes feels visceral enough not to feel to much like a dance.

The actors are really awesome, and they managed to make one of the BEST antagonist of all times.

Now let's get to the part that almost ruins it : The Pacing.

The flow of the movie suffers greatly from a bad editing, and it is too bad because it had the potential to be a true masterpiece.

This movie should have started backwards, beginning at the end, and having Su telling his story.

Instead of that, the pacing can be hard to follow, and at the end I was left with a strange feeling of incompletion.

Otherwise, the movie is still one of the best martial art movies of the past years, and if you are a Martial Arts fan do not miss it !

A Nutshell Review: True Legend

[DICK STEEL · 6/10 · 12 February 2010]

Chinese martial arts films have no lack of material to adapt, with folk heroes and legendary characters making that leap from history to film, with the latest being Ip Man, and we all know how well that turned out for Donnie Yen. In fact, I'd like to think True Legend provided the perfect opportunity for Vincent Zhao to shine, especially since his Su Chan does battle using a vast array of weapons (some real, some CG-ed), and his Beggar Su, well, executing his famous technique. From the get go the film is action packed almost all the way, battling it out on some amazingly created landscapes such as dark underground dungeons, a deep well, atop some mean looking mountainous statues, and in a gladiatorial arena.

As this version of the story goes, it's about the downfall of Su Chan and his transformation of Beggar Su. As one of the Imperial Guards, Su Chan gains favour with the Prince for his many successful exploits, the most recent being a rescue mission, but he has a higher calling in life, deciding to dedicate his life to his family, the opening of a martial arts school, and the seeking of a higher form of martial arts. However his sworn brother Yuan Lie (Andy On) decides to exact revenge because of the sins of their fathers, and soundly defeats Su Chan because of his mastery of a deadly black arts called the Five Venom Palm, which comes complete with an extreme creation of a hand-sewn armour into his body.

In any case, True Legend is actually two stories in one. The first story tells the portion of Su Chan's transformation to Beggar Chan, which is split into 3 acts, the first which is the obligatory background story, then followed by his recovery and training, ending off with revenge which provided a full load of action upon action. The second part however turned out to be a rehash of Fearless and whichever film that had been set in the Chinese era of the onslaught of foreign powers, and an arena is used to settle differences. The narrative though still came through as choppy with scenes that seemed a little out of place based on some questionably straightforward editing to splice scenes together, but the one that takes the cake happens to be the irritating edits to the more brutal scenes in the second half of the film. Fearless was rated NC16 and the fights, especially killing blows, were left intact. With a PG rating for this, expect plenty of little bits to be snipped off, which was really disturbing as edits were made every few bloody seconds, no thanks to Beggar Su having to settle a Royal Rumble type of battle. So you have now been warned.

There are however some positives to be taken away from the film, and that comes from the array of stars who got attached to the project. Zhou Xun is a fine actress, and her presence here provided that well needed contrast of acting ability compensating for the lack thereof in Zhao's, starring as Su Chan's wife Ying, the pillar of strength, confidence and hope. Andy On played Yuan Lie with enough creepiness and ruthlessness that he may be one of the more memorable martial arts villains amongst recent kung fu films, adding to that his treading the extremely thin line of incest as well with Ying, in wanting to be together forever with her.

But it's the supporting cast of a notable who's who in the Chinese martial arts arena, that had me excited. Imagine having the likes of Gordon Liu (as Old Sage), the late David Carradine and Michelle Yeoh (as Physician Yu) all in one film, and more exasperatingly, none of them had anything remotely "kung fu" to do, save for floating atop grasslands, and Yeoh even being cast as a healer. Each of them, being in martial arts or related films for a significant time in their respective careers, don't get to do what they're famed for. Instead, a lot of martial arts fighting went to Jay Chou (as God of Martial Arts!!), which I suppose could have served as training ground prior to this Kato role in The Green Hornet. To give him credit, Chou still has what it takes to deliver his martial arts moves quite convincingly, and that's basically all that he does, though bound to elicit a chuckle or two for his ridiculous get up.

Something that is a little more strange, is how acclaimed director Feng Xiaogang got his name in the acting credits as a pickpocket, but a character which didn't appear in the movie proper at all, opting instead to have a scene being featured for a few seconds during the end credit role, which seemed more like a deleted scene meant for the DVD. Only time will tell on this aspect, and made it seem that To Chi-long's screenplay contained dispensable elements, as do a few missteps that made its way on screen.

It's been a long while since Yuen Woo Ping helmed a film as a director, and here he applied plenty of wire-fu liberally to craft a film that provided for some fantastical elements in its martial arts. Despite the hard hitting action, ultimately it was let down by a less than coherent storyline, and the distributors here who opted for a lower rating to entice the holiday crowd, butchering the only saving grace of the film which are the fight sequences.

