"You owe me a
life."
In Bill & Ted's
Excellent Adventure, Keanu Reeves was good-natured dimwit, who traveled
through time to meet some of history's most renowned personalities. In Point Break, he was an FBI agent. In The Matrix, he showed the world that he
knew kung fu. In Man of Tai Chi, Reeves
shows just how much he loves kung fu and martial arts movies. Not only does
Reeves star in the film, he makes his directorial debut here.
The lead protagonist is Tiger Chen, a stuntman and martial arts
expert, who worked on the Matrix
sequels and helped train Reeves. Here, Chen works a meager job as a courier
while practicing Tai Chi. Against his master's (Yu Hai from Shaolin and Tai Chi Master) wishes, Chen participates in tournaments to do away
with the stereotypes of senior citizens in the park. His success draws the
attention of millionaire Donaka Mark (Reeves), who offers Chen the opportunity
to attain easy wealth by fighting for him. Chen refuses until his master's
ancient temple is threatened by opportunistic developers. He learns too late
that the underground fights are illegally broadcasted with cameras following
him everywhere as part of a twisted reality program package. As the fights get
increasingly brutal, Chen gets further and further away from the principles of
Tai Chi.
Fans of Asian cinema will recognize Karen Mok as a dogged
detective determined to bring down Donaka's operations and Simon Yam as her
superior officer.
Rap artist the RZA paid homage to the classic Shaw Brothers films
of the 70's with his passion project The Man with the Iron Fist. With Man of
Tai Chi, Reeves and screenwriter Michael G. Cooney have created an action flick
that feels cut from the 90's era of Hong Kong cinema. The plot is minimal and
the dialogue is laughable, but those elements are almost always secondary to
the fight scenes. Luckily, Reeves has enlisted the services of Yuen Woo-Ping,
the legendary choreographer of The Matrix
and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The fights in Man of Tai Chi aren't mind
blowing in the manner of Drunken Master
II or Once Upon a Time in China, but they are entertaining enough. Reeves
has wisely done his homework when it comes to shooting martial arts and
surrounded himself with an experienced team.
Man of Tai Chi falters
in the third act. Iko Uwais from The
Raid: Redemption is introduced for the penultimate brawl. Just as you
settle in for a knockdown, drag-out match, Reeves takes a left turn and the
whole thing fizzles away. Reeves positions himself as the big, bad and faces
off with Chen in the climactic battle. Let's just say his fighting style is as
stiff and robotic as his performance.
Reeves rarely plays the villain and his turn as Donaka
manages to be wooden and brilliant simultaneously. He doesn't muster a lot of
emotion, but there's a sense of camp to hear him spout dialogue straight out of
Mortal Kombat ("Finish him!"). At one point, Reeves randomly stares into
the camera, bares his teeth, and snarls as if he were channeling his Devil's Advocate co-star Al Pacino. Chen
gets his first starring role in Man of
Tai Chi and while he has the fighting skills down pat, he doesn't have the
acting chops or presence to really be a compelling hero.
Wong Kar-Wai mixed the grace and philosophy of martial arts
to better results with The Grandmaster.
Gareth Evans directed one of the most action-packed martial arts movies in
years with The Raid: Redemption. Keanu
Reeves' Man of Tai Chi lands on some
comfortable middle ground, but never reaches the heights of the films it emulates.
Rating: ** (*****)
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