Review: The Legend of Drunken Master

Jackie Chan stars as Wong Fei-Hung, exponent of the title kung-fu style, forbidden by his stern father (Ti Lung, less than ten years older than Chan!) because it renders Chan a drunken embarrassment. His father is a doctor, who also runs his own martial arts school, whilst Chan’s more supportive stepmother (Anita Mui) runs a mah-jong racket out of the family home, unbeknownst to Ti Lung. However, as much as his father disapproves of Chan’s fighting, let alone ‘drunk-style’ fighting, Chan will indeed need to rely on his fighting skills to take on a smuggling ring (seemingly headed by a British Ambassador), after he mistakenly picks up the wrong package on a train. Ken Lo (Chan’s real-life bodyguard) plays the fearsome lead henchman, whilst Andy Lau has a cameo as a powerful official who aids Chan and his father at one point.

 

I continue to find Jackie Chan films frustrating, and this 1994 sort-of follow-up to “Drunken Master” is a classic example. I just can’t quite get into the story or even the action scenes when Chan is clearly a clown and acrobat, not a fighter, actor, or storyteller. He’s quite clever at what he does, and I know he’s beloved the world over, but I’ve always been a bit ‘meh’ about him. I respect his love and admiration for Buster Keaton, but I’d rather watch the real deal. Keaton was a genius. Chan is a clown, and not really the funny kind. I didn’t find very much of the comedy particularly funny, as Chan’s facial mugging shits me to no end (The only laugh comes when Chan can’t stop doing drunken boxing against his own father who is trying to get him to stop. Cute). I have to admit, though, that some of the action is really, really well-done. I’d hate to have been a stunt person (or Chan) on this film. It looks fucking dangerous at times. Did he really allow himself to be set on fire like that? I hope there’s some movie trickery afoot there.

 

It’s a pretty action-packed film…once you get past the deadly opening 30 minutes. The title style of martial arts is ridiculous, silly comedy shit that just drove me up the wall (The film is at least 90% comedy). However, the action scenes that don’t involve the ‘drunken’ style of martial arts are fun to watch. Chan’s speed and agility are amazing. As the chief adversary, Ken Lo is truly bad arse, and the legendary Ti Lung is pretty good as Chan’s stern father. Even better is Anita Mui as his feisty mother-in-law, though charismatic Cantopop star/actor Andy Lau is thoroughly wasted in a mere cameo. I was bitterly disappointed by that, as Lau is usually great value. Apparently the director left after a while and took Andy Lau with him, whilst Chan himself directed the rest of the film.

 

Probably a tad below “Armour of God”, the film isn’t bad, but the broad and overdone comedy simply detracts too much. Some of the action is good, but all the clowning about gets seriously annoying very quickly. Yes, Chan’s stunts are dangerous, but they are really only stunts, and adding a comedic element makes you all-too aware of it. It robs the action (and therefore the film itself) of any threat, urgency, or impact whatsoever, though the climax does feature some pretty dangerous-looking stunts involving hot coals. Jackie Chan, you sir are completely insane!

 

It’s no “Thunderbolt”, and is certainly made more skilfully than some of Chan’s films from the late 90s and early 00s, but that’s pretty much all. Fans will probably love it (Many cite it among his best-ever), I’m middling on it, and it’s a real disappointment coming from director Lau Kar-Leung, whose “Eight Diagram Pole Fighter” is still one of the greatest-ever martial-arts films. The screenplay is by Edward Tsang, Tong Man Ming, and Yeun Chieh Chi.

 

Rating: C+