An Entertaining Combination of Eastern and Western Chinese Martial Arts Aesthetics

[cadillac20 · 7/10 · 30 October 2011]

Americans have grown accustomed to a certain kind of Chinese martial arts film. Ever since Crouching Tiger, the Chinese MA film has gotten more attention beyond whatever Hollywood effort is churned out to force a Jet Li or Jackie Chan sub-par effort on American audiences. Crouching Tiger was followed by films like House of Flying Daggers and Hero, while those with bigger interests in the subject certainly sought out more films that most Americans might not know.

True Legend seems to pick up on this. Yuen Wo Ping, who is no stranger to Hollywood martial arts films, having dabbled his hand in a number of Hollywood efforts, seems to have taken some of what he's done for American audiences and applied it to this film. He has, after all, been attached to several big U.S. productions, most notably Kill Bill and The Matrix series of films. These and other notable Chinese MA films, which saw American audiences, between True Legend and his last directorial effort, Tai Chi Boxer (1996). So, it may not be surprising that he's incorporated some more Western friendly elements. That may be far reaching, but True Legend is certainly no traditional Martial Arts film.

For Chinese MA fans, this is a mixed bag. It starts out with several powerful action sequences, the most notable being the opening rescue scene. Sadly, this is Ping putting his best foot forward and the film never truly rises above it in terms of impressive action. That doesn't mean the film doesn't contain some other outstanding scenes that, at least, left me with a few 'oh snap' moments. And the combination of fantasy elements that you might see in older films, like the 5 Venom Fist style MA, and more modern concepts, like mixing break dancing with drunken fist boxing, give the film it's own identity.

Sadly, this creates a bit of an identity crises. We're given a historical context for the film, and the story presents itself similarly to Fearless, another MA biopic, but the film isn't grounded in reality and some strange turns are taken, those most notable being main character Su's encounter with The Wushu God. It's a bizarre, CGI heavy intermission between the more grounded first and final acts. But the entire tone of the film seems to be a mix of the two: the more traditional Chinese MA film and the modern, special effects and wire laden Chinese MA film, the kind that Western audiences might be more accustomed to. And reading about the production of the film, you can certainly see that Ping did want to go beyond the traditional film to create something more modern.

Despite this seemingly jumbled style, the film is full of Ping's mastery. Fantastic camera work, editing, and special effects add to the impressive set pieces and choreographed action sequences. Again, there are a ton of 'oh snap' moments, and in a MA film, that is a wonderful thing to have. The opening scene is an incredible display of talent, action, special effects, and choreography that will most likely go down as one of the great modern MA action scenes. There are plenty of other fantastic action sequences, and thankfully Ping knows how to shoot a proper action scene as opposed to so many other directors who think all the action has to be confusing and up close, and all the editors who think that it requires cuts by the second. This film reaffirms that, even after all these years, Ping can still produce something that is entertaining and exciting, that he is still a master of the MA sequence.

Whether you enjoy this film or not will depend entirely on how much you can enjoy the fairly odd mix of styles along with the inclusion of a fifth act to end the film. It does take a bit of a right turn with the final act, but it's none the less very entertaining, and includes a cameo (most likely our last glimpse) of David Carradine, who you might know worked with Ping on Kill Bill. However, I would recommend this film to any MA fan. It's unique blend of quirky style, fantastic action, and masterful filming technique all make up one entertaining Chinese MA.

A lacking movie salvaged by some notable action n heroin

[wayfeel · 7/10 · 27 February 2010]

These are my personal take:

+ gripping opening scene though abit exaggerating but still within realism territory.

+ sound of punches and kicks on impact very solid.

+ The early fight with Yuan with his power-up five venom fist is one of the commendable fight scene in recent hk/china kf movies.

+ very wicked villain and his skills and armor so cool

+ Zhou Xun is sooooo lovable! very good acting too.

= Nice emotional scene, the love of Su Can to Ying (Zhou Xun) is so attached n bonded. their love so strong.

• For someone who doesn't know the story of Su Can. It is not explained of his meet with the mysterious old sage/martial god (the practices get abit strenuous after some repetition). If it is all in his mind, that wouldn't enhance his kf so much rite.

• drunken fist not effectively utilised.

• imho, sub par direction and flow feels unrefined.

• Finale not grand . very ordinary fight.

==6.5/10

"True Legend"

[cambridgefilmfest · 6/10 · 28 September 2010]

TRUE LEGEND marks the first Chinese made film to take advantage of 3D technology as well as returning Yuen Woo-Ping to the director's chair for the first time in fourteen years. Unfortunately it seems that the legendary action choreographer has failed to utilise the new technology with any sense of skill and has also lost his way somewhat in the plot department.

The film follows Vincent Zhao as Beggar Su, a fabled folk hero in China and creator of the legendary Drunken Fist style. After his father is killed by his brother-in-law, Su goes into hiding where he is trained by an unconventional Wushu master. It's a bog standard kung fu murder/revenge plot that's been done a million times before but now with the novelty of teeth grindingly bad 3D. The new technology – only used in selected scenes - is jarring and in no way immersive, adding a strong argument to the negative effect 3D can have on a film.

