Mike_Bracken's Full Review: Legend of Drunken Master
Drunken Master 2: Golden Harvest
Rating: USA: R
Few characters in China’s rich and illustrious history have been more popular than Wong Fei-hong (1847-1924). Wong, who was a martial arts master (he was skilled in kung-fu forms ranging from the lion dance, the no shadow kick, the flower fist, all the way through to the infamous drunken boxing), who used his skill to fight for the good of the common Chinese man, and much like the legendary gunslingers of early American folklore, his exploits were recorded and mythologized by numerous writers. Soon, with the advent of the filmmaking industry in China and Hong Kong, Wong became a box-office staple, the central character of countless films, and became even more mythic as his life and times were recounted on the silver screen. Many of Hong Kong’s best martial arts actors have played Wong Fei-hong over the years—Kwan Tak-hing played the character in nearly 60 films, but most recent audiences are more likely to identify with Jet Li’s interpretation of the character.
However, in 1978, Hong Kong’s fledgling clown prince Jackie Chan would play the role in the film Drunken Master, a movie highly regarded by fans of classic chop-socky flicks as a classic. Then, in 1994, as Wong Fei-hong mania was sweeping through the Hong Kong box office (again, thanks largely to Jet Li’s portrayal of the character), Chan would reprise the role for a sequel--Drunken Master 2, a film that stands as one of the greatest martial arts flicks of all time.
Plot-wise, there’s not a lot happening in the film. Jackie is Wong Fei-hong, a sort of bumbling character who works for his father (Ti Lung: A Better Tomorrow), a martial arts teacher and pharmacist. Wong lives at home with his dad, his mahjong-loving mother (Anita Mui: The Heroic Trio), and his brother Tsang. It’s a simple life, with lots of opportunity for the typical Chan situational comedy to work itself into the plot.
Eventually, Wong discovers that British Embassy officials (with the aid of Chinese workers) are stealing valuable Chinese artifacts and taking them to England. Well, as you can imagine, this simply won’t do—and Wong has to unleash the dreaded drunken boxing (which has father has forbidden him to use because the practitioner must become drunk for the form to be truly effective. This negates any pain the practitioner might feel in battle, but also can lead masters of the form to becoming destitute alcoholics) to right the wrongs.
Basically, the plot only serves two purposes in the film—first off, it provides a way to get from one comedy situation to the next. The film features a lot of comedic elements (springing from Chan and Anita Mui, mostly) and while they’re sort of predictable (stuff like trying to hide things from the stern father are common events in the film), they do provide a brief respite for the audience between the action sequences.
That brings us to the second purpose—to get the audience from one action set-piece to the next. Drunken Master 2 features several major fight scenes, culminating with a 20-minute-long climactic showdown. The fight choreography is amazing—Chan jumps, kicks, punches, and flops around while kicking some serious a*s. In accordance with his father’s wishes, he rarely breaks out the drunken boxing skills, but when one of the villains hits his mother in the mouth, she tosses him several bottles of wine, which Wong chugs, then he brings the pain—beating up 5 or 6 guys with no problem whatsoever.
The final showdown has become the stuff of legend, and might be the greatest martial arts fight scene in film history. In this segment, Jackie squares off against his real-life bodyguard Ken Lo in an abandoned steel factory. The two beat each other bloody, with Chan being lit on fire twice, falling into a bed of burning coals (for real) and finally drinking some industrial strength alcohol to unleash his skills (and throwing up on camera in the process). The fight here is fast paced, furious, and utterly shames everything that American stars like Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and every other wannabe martial arts star has ever done. If you want to know why Jackie Chan is the biggest box-office draw in the world, look no further than this scene.
The cast is top notch, with Chan being both funny and breathtaking, often in the same instance. It’s hard to come up with adjectives to describe Chan’s work—I think Hong Kong action fans have almost come to the point where we take these magnificent performances from Jackie for granted. I have the feeling that we’re only really going to appreciate just what the man’s body of work means in another decade or so—when he’s reached an age where he can no longer do the dangerous stunts and wild maneuvers…and when there’s no one else around to fill the void.
That Jackie’s good is a given, but the rest of the cast shines as well. Ti Lung does an admirable job playing the one straight man in the entire film. Lung’s always been a favorite of mine, one of those really solid Hong Kong actors that most western audiences are completely unfamiliar with. Anita Mui steals the film while playing Wong’s mom. Mui is far to young to be believable as Wong’s mother, but her comedic timing is great and takes some of the pressure off of Chan.
Director Liu Chia-liang does a magnificent job helming the fight scenes. Unlike most recent HK action fare (which has come to rely on quick, MTV-style editing that detracts from the action), Liu takes a straightforward and traditional approach here—there are few edits, and the ones that are there never take you away from the martial arts skill on display. Liu also eschews much of the Hong Kong martial arts film wire work in favor of Jackie’s natural athletic and acrobatic ability (there are a few small parts that look as though there may have been some wires used, but no one’s leaping 35 feet into the air in this film). This gives the film a realistic feel—at least far more realistic than most recent Hong Kong fare.
Liu was eventually fired while the film was in production, reportedly over disagreements with Chan concerning using more wire work in the film (and why would anyone suggest that a martial artist with Chan’s natural athletic and acrobatic ability resort to using wires is beyond me). Jackie himself finished the film (uncredited), and as such deserves at least part of the credit for the film’s quality direction.
Liu himself turns up in the film, battling with Jackie under a train in the film’s first action sequence. Few fans realize it, but Liu Chia-lang actually has a tie to the real Wong Fei-hong. Liu’s father was Liu Chan who played the Magnificent Butcher in the first Wong Fei-hong film. The Magnificent Butcher (Lam Sai-wing) was the real life Wong’s favorite student—and the Butcher’s favorite student was none other than Liu Chan. This doesn’t make the film any better, but it is an interesting tidbit that the average fan is most likely unaware of while watching the film (and a special thanks to Stefan Hammond and Mike Wilkins’ excellent book Sex, Zen, and a Bullet in the Head for providing the clear cut lineage).
For this review, I viewed the original Hong Kong version of the film, not the recently released US version entitled Legend of Drunken Master. I haven’t seen the American version, but I’ve heard it’s several minutes shorter than the HK print (I haven’t heard what’s missing, or if anything’s been added, though). Past experience has taught me that seeing the Americanized releases of these films is generally a mistake, mainly because the dubbing sucks and the original music scores are often changed (look no further than the abortion that is the American version of Jet Li’s Black Mask if you need further proof).
In the end, there can be little doubt that Drunken Master 2 is one of the greatest martial arts films ever made. Jackie and company give some great performances that help keep the almost non-existent script afloat long enough to get us to some of the most amazing action sequences ever committed to celluloid. This is vintage Jackie Chan—one of the most gifted film martial artists near his prime. If you’re only familiar with Jackie’s work through his American dreck like Shanghai Noon and Rush Hour then you owe it to yourself to check out Drunken Master 2 in order to see what the man is capable of when he brings his A game.
This sequel to 1978's DRUNKEN MASTER features Jackie Chan returning to his role as the mischievous martial artist who outsmarts his father and tangles...More at Family Video
Chinese folklore hero Wong Fei Hong (Chan) discovers a smuggling ring, orchestrated by the British Government, to transport valuable Chinese artifacts...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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