DRUNKEN MASTER II
(TSUI KUN II)
A film review by Christopher E. Meadows
Copyright 1996 Christopher E. Meadows
Directed by Carina Lau; starring Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Ti Lung
Rating: 8/10 (**** out of *****)
In the wake of the smashing success of "Rumble in the Bronx," it's looking more and more likely that more Jackie Chan films will see American release. Rumor has it that one of these films will be Drunken Master II.
The version I have is a copy from the laserdisc; it's widescreen and bilingually-subtitled, as are most Hong Kong films these days. Availability over here in the United States is very limited; these films must either be purchased via pirates or sought out from Asian distributors such as Tai Seng. The subtitling on the copy I have is slightly hard to read; the letters are white and a bit small. Although the American release will almost certainly be dubbed, this review is of the subtitled version, so please keep that in mind if you're reading this review to help you decide whether to go out and see it.
To be fair, I must admit that I've never been very fond of "period-piece" martial arts movies--the ones set in some nebulous China of the distant or not so distant past. Perhaps it's because most of those I've seen were filmed on inferior stock, with either butchered dubbing or all-but-illegible subtitling, or perhaps it's because their plots all tend to be very similar to each other and, in many cases, all but nonexistant. In fact, many of them get so wrapped up in their subplots that they seem to forget their main plot entirely until only a few minutes before the end.
Or, for that matter, it might be because the Jackie Chan films with more modern settings (Armour of God, Rumble in the Bronx, etc.) tend to have more spectacular stunts, often involving large motor vehicles and large explosions, whereas period pieces simply have the martial arts.
Having said that, I must now turn right around and say that Drunken Master II is a remarkable exception to all or most of the above, is one of the better martial arts films I've seen, and I quite enjoyed it. Surprised? Well, so was I.
Drunken Master II is about a young man named Wong Fei-Hong (played by Jackie Chan) who is a master of the Drunken Boxing style of Kung Fu. Where he learned this style is uncertain, as his father, Wong Kei-Ying (Ti Lung) is steadfast in his opposition to Fei-Hong's practicing it rather than some more normal style of kung fu.
Apparently, Fei-Hong is some sort of figure from Chinese folklore, rather like Paul Bunyan is for Americans, but I've heard very little about this, and could quite well be wrong, so I'll leave analysis of that to the people who know it better. One of my friends points out that the character of Wong Fei-Hong is also featured in the "Once Upon a Time In China" movies, but I have not yet seen those.
The plot of Drunken Master II is somewhat hazy, as are the plots to many such films, but if you're watching a Jackie Chan film, odds are you aren't expecting something on the order of "War and Peace". The story seems to revolve around Those Evil Foreigners who are spiriting away ancient Chinese relics (and hence, China's cultural heritage) while overworking, underpaying, and beating up Chinese workers in a nearby steel mill.
However, this plot merely serves as a framework for the other main story of the film--Fei-Hong's perpetual struggle to win his girlfriend, supplicate his father, keep his (pregnant) mother (played by Anita Mui) from fighting, and keep from getting beaten up by Evil Foreigner thugs.
The MacGuffin that drives the plot(s) is a precious antique jade imperial seal which is being taken away by the Evil Foreigners. In the beginning, Fei-Hong accidentally steals it while trying to recover an identically-wrapped box containing the medicinal ginseng his father was bringing back for a customer. In the process, he clashes with another thief, who is himself trying for the seal but ends up instead with the ginseng.
After Fei-Hong narrowly avoids getting caught with the seal by the Evil Foreigners' lackies, thanks to some timely intervention by a general's son (a cameo appearance by Andy Lau, who would later take on the starring role in Drunken Master III!), comedic chaos ensues back at the Wong household when Fei-Hong and his mother attempt to come up with a replacement for the missing ginseng. And so it goes.
And the plot thickens later on, such as when Fei-Hong's girlfriend maneuvers him into a kung fu match with a rival, or when Fei-Hong and the thief, now revealed to be a loyalist Manchu officer trying to recover the seal and stop the Evil Foreigners, are attacked en masse (another grand kung-fu movie tradition), but I think I've already spent more time on the plot than it really deserves. Let's move on to the real draw of Jackie Chan movies...the action.
There's plenty of martial arts action to be found in this movie...of course, in a kung fu film, that's to be expected. However, this isn't just another kung fu movie; this one has Jackie Chan doing the fight and stunt choreography, and Jackie Chan is a genius.
The primary martial arts "style" featured in the film is Drunken Boxing, a form of Kung Fu which attempts to draw the adversary off his guard by making it seem like the fellow using it is drunk. Further, for the purposes of this film at least, Drunken Boxers fight better when they actually _are_ intoxicated...but there's a fine line between just drunk enough and drunk into a stupor.
Under normal circumstances, the idea of someone staggering around looking sloshed but managing to fight effectively and even incredibly might seem rather stupid, but Jackie pulls it off with flair. The kung fu sequences are so intricate in their staging and execution that it is pointless to try to describe it on paper, so I'll just say that the fights--especially the big climactic fight at the end--in themselves make the movie worth watching.
Another thing Drunken Master II has going for it is the stunt work. Even without motor vehicles (well, not counting a train), there are some remarkable stunts in this film. Among other things, Jackie dives off a balcony into a table and crawls across hot coals (not once, but at _least_ twice, if you count the outtake shown during the credits). (Quicktime movies of these stunts can be found through the WWW movie database.) Unlike in American films, these stunts are _not_ faked.
Drunken Master II stars several veteran actors of the Hong Kong movie scene, including Jackie, Ti Lung ("A Better Tomorrow" 1 & 2), and Anita Mui (the "Heroic Trio" series, "Rumble in the Bronx"). The performances are first-rate, especially when it comes to the comedy parts of the film. The scene where Fei-Hong and his mother conspire literally behind Fei-Hong's father's back to cover up for the missing ginseng root is hilarious, as is the scene where Fei-Hong's mother, having just revealed that she is pregnant, is threatening to hurt herself (in order to draw her husband's anger away from Fei-Hong). Jackie has developed his knack for physical comedy into a sort of mastery over the years, and he's in fine form all through Drunken Master II.
As far as cinematography is concerned, it certainly works for this film. It's nothing spectacular, but is at least a dozen times better than all those old kung fu movies of the 70s. The picture is crisp and clear. One thing I find particularly worthy of mention is that, at least in the copy I have, the screen was wider than any film I've ever seen on videotape before--almost a whole 1/3 of the screen was blocked out above and below. (Watch this on a bigscreen TV or movie theater if you can.) It will be an utter shame if this film is eventually pan-and-scanned for American video release.
Drunken Master II shows the full potential of "period piece" kung fu movies, and it's good enough to overcome even my usual distaste for such movies. The plot does meander a bit, but that's to be expected in this type of film. If you like this kind of movie, you'll love this movie, and if not, well, give it a chance anyway. If nothing else, the martial arts and stunt sequences are by themselves worth the price of admission or rental.
This review is copyright 1996 by Christopher E. Meadows; permission granted for distribution and archival via rec.arts.movies.reviews, the World Wide Web Movie Database, and associated databases; permission granted for free electronic dissemination as long as the text of this review is not changed, this notice remains attached, and no money is charged for it. All other rights reserved to the author. -- Chris Meadows aka | Author, Team M.E.C.H.A., Crapshoot & Co. Robotech_Master | on the Superguy Listserv (bit.listserv.superguy) robotech@jurai.net | **TAKE NOTE!** My homepage has changed to robotech@eyrie.org | http://www.jurai.net/~robotech/index.html
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