However, as messy as the 3D is, it is not as detracting as the final third of the film. After concluding the revenge plot, it suddenly shifts into a completely new narrative regarding western imperialism's encroachment on Chinese culture. It's an untidy mixture of Jet Li's Fearless with Jackie Chan's Drunken Master with an all too brief cameo by the late David Carradine.

Ultimately TRUE LEGEND is a disorganised film that poorly uses every martial arts cliché in the book. A couple of decent action sequences aside, there is little to recommend, even to the most avid kung fu fan. 3 out of 5

Cambridge Film Festival Daily

HK Neo Reviews: True Legend

[webmaster-3017 · 7/10 · 18 July 2010]

Tagline: Yuen Woo Ping tries hard and manages to entertain in an uneven manner...

It's been too long since The Blade's Vincent Zhao last cinematic venture. The lad for all his worth was groomed to be Jet Li's successor. For whatever reason, he disappeared off the radar and wandered into the wilderness of mainland television. Zhao lacks the on-screen charisma or likable good looks of Jet Li, but there is no doubting of his martial arts ability and his physical presence is comparable to Donnie Yen. Many would probably have forgotten that Zhao's career got off to a storming start by simply existing under the shadows of Jet Li in roles like Wong Fei Hung and the villain in Fong Sai Yuk, before embarking on the cult classic lead role in The Blade. Impressive resume one might assume. So instead of rambling on about past laurels, Zhao makes a stunning return and one might just assume, his career is on the rebound.

The movie goes like this: Beggar So (Vincent Zhao) is army general, but gives up the position for family life. Beggar So gives all his status to his adopted brother (Andy On) and lived a life of an ordinary person. Until one day, Andy On returns home and killed Zhao's father (Leung Ka-Yan) in avenging On's own nemesis. The result is Beggar So escaping alive with his wife waiting for an opportunity to strike back.

Director Yuen Woo Ping is obviously in top form and there are a number of action sequences that are original enough for a mention. The fight in the snake well between On and Zhao is both innovative and fun. Hong Kong no longer has a huge luxury of upcoming kung fu star. While Vincent Zhao isn't exactly in his twenties, but he is still young enough to relaunch a career and with a bit of luck, he may even be able to match the reinvention successes of a similar counterpart in Donnie Yen. Sure, Zhao can't act and when he tries, more than often he is overacting in the famous Yen's style. It remains to be seen if Zhao is given a better material, he will be able to embrace it as his own.

As usual, Zhou Xun is a wonderful actress of both quality and presence. While not exactly a conventional beaut, Xun is one heck of an actress that makes the unnatural natural. She have been constantly stealing the show in numerous epics starring as side characters, but in all honestly her acting ability is second to none in the current HK cinema. In fact, when considered on a whole, Xun is given a paper thin role with nothing to work with, yet somehow she manages to impress, engage and express.

Moving on to Andy On, he is certainly a case of missing in action. For the past decade, since his terrible debut in Black Mask 2, Andy On has showed himself to be a decent supporting actor. In fact, he was the best thing in 2003's Star Runner, decent showdown against Jackie Chan in New Police Story. However since then, he has been almost unnoticeable in all circumstances. Perhaps, True Legend is what you call, a re-launch of young Andy's career. While he does have some screen presence to a certain degree, his acting is too one dimensional and his villainous turn is neither memorable nor effective. The kid got martial arts potential; let's just hope he is not suitability wasted away.

All in all, True Legend is a welcome additional to modern day HK martial arts cinema. While the 3rd act may seem like a remake of Fearless and the film suffers from some obvious coherence and uneven issues. Namely the frequently fast forward style of editing, making days goes by as fast as years. Director Yuen Woo Ping does compensate this by some blood crunching action display and even if it is a carbon copy of Fearless in the third act, there is no doubt that Yuen is simply taking a leaf out of his previous efforts. One may wonder if the film simply ended in the 2nd act, it may well be more coherent, but for me, it would have left me half-baked. So honestly, True Legend really isn't that bad and in fact, it is quite a decent film with some good parts in between. A welcome return for Shaw Brothers and to a larger extent Mr. Vincent Zhao...(Neo 2010)

I rate it 7/10

• www.thehkneo.com

I could have came up with some thing much better over night

[nokturnal-rapport · 3/10 · 9 May 2010]

The plot is extremely weak and highly unoriginal. It goes a little like this

1.Father was killed by bad guy 2.Revenge attempt #1 = failure 3.Withdraw to the forest 4.Meet some imaginary kung-fu masters - now this is original - kung-fu masters in your head 5.Train for years. 6.Revenge attempt #2 = success.

