Chen Zhen is among a group of Chinese who have been sent to Europe to help the Allies in the First World War. He is assumed to have been killed but returns home using the name of his friend Qi Tianyuan, who was killed in action. Things aren't good for the Chinese in Shanghai; much of the city is run by Western powers and more worryingly Japanese power is on the rise. Chen joins the resistance against the Japanese. Using his martial arts skills he dons a masks and takes on the oppressors and their local collaborators.
The character of Chen Zhen was made famous by martial arts icon Bruce Lee but you don't need to have seen his version to enjoy this. The story is solid and provides plenty of excuses for impressive martial arts action. This starts in the opening scenes where Chen takes on a German machine gunner with nothing but a pair of knives and continues through the film. The action is exciting and there is a sense of danger; our protagonist can certainly get hurt. Donnie Yen does a fine job as Chen, frequently incorporating Bruce Lee's classic poses and sounds. The rest of the cast are solid too. On the down side the action does let up for a bit too long at times; especially during the scenes in the 'Casablanca' night club; the musical interludes aren't bad but don't add much to an action film. Overall a solid martial arts action film that fans of the genre are likely to enjoy even if it isn't quite a classic.
These comments are based on watching the film in Chinese with English subtitles.
The character of Chen Zhen was made famous by martial arts icon Bruce Lee but you don't need to have seen his version to enjoy this. The story is solid and provides plenty of excuses for impressive martial arts action. This starts in the opening scenes where Chen takes on a German machine gunner with nothing but a pair of knives and continues through the film. The action is exciting and there is a sense of danger; our protagonist can certainly get hurt. Donnie Yen does a fine job as Chen, frequently incorporating Bruce Lee's classic poses and sounds. The rest of the cast are solid too. On the down side the action does let up for a bit too long at times; especially during the scenes in the 'Casablanca' night club; the musical interludes aren't bad but don't add much to an action film. Overall a solid martial arts action film that fans of the genre are likely to enjoy even if it isn't quite a classic.
These comments are based on watching the film in Chinese with English subtitles.