Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Rick Yune
Producer: William Fay
Choreography: Chad Stahelski
Director: James McTeigue

    Raizo (Rain) was raised since childhood by the Ozunu ninja clan.  After he turns his back on the clan to seek revenge of their heartless murders,  he comes to find he has a heart, despite being taught that he doesn’t the opposite.  A series of murders occurring in a peculiar fashion grabs the attention of Europol agent Mika (Naomie Harris).  She believes it could be the work of ninjas, but nobody wants to believe her until Raizo asks for her help.  Leading to a trail of blood and death, he finally faces his arch enemy Takeshi (Rick Yune) and his master.

    First off, this movie is extremely bloody.  It probably could have done fine without all the excessive blood.  There is a lot of CGI/computer animation in the film, but it all is done well.

    The movie keeps the mystery of the ninja alive by rarely showing the actual ninja in action, but instead shows the devastating effects he leaves behind.  An older man in the opening tells of the horror and mystery of the ninja to disrespectful young Yakuza. 

    The flashbacks to Raizo’s training are awesome and his discipline is brutal.  The movie uses authentic martial arts and ninja walking techniques.  I also like that it shows the power of martial arts weapons and unarmed combat over that of firearms.

    This movie is definitely worth a watch, if not a purchase.  It is a story of revenge and love.  While all the parts are not true-to-ninja in the realistic sense, it is very entertaining and loaded with action.

Shuriken: 4
Bruises:  5

Five Fingers of Death

Five Fingers of Death        aka: Tian xia di yi quan (Original Honk Kong), King Boxer (English title-H.K.)

Starring: Lieh Lo, Ping Wang, Bolo Yeung
Producer: Run Run Shaw
Choreography: Chuan Chen, Chia Yung Liu
Director: Chang-Hwa Jeong

    Two martial arts schools are preparing for an important tournament, but there are ulterior motives from one school.
    The plot line is a little thin, hence the description above.  Since this is an early movie for this genre, I wouldn’t expect a really elaborate story line. Dragon Dynasty (a company re-releasing classic martial arts films) claims this movie is the “first international martial arts sensation.” 
    The martial arts in the film are pretty good and realistic, with the only cable work being done in jumping. There is no fancy spinning in mid-air or leaping from roof to roof like what you might see in a Yuen Woo Ping film. This film includes classical Kung Fu, Aikido, and Iron Body techniques (i.e. Iron Head and Iron Fist).
    Aside from the excellent choreography, the writing is very good and develops nicely. This film has also greatly inspired Quentin Tarantino for the Kill Bill movies.  There are many soundtrack similarities, including the “revenge theme,” which is that high pitched “wee woo wee woo” (for lack of a better explanation [see trailer included]). Another example happens in a scene where one of the character’s eyes are plucked out much like a scene from Kill Bill where Elle Driver experiences the same.
    In the final tournament scene and the training sequences, I could also see a parallel to the original Karate Kid movie. Karate Kid was actually inspired by The Five Fingers of Death.
    I recommend giving this a chance. Go back to the roots, to the Shaw Brothers, who started a global sensation.
Shuriken: 4
Bruises:4

Chocolate

Other Titles: "Fury" - Malaysia (English title), "Chocolate Fighter" - Japan (English title)

Released: 2008
Starring:  JeeJa Yanin, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong
Fight Choreography: Panna Rittikrai
Director: Prachya Pinkaew





The premise of this movie is interesting.  Zin (Ammara Siripon) is the ex-girlfriend of a Thai mob boss.  She ends up falling in love with Masashi (Hiroshi Abe), who is a Yakuza gangster.  The mob boss banishes both of them sending Masashi to Japan, and, Zin and her daughter Zen (JeeJa Yanin) to live beside a martial arts school.  Zen is a young autistic girl.  She has uncanny reflexes shown by the way she catches any thing thrown to her.  Zin is diagnosed with cancer and needs chemotherapy but she can‘t afford it. She hires  a kid named Moom to watch over and attend to Zen.  Moom finds a ledger of many Thai gangsters who owe Zin money, and with this money Zin could pay for her treatments.  Moom goes on a mission to confront the gangsters, with Zen being his enforcer.

Zen learns the martial arts by watching the students next door to where they live, as well as by watching Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee movies.  This makes for an interesting concept of training.

There are cool bits of animation and some artistic cinematography in this film.  The fight scenes are pretty realistic, and there is no real obvious cable work. (Is this a Thai movie tradition?)

Although Zen kicks a lot of ass in most of the movie, there are no real memorable fight scenes.  Chocolate also features a lot of firearms, which I’m personally not a fan of. I like it when films stick to traditional martial arts weapons.  Although, there is a good share of improvised weaponry used throughout., overall, some of the fight scenes are pretty sloppy, especially toward the end.