The logic of this movie has been brutally murdered. I was so discontented when Yi (Su's wife) died in the most ridiculous way, she was buried alive in a wooden box for like 10 minutes max. When Su and little Feng were digging the box up, she was shown to be alive, though weak. The box wasn't buried that deep at all. When the box was finally dugg up (in less than 3 minutes), she just kinda fell into a coma and instead of performing CPR on his wife, Su sat there and cried which, ultimately, led to his wife's tragic death! !@#$%?

God of Wushu was inspired by Monkey King but his attire is laughable.

The end was really what killed the movie. It was just plain stupid. The cliché goes as follow: foreigners invaded the land, arenas were built, foreign fighters challenged and whooped China men'sasses like some bad jokes. This has been seen way too many time in martial art movies, on the top of my head are Fearless and Ip man (both are very good movies though). Foreign fighters are depicted as typical brainless giants with massive muscles. Beggar-former-master Su was forced to enter the ring because some white dude held little Feng captive and threatened his safety. He managed to beat the crap out of everyone of them...all at once but it was a struggled fight and Su was badly wounded.

OK think of it this way, Su trained rigorously in the esoteric, ancient Chinese wushu and evidently had reached a total new realm of mastery because he defeated his arch nemesis - Yuan. Yuan was the main antagonist. And note this: Yuan is freaking strong and viciously evil with all those mighty wuxia's feature - the deadly five venom fist, bullet proofed/armored skin, maneuver up-down the well with ease, flying/levitating all over the places, crazily strong, etc. And yes Su beat this fool but he barely can handle a bunch of meat bags who practice the conventional wrestling (the WWE kind) and standard martial arts of MMA and. They have zero kung-fu/wuxia's power or anything. They shouldn't even equate Su's warm-up routines but they almost got Su killed. I just don't follow.

The plot was just blah and bleh, the fighting scenes were nothing spectacular either. It contained useless and stupid dialogue (i love you, our family must stay together forever, we must save our son, etc.). This was a watch-once-never-touched-again kind of movie, heck how did i manage to finish the movie. Oh and the CGIs were abused too much. Not even good CGIs. They were so fake, unnecessary, and add absolutely no value to the movie as a whole.

I'm a fan of Yuen Woo-ping. I love Wuxia and Chinese martial art genre but this movie was very badly made. Sorry, Yuen Woo-ping could have done much much better! I'm thoroughly disappointed.

And Action!

[matreyia · 9/10 · 21 December 2010]

I am basing my 9 stars for two reasons. First, the choreography is top notch. Second the cinematography is top notch. Simply put, this a very beautiful movie to watch. As for the story and plot...it's an action movie with a fairly simple story. It was designed to entertain with action and composition so the story is not the main vehicle which it uses to engage the viewer. If you are looking for extremely beautiful images, super insane kinetic choreography and fight scenes, you have come to the right place. The fights are on par with and perhaps even surpass Crouching Tiger, or Hero. Woo Ping just keeps improving on his choreography. I don't know how he does it, but he does it in every new movie. This is a definite purchase on bluray for my collection.

Lots of action, sword fights and martial arts.

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 17 November 2012]

"True Legend" ("Su Qu-Er") was actually a nice surprise. I had been putting watching it off for some time now, but that turned out to be a mistake on my side.

The story in "True Legend" is about Su Can (played by Wenzhuo Zhao) who serves as a general, but leaves his army life behind to open up a martial arts school. His adopted brother Yuan Lie (played by Andy On), envious and always standing in the shadow of Su Can, end up killing their father and taking Su Can's son captive. Su Can and his wife Yuan Ying (played by Xun Zhou) end up at a secluded mountain, where they live with Dr. Yu (played by Michelle Yeoh) while Su Can is struggling to regain his fighting abilities and battle for his mind. Tensions are high and the stakes even higher, as the two brothers end up face to face.

Actually the story was rather interesting, although the movie had a tendency of lingering on certain parts a bit too much, where it ended up being somewhat of a drag to watch; especially on the mountain training scenes and the tavern epiphany scene.

What really impressed me about this movie was the sword fighting scenes and the martial arts scenes. They were amazing to look at. Very well choreographed and executed. Given this being a Mandarin martial arts movie, expect a lot of wire action in the movie. Personally, I don't mind that, but of course that is a matter of preference.

And as with most other epic Chinese movies in the same genre, there is a lot of really breathtakingly beautiful scenery to be seen in this movie. Lots of nice details everywhere.

"True Legend" is a great epic movie that hold elements from movies such as "Hero", "Ong Bak" and the like. It works very well when combined, and there is a lot of action from start to end.

If you enjoy Asian movies, especially the epic ones with lots of sword fights and martial arts, then it is very likely that you will enjoy "True Legend" as much as I did.

