Released in China shortly after Man of Tai Chi, Kung Fu Man was revealed to have been filmed almost four years ago and is an early collaboration between mainland stuntman Tiger Chen and Canadian actor Keanu Reeves. Chen's first starring role in a movie reminiscent of 80s Hong Kong direct-to-video action movies is a decent showcase of skills for the diminutive champion from Sichuan, but the film's production history is far more interesting than anything else.
The formulaic family-friendly action film follows a Chinese fighter who rescues an American boy from kidnappers, and was in development at the same time as Man of Tai Chi. This was done so that Chen, whom Reeves knew from The Matrix and Yuen Wuping’s stunt team, could start his own film career as an action hero. Reeves, who does not appear in Kung Fu Man, serves as an executive producer. Filming began in November 2009 in the Yunnan province of southern China, and the film disappeared from view in 2011, after receiving a certificate from SARFT (China's State Administration of Film, Radio and Television). What’s even more interesting is that the director’s chair was shared by another member of the “Yuen clan,” experienced fight choreographer Johnny Yuen, and Ning Ying, who until that time was known from comedies, festival films, and one documentary, but not from commercial cinema.
I'm glad that the presence of two directors, as well as two cameramen (American Sean O'Dea and Hong Konger Daniel Kwan), is not noticeable. However, those who wanted to see Nin's personal style of directing, known for her penchant for gritty realism, on screen will be disappointed. It’s clear that for her this is just another professional job, while Wenders Lee’s editing allows her to fit the footage within a tight time frame. The utilitarian scenario, in principle, serves only as a connecting link for many chases (the main character and a boy in a small picturesque town are hiding from kidnappers and the police at the same time), there is no trace of any revelation of the characters.
Eight-year-old (at the time) Armand Darbo, born in France and raised in Beijing, does not overact, but most of his dialogue with Chen consists of questions, when he asks Chen if he is “Superman”, and he tells him that he is just an ordinary guy , "kung fu man". (In fact, the film's Chinese title means "kungfu knight-errant.") The negative characters are also strictly recreated according to the template. Their roles were played by the Spanish-American Andre McCoy, nicknamed “China” (Laurence Fishburne’s stunt double in “The Matrix”) and the Chinese-speaking British woman Vanessa Branch (known for her commercials for Orbit chewing gum and one of the main roles in the melodrama “Love in Translation”) "). Chinese actress Jiang Mengjie is almost invisible in the frame, except to act as a translator for the boy, playing the role of a local English teacher. Among several non-professional actors playing foreigners, Igor Darbo, Armand's real father, appears. He starred as the unscrupulous assistant to the boy's on-screen father.
Chen has a fast-paced, abrasive style that comes across well in a couple of big fights (against McCoy in the yard, and against a whole group of opponents in the house), but in the quieter episodes you can't expect any humor or any expressions of personality from him. The animated sequences with superhero battles fit well into the finale, thereby determining the direction of the film - it is a youth/family market, rather than a circle of mature action fans.
It was not worth giving the film the English title “Kung Fu Man”, it looks more like a typo, because the film can hardly be called a comedy. Location names like "Port City" and "Valley of Great Dragons" are fictitious.
Author's rating: 5/10
Author: Derek Alley
Source: filmbiz.asia
Translation: EvilDollaR
Home » Reviews » Translated reviews »
Tags: Kung Fu Man, Andre McCoy, Keanu Reeves, Ning Ying, Tiger Chen, Yuen Wu-Ping
Tags: Kung Fu Man, Andre McCoy, Keanu Reeves, Ning Ying, Tiger Chen, Yuen Wu-Ping
Dave, the “translated reviews” category was created just for “translated reviews”. In the original, the author wrote that Keanu is a Canadian actor, and this is true.
PS You should not leave comments under other nicknames.
I jokingly wrote that I didn’t know that he was a Canadian actor, I thought you would understand the irony, it’s just that in the review you wrote incorrectly that he was a Canadian actor, he has always been an American actor.
I didn’t know that Keanu Reeves was a Canadian actor, I thought he was American.
Canada - part of the North. America, like Hong Kong, is not mainland China (at least since the late 90s). He can be considered an American.