This is only JeeJa’s first movie, so maybe things will get better if she sticks to martial arts cinema.  I’ve only recently started watching Thai martial arts movies, with the debut of Tony Jaa.  I’m interested in seeing more though.

Brutality: 3 out of 5 Bruises
Overall: 3 out of 5 Shuriken

Ip Man

Other titles: Yip Man - Hong Kong (original title), Grandmaster Yip Man (English working title)

Released: 2008 (China) 2010 (US)

Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan

Fight Choreography: Sammo Hung

Director: Yip Wai-Shun

“The citizens of Fo Shan were prosperous and practiced kung fu as a hobby. Martial arts schools became popular, turning Fo Shan into a province renowned for martial arts.” This is the opening text which appears on the screen of the film Ip Man. This film is a fictional-biopic about Yip Man, the legendary teacher of Bruce Lee. Yip Man was a master at the martial art of Wing Chun. He was also the first person to teach it openly to the general public, this being an actual fact.

In the film Yip’s fighting lifestyle precedes his family life at home. His home is then turned into a Japanese army headquarters and his family ends up homeless for some time. Being desperate for work, Yip ends up working at a coal mine, but before long, many of the other masters who happen to work there recognize who he is and urge him onto a journey.

The film is set in the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Japan invaded China. Japanese generals are seeking skilled Kung Fu masters to teach and work with Japanese soldiers for the upcoming war. Yip Man, being a peaceful man, decides to challenge this ideal and stand up for his own people. In one of the best fight scenes of the movie, Yip takes on ten Karate masters simultaneously. It’s always great to see different styles of martial arts combat each other.

Donnie Yen does a superb job portraying Yip Man. His charismatic demeanor conveys the true purpose of Kung Fu: bringing a way to peace, not a way to war.

Don’t let that mislead you. There is always a fight that ensues and the martial arts are exquisite. The impacts, speed, and precision of all the moves are brutal and on point. The cinematography is creative and makes you feel like you’re in the fight. Donnie Yen brings the legend of Yip Man to life in character and as a martial artist.

From what I hear, a sequel is due to this great movie, and I believe it involves a portrayal of the long gone, but never forgotten Bruce Lee. Keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Brutality: 5 out of 5 Bruises

Overall: 4 out of 5 Shuriken

Glossary

Glossary of martial arts terms:

Bo Staff: The bō is usually made of tapered hard wood, such as white oak, bamboo, or, in some cases for training purposes or for a different style, rattan. Sometimes it is made of or plated with metal for extra strength.

Shuriken: literally translates as "sword hidden in the hand." More commonly known as a "ninja star" or "throwing star," but can also refer to daggers and other thrown bladed objects.

Wushu: literally means "martial art". A common/generic form of Kung Fu, usually used as sport.

Tai Chi Master

Other titles: "Tai ji: Zhang San Feng" - Hong Kong (original title), "Twin Warriors" - UK, USA (DVD title), "The Tai-Chi Master" - Hong Kong (English title)


Realeased: 1993
Starring: Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Chin Siu Ho
Director: Woo-ping Yuen
Fight Choreography: Woo-Ping Yuen, Huan-Chiu Ku, Cheung-Yan Yuen
Jun Bo (Jet Li) and Chin Bo (Chin Siu Ho) are two monks who grow up together at a Shaolin Temple. They have frequent little competitions or matches between each other that often get them into trouble. As they grow older into their teens, they attend a match to see who will be promoted to study "advanced martial arts techniques." When Chin Bo is caught off guard by his opponent who has a concealed weapon, Jun Bo tries to help. They are expelled and have to wander the streets of China, their first time ever outside of the temple. While both former monks try to make a living on their own, they split paths and meet years later on the battlefield, this time from opposing sides. Chin Bo is now a power hungry general of an army, and Jun Bo is now a freedom-fighting rebel.

This film is extremely action-packed, has great choreography, and a little comedy to top it all off. One minute you are laughing, the next you are on the edge of your seat.

The choreography is intricate, as is expected from Woo-Ping Yuen. There is a wide variety of traditional martial arts without too much cable work. But yes, there is still cable work. The martial arts styles featured include: Shaolin Kung Fu, Wushu, Tai Chi, and various weapons used in those styles. A few of the styles/movements are a little fantasized, but Jet Li's precise movements are pleasing to the eye, and Michelle Yeoh's martial arts skill is brought to life in the combat scenes.

Another satisfying feature of this film is the quickly-paced storyline and the countless fight scenes. Even at only twelve minutes into the film, the action blows you away with 20+ monks armed with bo staffs moving in perfect synchronization.

I highly recommend this film to anybody interested in Chinese martial arts, and to all the fans of Jet Li and Woo-Ping Yuen.





Brutality: 4 out of 5 Bruises
Overall: 4 out of 5 Shuriken

Index

Reviews of martial arts films, from the classics to the new releases!
Organized alphabetically by title

--Ip Man - 8/16/10
--Tai Chi Master - 8/14/10