Drunken Master [Jui kuen]
Director: Yuen Woo Ping
Starring: Jackie Chan
Warning: I have bought a ton of kung fu movies recently. You may get tired of reading about crazy fight sequences (or maybe not).
I was a little disappointed with this movie. Drunken Master II is one of the best kung fu movies I have ever seen. The original Drunken Master (made 15 years earlier!) is less impressive. This is not to say that it was bad, I just think my expectations were too high after seeing the sequel.
This movie stars a young Jackie Chan as a delinquent whose father sends him to train with a crazy old drunk. Your typical run of training sequences takes place (pretty dull, unlike 36th Chamber) and there are a few fights.
The tricky thing about kung fu movies is what to do in between fights. Some movies fill with over the top acting or an engaging dramatic storyline. This movie had a weak plot and a lot of cheap gags that didn't really do it for me.
This movie's fight scenes, though, were great fun. Woo Ping is a martial arts legend who still choreographs fights for big Hollywood pictures (Matrix, Kill Bill). Chan's acrobatics are a joy to watch and the way he mixes humor into fighting is great. The characters and styles of martial arts (drunken gods and animals) were put to good use. The drunken boxing that shows up near the end of the movie is easily the highlight, though it is portrayed better in the sequel.
Also, I love how kung fu movies end right after the bad guy is defeated.
My recommendation, skip this flick and jump right into the second one.
Lesson learned: Drinking makes you stronger.
PS- I had to watch this with English dubbing, which I hate. Gimme subtitles any day.
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