Worst Brother Ever

[boblipton · 5/10 · 21 September 2020]

Wenzhuo Zhao has just reduced a rebel province, but he turns down the chance to be the new governor, so he can marry Xun Zhou and open a martial arts school. Some time later, his foster brother, Andy On decides to beat Zhao to a pulp and take his nephew so he can keep him safe. The happy couple wind up on a mountain with Doctor Michelle Yeoh, and while he heals, has training episodes with Jay Chou, the God of Wushu. Eventually, there's a big fight with On, and Miss Zhou winds up dead.

It's supposed to be about the founder of the 'Drunken Fist' form of martial arts. If that sounds familiar to western audiences, that's because DRUNKEN MASTER was a breakout hit for Jacky Chan. The director of this film, Woo-Ping Yuen, had a small role in that film, and decided to make an utterly serious drama about it, with evil foreigners beating the tar out of Chinese, and jazz bands playing "Sweet Georgia Brown" sixty years before it was written. Chou appears to be having some fun in his dual roles -- the second is "Drunken God". Otherwise it's seemingly endless fantasy fighting and unhappiness.

There also something that annoys me about the Chinese fantasy films I've seen over the past couple of years: you can see the fact it is computer generated. Reality has a roughness that lends it verisimilitude, and the fantasy sequences wind up looking like cutscenes from a computer game.

A Bunch of Kick-Ass from Beginning to End

[chicagopoetry · 8/10 · 8 May 2010]

What's the point in analyzing this film and describing its plot as if it is so intricate? True Legend is basically every martial arts film ever made, from Five Deadly Venoms to Drunken Master, all rolled up into a big budget, blockbuster kick-ass fest of fists and feet from beginning to end. The plot is thin and video-gamish, but who cares, there is enough baby powder puffing from heads getting struck by body parts and bodies plunging into and shattering pots of wine and even some off the wall fighting style that looks like break-dancing to satisfy even the most hard-core kung fu fans. This is a truly weird one in that just when you think it is over, when the big-boss is finished off, the story keeps going on out of nowhere with sort of a Charles Bronson in Hard Times street battle competition. Like Ong Bak this is a pleasure of an action film simply because it doesn't try to be anything else except an action film. There's a little bit of everything thrown in here and it's quite a gas.

A Kung Fu Hero's Story Taken to Epic Proportions

[alisonc-1 · 23 July 2011]

Beggar Su is a folkloric kung fu hero, and "True Legend" is Su's story told in epic form, from esteemed general to madman to drunkard to hero. Vincent Zhao is the titular hero, who after rescuing a kidnapped prince, returns home to his wife Ying (Zhou Xun) and young son, rather than becoming a governor as the prince offers in reward for his service. Instead, he hands the governorship over to his foster brother Yuan (Andy On), thinking to share his good fortune with the man he thinks of as a brother and who is in fact Ying's actual brother. He doesn't realize that Yuan is full of hatred and vengeful feelings for Su's family, because Su's father had killed Yuan's real father many years earlier, to prevent that rampaging man from killing more innocent people. Five years later, Yuan has control of an army, and he is seeking vengeance....

That is only the opening section of this film, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who is best known in the West for choreographing the fight scenes in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." "True Legend" is full of fight scenes, some of the quite funny, some of them quite beautiful; and it is also full of cameos of kung fu superstars such as Gordon Liu, Michelle Yeoh and, in his last role, David Carradine. I find that a little kung fu fighting goes a long way, but if you're going to see a kung fu film, you couldn't find better than this.

Fun kung-fu wire movie, with an epic twist

[siderite · 7/10 · 13 September 2010]

This Chinese general guy has it all. He has a wife (albeit a rather ugly one) and a child that he loves, he is a great wushu fighter and a general respected by all. Even the emperor likes him and offers him a governorship. But he wants peace and quiet with the family, so he retires.

And so the troubles begin. Everybody comes to beat him up and they usually manage to do it quite badly. People that he loves are hurt or die. He loses himself to alcohol and madness. However, he overcomes all and wins the day, even against honorless European wrestlers that like to kill Chinese fighters for fun. (doesn't this ever get old in Asia?)

The fighting scenes were really good, so as a kung-fu movie I have to rate it high. Everything else kind of sucked, though. The actors played badly, especially the obnoxious little kid that never dies! The music is filled with Chinese violins trying to inspire some emotion, but only managing exasperation. And all the characters are damn ugly and utterly annoying. You may not believe me, considering Michelle Yeoh is in the cast, but she has the shortest of roles.

Bottom line: a stupid roughneck goes through life brawling, getting drunk, hurting the woman that loves him and the child she begot, wallows in self pity, then brawls again. Not to fun, if you think about it, except the fighting scenes were well done.

Left me speechless (in a bad way)

[mmushrm · 4/10 · 28 April 2011]

I am very much disappointed in the movie. It started off with so much promise then got progressively worse until the end where it felt like I was watching a totally different movie.

The movie can be divided into 3 parts. The 1st part is rather good, it reminded me of the 70-80s style martial art movies. The fighting was good although the bad guy seemed over done.

