To date this is Keanu Reeves' only directorial outing and if ever there was any doubt that Neo is a massive nerd, 'Man Of Tai Chi' puts it to rest.
Shot largely in Cantonese and Mandarin but with a smattering of English dialogue as well, it tells the story of Tiger Chen (played by, uh...Tiger Chen), a Tai Chi expert who becomes embroiled in an underground fight club. Promised rich rewards if he fights and doesn't ask questions by Evil Businessman In A Black Suit Donaka (Reeves), Chen starts kicking heads in until things unravel and his life starts to crumble.
It's not a groundbreaking film and it's very much a genre piece, but this 105 minutes of martial arts bliss. Chen cracks limbs and dishes out the pain in a string of excellent fight sequences. There's no rapid cuts to hide the wirework, this is clear and precise fighting. And it looks like it really hurts.
Chen makes for a likeable lead too and the film's biggest strength, is arguably how it tells the story of his mental downfall. There's very little exposition in the dialogue, but as the fights get more intense, our hero is noticeably less serene and more agitated. At the start, he's a veritable ocean of calm and measured breathing, but after an hour he's an agitated, angry-eyed psychopath. Chen conveys this through body language and it's impressive to see.
But the main focus is the fighting and here, 'Man Of Tai Chi' delivers. The bouts are brutal, limb snapping affairs and there's a seemingly limitless number of them. It's not big, it's not clever, but this is genre cinema done magnificently. And when Iko Uwais makes a cameo, you'll be punching the air with glee.
Shot largely in Cantonese and Mandarin but with a smattering of English dialogue as well, it tells the story of Tiger Chen (played by, uh...Tiger Chen), a Tai Chi expert who becomes embroiled in an underground fight club. Promised rich rewards if he fights and doesn't ask questions by Evil Businessman In A Black Suit Donaka (Reeves), Chen starts kicking heads in until things unravel and his life starts to crumble.
It's not a groundbreaking film and it's very much a genre piece, but this 105 minutes of martial arts bliss. Chen cracks limbs and dishes out the pain in a string of excellent fight sequences. There's no rapid cuts to hide the wirework, this is clear and precise fighting. And it looks like it really hurts.
Chen makes for a likeable lead too and the film's biggest strength, is arguably how it tells the story of his mental downfall. There's very little exposition in the dialogue, but as the fights get more intense, our hero is noticeably less serene and more agitated. At the start, he's a veritable ocean of calm and measured breathing, but after an hour he's an agitated, angry-eyed psychopath. Chen conveys this through body language and it's impressive to see.
But the main focus is the fighting and here, 'Man Of Tai Chi' delivers. The bouts are brutal, limb snapping affairs and there's a seemingly limitless number of them. It's not big, it's not clever, but this is genre cinema done magnificently. And when Iko Uwais makes a cameo, you'll be punching the air with glee.