Martial Arts Movies & Me
(disclaimer: feel free to skip all this, but for some reason I feel the need to outline my history with Martial Arts Cinema before I get into the specifics of this match up)
It was only matter of time before I got a match up like this one. With eighty plus years of film history to it's credit, the martial arts genre has covered as many themes, styles, countries and cultures one can imagine. It's a vast category of film when you stop to think about it. If I say martial arts movie, one might first imagine of old men with long white beards, soaring sabre fights, and cryptic dialogue. But of course if you keep thinking about it you realize it encapsulates so much more than that. It's a genre unbound by time and location, unlike, say, westerns, and it's influence on cinema as a whole is at least as pervasive. Yes, love 'em or hate 'em, there is no arguing their legitimacy.
Personally, I love 'em, though my experience with the genre isn't extensive. My first exposure, as far as I can remember, came when I was 11. That may sound kind of old, but my family wasn't really into movies back when I was still counting my age in half-years. We rarely went to the theatre and at home we had a small 13" fuzz box with rabbit ears. Video rental was unheard of at our house, and we didn't own a VCR anyways. Frankly I don't know how we survived
. However, thinking about it now I do recall borrowing a VCR from my grandparents on a few special occasions. Like New Years Eve, oh what a great days those were. The one night of the year when bedtime didn't exist, and to make matters better we'd watch 3 or 4 movies back to back! It was a treat I tell ya.
But enough of that. At 11 years old I watched Rumble in the Bronx (IN THEATRES!) with my dad. I don't recall what the old man thought of it, but I certainly enjoyed it. The notion that one man skilled in the martial arts could subdue both a gang of street thugs AND a major crime syndicate by himself, without a gun (which previous action movies taught me was essential), never struck me is far-fetched. What was so great about it was the inventiveness of the fighting. Beating people up with not just his fists and feet, but using skis, refrigerators, grocery carts, and whatever else was lying around. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. And to top it all off you get that signature blooper real at the end. It was one of the funnest theater going experiences I've ever had. I went on to watch all of the Jackie Chan I could get my hands on (which wasn't that much), and in later years discovered Bruce Lee for the first time in Enter the Dragon. From there I saw the Bloodsports, Karate Kids, and other popular movies.
Like I said earlier though, my enjoyment of the genre hasn't been all that extensive. I've really only seen the stuff that was strongly marketed to, or made for, western audiences. And despite the ease with which you can now get your hands on obscure, but important, landmarks in martial arts cinema, I've not been motived to do so. I've always been content with what I could find in theatres or on DVD. Between the recent films like Crouching Tiger, Hero, and Flying Daggers, and the endlessly rewatchable classics, I don't find myself starved for content. With that in mind, I'll take on this match up.
The Blade aka: Dao (Hark Tsui, 1995) Hmm, how best to convey what experiencing this movie was like...
Think of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Ah, what a sublime bit of work that was. Okay, now visualize watching it at x2 speed, and x8 zoom. Got it? On top of that imagine the cameraman has the worst case of the shakes ever known to man. If you have a particularly vivid imagination I apologize, but it was necessary. I'm hardly exaggerating either. Visually this is one of the most incomprehensible action movies I've ever seen. I'd read that it had incredible fight choreography, but I'm not sure how anyone would know it! And it's not just the fights that are hard to follow. Each scene is so loosely stitched together you end up having to rewind if you care enough to keep the story straight.
If you read a history of the groundbreaking directors of Kung Fu movies you might come across the name Hark Tsui. Behind Wong Kar Wai, Hark Tsui has the second most films in the top 100 Chinese Motion Pictures list (5 in total), as ranked by the Hong Kong Film Awards. He was recently just the fourth Chinese director to sit on the board of judges at Cannes. I should say though, his reputation did not precede him. I read all of this after watching the film. Nevertheless, the man clearly has a feather or two in his cap. That's why I'm so perplexed by this movie. I think of traditional Kung-Fu movies and certain things come to mind; Wildly melodramatic acting, grandiose legends of Arthurian magnitude, and ingenious choreography. The Blade contains these elements to varying degrees. Had they not been torpedoed by the crumby camera work and editing I think this could've been a serviceable film. In my eyes, it's a creative disaster. Maybe that's just me though. I guess it's possible the director was intentionally vague when showing the combat, believing that out of the chaos of sound and quick cuts one would imagine the scene as he or she saw fit. If that's the case, which I strongly believe it is not, then I just have no taste for it.
It's apparent that this movie isn't exactly working with the budget of a hollywood blockbuster. Not a problem necessary, in fact I was expecting it, the stereotype for kung fu movies is that they require a larger than usual leap of the imagination. That can be part of their charm, whether you make the leap or not. Sort of like a good B movie. The problem with The Blade is that it does not intend to be a B movie. It takes itself seriously. So you lose out on the cheesy fun, and you are left with sub par production. An unfortunate exchange. Add to this the problems I mentioned earlier and you end up with an rather tiresome experience.
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| Supercop aka: Police Story III (Stanley Tong, 1992) Have I seen Police Story I & II? No. Does it matter? Not in the least.
This movie is downright fun. Jackie is recruited by Interpol to go undercover and infiltrate a crime syndicate. They ask for a Supercop and they get one. The plot doesn't really thicken, but it works well enough to drive the movie forward. Just like so many of Jackie's movies this one is pretty lighthearted. People are getting punched, and kicked, and shot, but only the bad guys ever get killed. There's three types of action in this movie (hand to hand combat, gunplay, and stunts) and you get an equal dose of each. It's all handled with the usual comedic touch. At times it does get a little silly, but even then it's charming. The stunts, from themost innocent looking to the most hair raising, are all pretty impressive.
One the of the best parts of this movie was Michelle Yeoh. Gorgeous, lethal and smart. I pretty much fell in love. She's always great. Her and Jackie had good chemistry together. It was a nice change of pace to pair Jackie up with somebody just as capable as he is. She performed some awesome stunts of her own.
There's really not much else to say about this one other than it's fun and it's moving on to the second round. It might be said than if you've seen one Jackie Chan movie you've seen 'em all, but that's just not true. There are some stinkers and some really good ones, and even the bad ones are passable because the action is always new and creative. This wasn't the best but it's still something I'll probably watch again when I feel like having a good time.
Oh and there aren't any Apache helicopters in this movie like the poster suggests, so don't get your hopes up.
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Conclusion: SUPERCOP wins easily.