It started going bad for me in the middle part where our hero is training to fight the bad guy again. HORRIBLE CG work, I mean really bad. Also repetitive and add to that not very good martial arts. It also left me confused as to ...is it real or only in his head. The main plot line is concluded in the middle section. Baddie dies but a phyricc victory as hero's wife dies as well. Hero becomes a drunk which brings us to...

Part 3. I guess this is where it shows him as the mythical drunken beggar. Problem is it just shows him as a weak pathetic drunk until he has to fight the whitemen ala FEARLESS style. Basically the movie looked like it jumped very far ahead in time. The "feel" and the look of the movie totally changed. It went from old time china to suddenly westerners walking around everywhere and participating in fights. The fight scenes were long and formulaic, westerners ganging up and cheating etc. The guy gets drunk and throws out some break dancing moves.

For me the movie was too disjointed, add very bad CG and fights and I have to say give this a miss. Watch fearless instead or one of the drunken master movies.

An Excellent Flick From The Start

[Markhgordon · 8 November 2011]

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It seems as if there are three stages to the star's development. The movie moves it along just fine.

I'm not a person who analyzes a movie to death. I'm just a regular guy that likes Martial Arts films. This one has plenty of action from the get-go. If you're searching for a good martial arts action flick and are hesitating on this one, don't hesitate. You will not be disappointed. Order a pizza, make some popcorn and enjoy the high flying kicks, punches and acrobatic action that this movie brings. There were a couple reviews that rated this low. All I can say is that's a result of states allowing cannabis to its citizens, because this movie is all that and a bag of chips.

Seriously, get it. You'll enjoy it.

Shouldn't have tried tried too hard to make this movie seem more epic than it really is

[KineticSeoul · 6/10 · 18 May 2011]

This is one of those Kung-Fu movie where the plot isn't all that effective, but the fighting sequences makes up for it. From what I heard this is a Chinese folklore tale style of story and the direction and many different sequences make it seem like it. The fighting sequences makes the characters seem superhuman which is typical for these types of genre in china, but doesn't go all that overboard with it in most scenes although still not believable at all. It does feature typical special fighting moves in this such as the Five Venom Fists. I found it kinda funny however how you can tell who the good guys are and who the villains are right off the bat because of the way they look. It just seemed a bit too generic for example with the dark spiky clothes and pale skin. Despite the plot not being all that great and the pacing a bit off, the fight sequences are top notch in this and very entertaining to watch. The fight choreography is very well crafted in this and will make a lot of the audiences have there eyes glued to the screen. Yes, there is use of CGI in this but it isn't used way too much to the point it gets irritating to watch in this type of movies. On a negative note, this movie goes in a direction where it tries a bit too hard to look epic. Especially when it comes to the plot, it doesn't have to be slightly convoluted cause when it comes down to it, it's a simple story. But it tries to make it seem more than what it is, maybe because the plot is a bit too narrow, which isn't a good thing. Because it throws the good pacing off of the whole progression of the film. Also like some of the reviewers are saying the bit of incest is kinda awkward in this because the characters just seem to be fine with it. Anyways overall this is a good martial arts flick where there is hardly a dull moment and any fan of this type of genre should check it out. Like I said the plot isn't anything outstanding, but I am giving this movie a 6.5 because the entertainment value of it all is pretty darn high.

6.5/10

Good story, but too much fighting

[jelstudio · 7/10 · 9 April 2015]

Chinese movies of this type are very appealing. This one fits in with the likes of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (this worlds best movie), "House Of Flying Daggers" and "Hero". It doesn't quite achieve the same level of greatness, but is surely in the same spirit.

So the story is touching, and in a way that these movies do better than any other. It's not quite developed enough though. In fact, it feels like the fight-scenes had priority over the story. Had the priority (between story and fight-scenes) been shifted the other way around, I think this movie might have been top-league.

When you've seen blood splatter out the mouth of some poor kungfu-blasted victim for the umpteenth time it gets to be a bit of a cliché. The fight-scenes weren't badly done, there was just way too much of it.

The movie feels a bit rushed, like there perhaps wasn't enough time to finish it properly. A bit like "hurry up, we haven't got all day, just wrap it up as it is and hope nobody will notice the slack", and "don't worry if it's half-finished, we'll just throw in another fight-scene and call it a day". That detracted quite a bit. I wouldn't go so far as to say it had the Hollywood mass-production feel to it, but neither did it achieve the true-art feeling that the 3 master-pieces I mention at the top has.

Still, it is a moving film that did indeed manage to pull on the heart-strings. But it just could have been better.

Good action, but for God's sake hire some writers...

[david-crean-167-510993 · 6/10 · 30 October 2012]

If you're looking for excellent action choreography and not a whole lot else, you've come to the right place! Legendary director/choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping's first directorial effort since 1996 is a dazzling display of over-the-top martial arts coupled with all the narrative cohesion of a choose-your-own-adventure book.

