"The Legend of Drunken Master" – Chan Is the Life of the Party by Homer Yen (c) 2000
There's a great show that has arrived in the DC area, and I can hardly wait to see it. That production is called "Dralion", performed by the world-famous Cirque Du Soleil troupe. Its theme is Chinese acrobatics and it promises to be a spectacular show. Most performances have sold-out, although I was lucky enough to have already purchased my ticket, which cost me in excess of $60. But if you can't buy any tickets or can't justify its price, a great alternative for only a fraction of the cost is this wild martial-arts flick, featuring Jackie Chan, who is at his very best.
In this film, a movie originally released in Hong Kong back in 1994, Chan plays Wong Fei-hong, a prankish son of a respected herb doctor circa the 1920s. The story begins at a train station where Wong Fei-hong wants to carry some medicine onto a train without paying the tariff. To sneak it aboard, he hides it in a diplomat's suitcase. Once the trip commences, he'll just simply recover the medicine and be on his way. However, upon retrieval, he takes the wrong bag, and subsequently becomes entangled in a plot that involves an ambassador and an antiquities smuggling operation.
As with most of Chan's Hong Kong made films re-released for the American audience, you'll find the usual peculiarities. These include awkward dubbing, zany plots, screwy slapstick, and absurd characterizations (a Counter Intelligence Officer that appears early on seems to have an important role, but disappears 20 minutes into the film; meanwhile, other characters seemingly appear out of nowhere). And the story is usually just an excuse to see Chan in action.
However, this is a performance that will not disappoint. In fact, of the 70+ martial arts films that Chan has made, most aficionados have ranked this film as one his three best. Indeed, Chan is in top form and these fighting sequences have to be seen in order to be believed. The first sequence is incredible. Chan, with a short sword, goes against a spear-wielding Manchu officer. They fight in such close quarters that just to maneuver those weapons at the speed in which they fight is an incredible feat in itself. You may notice that in many fighting sequences from other movies, the film speed increases to try to make the fighters appear more awesome. Here, Chan and his opponent are moving so quickly that you wished that the film speed could have actually slowed down!
What makes Chan a true exhibitionist is his Drunken Boxing style (an actual kung fu style). By ingesting large amounts of liquor, it loosens up the body while allowing it to withstand higher thresholds of pain. Let him increase his blood alcohol level, and it's like Popeye taking his spinach. Here, he staggers, he sways, and he kicks butt, mesmerizing the audience with his acrobatic abilities while in the character of a drunk. There are a bevy of incredibly choreographed fight sequences, culminating towards a terrific showdown pitting him against an enemy who uses his lightning quick legs to fight in ways that I had never seen. This stuff is truly amazing. What a fun matinee this is!
Grade: B
S: 0 out of 3 L: 1 out of 3 V: 1 out of 3
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