It's essentially two films awkwardly sewn together -- the first is a typical Kung Fu premise we all know and love from the 80s: hero is betrayed; hero gets beaten up; hero trains to improve his skills; hero kills all enemies. In this case, Su Can seeks to avenge the murder of his father by his traitorous adopted brother (Yuan), who has mastered a supernatural technique whereby he is able to store venom from all kinds of nasty creatures in his body, then transfer it to his enemies through open palm strikes (huh??). As if that weren't enough, the first half really ratchets up the bizarre by having Su's trainer be the "God of Wushu" who is always accompanied by a cackling, long-bearded sage (Gordon Liu in an excellent cameo). Did I mention that these two only exist in Su's imagination? Yeah. Michelle Yeoh plays a supporting, but ultimately useless role as a brilliant healer who purges the venom from Su's body after his first battle with his nefarious ex-friend. She leaves the film as suddenly and inexplicably as she entered. Anyway, the way-too-long training section ultimately culminates in a pretty anti-climactic and effortless battle with Yuan, ending with his death as well as the death of Su's wife (and Yuan's sister) Ying.

That's the end, right? No, apparently not. Time lapse several years and Su and his son (who never seems to age over the film's several-year time span) are living as beggars on the street in now-colonized China. This second half is so appallingly contrived that I won't even go into it. The lowest point is the awful David Carradine's cameo as a Russian trainer who mysteriously speaks English with an American accent (hmm...)

Anyway, if you're looking for mindless (and I do mean MINDLESS) entertainment and A+ action choreography, this is the film for you. The choreography itself is a bit more "realistic" than some of Yuen-Woo Ping's recent efforts (Matrix, Crouching Tiger, etc.) with minimal flying, but maximal fake blood and tumbling through walls.

Great wushu ruined by an absolute lack of direction and the most useless ending ever

[sAfuRos · 2/10 · 29 May 2011]

Let me start off my review with the good part: the wushu and action is brilliantly choreographed. It's not particularly over-the-top or flashy, but a more classic take on martial arts, and one of the best i've seen in a while.

However, the whole of the movie has no idea what the hell it is doing. There are, essentially, three arcs in this movie. 1) Short, builds up the character 2) The vast majority of the movie and with the real plot 3) What the hell?

In fact, let me qualify. The first and second arc together would be quite good alone if the third was not a part of the movie. Su, respected soldier, declines an offer to become governor and instead settles down with his pretty wife and has a kid. He recommends his foster brother (Yuan) - also his wife's brother - to the post, and leaves hoping his foster brother will be happy (Yuan has always seen himself living in Su's shadow). A few years later, unfortunately, Yuan is a bitter man and comes to kill Su and his foster father after perfecting the evil Five Venom Fists, and kidnaps Su's kid. Su ends up on a mountain with his wife, training to right the wrongs. Nothing brilliant, but oftentimes wushu movies are not the most plot driven, so it's OK. And i'll admit that the plot actually had me interested, even though it was fairly corny; i was under the impression that it was kind of a feel good movie with lots of ass kicking.

The problem arises with the ending of the second arc and the beginning of the third into the end. You would think the second arc would end in a certain way (to avoid spoilers), given the way the whole movie works. But it ends unfittingly dissatisfying for no particular reason. And i This was absolutely not a movie that should have had the ending it did (for the second arc).

In fact, excepting the very ending and the third arc, the fighting and the acting were good enough that i considered giving this movie an 8, because it was simply very solid for what it tried to be (until it started to be idiotic). There were even elements of plot that could have been more interesting and explored further, i thought, but ultimately were cast aside lazily. Primarily, i refer to Su meeting one "God of Wushu" as he trains on the mountain. His encounter not only appears entirely ridiculous - it's made apparent that actually, Su is going insane, and instead of having found a master of martial arts, is instead getting extremely drunk and rolls around injuring himself. At the same time, however, you know that Su will eventually go to fight his brother to reclaim his son, so there's actually a bit of potential - the movie has definitive elements of the fantastical already, so i was willing to accept some sort of Wushu god plot line, or perhaps some sort of revelation/epic training thing - but no, apparently Su IS insane, yet apparently his drunken rolling has actually turned him into the master of kung-fu he was deluded about? It would work if there was some sort of element of the God of Wushu being NOT a total delusion, but in fact he was, and we are even shown Su rolling around like a drunk - so it really makes no sense.

And that is really the crux of the problem with the movie - again, it has no idea what it wants to be. It's as if the screenwriter had a brilliant idea, but decided he didn't really give a damn about it making sense 4/5 the way through. I'll try and make an analogy: say you are skiing down a slope. It's a double black diamond - steep, mogul covered, all that jazz - and you have wrecked the slope, looking great the whole way down. At the end, as you enter the flat part of the mountain, just coasting to a stop, you suddenly fall down and break your leg - and then, deciding that you might as well, beat yourself to death. Really, it's an achievement in the sense that i have rarely seen a movie fall so hard on its face so quickly.

Anyways, this indecision leads into the absurd third act. Aside from the fact that the movie should have ended prior, it has nothing to do with the first or second arc, plot-wise or thematically, and offers nothing worthwhile. It also indulges into stupid stereotypes, clichés, and just is all around terrible, as well as having this sort of strange "funny or serious or what the hell is this?" atmosphere. I wrote this review with the hopes that i could describe how bad the movie becomes, but I sincerely believe i could write a legitimate college thesis on it and am unable to do so in this review. This review probably sounds very harsh but again, it's really the last fifteen-twenty minutes that ruin the movie, and it's still boggling my mind.

If you wanted to see the film already, don't let this deter you - see it - what's good is quite good, but simply be prepared for the awful conclusion. In fact, you may want to consider turning it off after the second arc and pretending the second arc ended the way it should have, because it doesn't.

This review ended up being a lot more jumbled and unclear than i had thought it would, but i can only hope that my sense of confusion enlightens you as to the confusion that the movie will bestow upon you.

Spectacular fighting scenes!

[ryoendeprouw · 8/10 · 7 December 2011]

One of the best movies i've seen what concern martial arts. Just superb. The choreography is classic. Fighters fly on wires, strike with fast hands, kick high, hold impossible poses and pull on a variety of weapons. Also fights I've never seen before, what makes it all original. They are truly breathtaking: brilliantly composed and shot.

Action from the beginning to the end in this modern fighting movie with some Asian tragedy. The locations are beautiful. The story is very simple, but who cares? (If you look for a movie with a good story, i could recommend you "house of flying daggers"). This is a movie where you find some beautiful and stunning fighting scenes. Kungfu fans would love to see this movie.

Great fight scenes

[asc85 · 7/10 · 2 October 2011]

There are some really spectacular fight scenes in this film, and that's why I have to give it a decent rating. While some may criticize that there were multiple plots/stories in this movie (and there were), I kind of liked it...it gave me more than it should have, and I liked all the stories. Some of the acting is a bit over-the-top, but for the most part, I thought it was well-done. Yes, it is very similar to the Ip Man movies. The final scenes of True Legend are VERY similar to the final scenes of Ip Man 2.

Sadly, the only major criticism I have of this movie is David Carradine. Glad this wasn't his last film...it would have been a terrible way to go out. His performance was completely over-the-top, and very unbelievable. The scenes with him almost ruined the whole movie for me, but overall, True Legend was a fun experience for me.

Fun action, but it doesn't give us a reason to care

[JakeBrinkman · 3/10 · 5 November 2019]

For the most part, the action is reasonably entertaining. There are still frequent moments where physics is ignored to the detriment of believability, but it's actually better than the action in most kung fu movies.

The worst part is that there isn't any emotion behind the fights because the movie dives into the action too quickly without giving the audience a chance to relate to any of the characters. The dialogue was so brief, rushed, and emotionless that it felt as if the director's only goal was to show off the cool fights he came up with, so he lazily tied them together with a hasty story that only serves to get us back to the action as quickly as possible.

Absolutely Superb!

[travis-damant · 10/10 · 24 May 2010]

I found this to be one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a long time. I loved the whole concept of the film, it was booming with creativity and not to mention the fight sequences were bloody brilliant.

The story line is actually very consuming once you become endeared by the characters, whom I might add are supremely crafted. I mean how can you not think the 'God of Wushu' is not cool.

As a fan of the genre, I really rate this film up there with the best of them. It certainly deserves more attention, which I hope it gets.

10/10.

Spoiled somewhat by a disjointed 4th act

[grandmastersik · 7/10 · 27 December 2010]

Seriously, why not just make a sequel?

So there I was, thinking that I'm watching the best kung fu film in recent years (Ip Man aside), when, instead of the film ending, a new story arc is tacked on, reducing our hero to a bum and worst father of the century! Okay, I get it, he's Beggar Su and somebody felt the need to move on to the Drunken Fist style, but why ruin a perfectly good Shaw Brothers-type fare?

Verdict: if you want action, this is where it's at... but you'll most likely also be wondering why a 4th act was rushed through when a sequel would have been both economically viable and justified.

Timeless theme of battle between good and evil

[jfarms1956 · 4/10 · 8 April 2013]

This movie is for those 15 and older. Younger teens may not be able to follow all that is going on. True legend has lots of action. I always am disappointed in a non-English film. I am glad of the subtitles though. The movie is very picturesque and like many Chinese subject films, has great color. It is pleasurable to watch. Always the constant battle between good and evil. Always the conflict of good having the necessary desire to quench evil at great personal cost. Timeless themes. Some of the knife throwing seems a little hokey, but I suppose that everything has to be greater than life. This film would make a good guys night out movie. Teenage gals might enjoy it as well for a non-romantic sleepover movie. I give it four thumbs up.