I decided to watch the film “Udan” with an open mind. Not being a fan of fantasy elements in martial arts films, and having a film in my hands made by the director who brought us The Twin Effect 2, I knew that all my cynicism would spill out here. Unbiased. Objectively, that's all. To my great surprise, the fantasy elements turned out to be in the background, with the only exception being the ending, and the film itself has just enough “soul” that it overshadows all the exaggerated details and some plot devices. It may not be a perfect film in many ways, but it is definitely entertaining and fun.
When a father (Vincent Zhao) and daughter (Xu Jiao) sign up for a large-scale martial arts tournament held on Mount Wudang, none of the other participants suspect that the father is plotting to use a map to steal seven treasures hidden in the area. But he doesn’t know that his friend the contestant (Yang Mi) is also here with the goal of stealing one of the treasures that rightfully belongs to her family. Now both partners must combine their efforts to cope with the onslaught of guardian students and quickly find the treasures before their plan is discovered and forced to leave the area.
There is something worthy of attention in Udan. The cast is quite impressive. The set includes several new outstanding screen fighters, and viewers themselves will be intrigued in some places by the fascinating and interesting acting. According to the script, little time is devoted to them; instead, the emphasis is placed on a whole lot of insignificant and poorly developed characters, while it would not hurt to highlight the main characters. Poor Louis Fan was almost “ditched”, turning him into a good-natured villager and endowing him with skills in some semblance of “sleepy kung fu”, but this was never revealed in the finale. However, the romantic relationship between Vincent Zhao and Yang Mi is quite interesting and expressive. They culminate in an extremely memorable dance-fight in the library. Despite the shortcomings in the script, it’s hard not to fall in love with such unusual characters.
This brings us to the second reason why Udan is worth buying. The fight choreography was developed by one of the best in the business, Corey Yuen. Even casual action movie fans should know his name, as his credits include a number of films like the Transporter franchise and fights with Jet Li in The Expendables. His high-wire flights and clever use of scenery/props are pleasing to the eye, and “Udan” is no exception. Amazing use of weapons, tons of exploding walls, and a flurry of punches and kicks made this film a pretty entertaining and enjoyable watch for action fans. Combined with the talented vision of director Patrick Leung, the on-screen fights are stunning in their quality and spectacle.
The biggest problem with Udaan is the development of the plot and the ending where the whole climax comes. Despite its desire to ignore much of the lousy dialogue and weird character arcs, Udan had too many plot flaws that could be chalked up to fantasy components. This is precisely where the ending owes its partial absurdity, when the characters fade into the background and on the screen we see glowing people and magic balls. I was expecting this, so I didn’t experience much of a shock, and I managed to enjoy watching it.
What makes Udan worthwhile for martial arts fans are two things: the choreography and the strong cast. The film, of course, has its shortcomings, for example, a very weak script, underdeveloped characters and inappropriately used computer graphics, but it is nevertheless interesting, for all its absurdity towards the end. Fans of fantasy battle films will enjoy a lot due to their quality and originality, but if you crave realism... then “Udan” is your direct route to the video rental store.
Rating: 3/5
Author: Matt Reifschneider
Source: bloodbrothersfilmreviews.blogspot.ru
Translation: EvilDollaR
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Tags: Wu Dang, Vincent Zhao, Dennis To, Corey Yuen, Louis Fan, Patrick Leung, Xu Jiao
Tags: Wu Dang, Vincent Zhao, Dennis To, Corey Yuen, Louis Fan, Patrick Leung, Xu Jiao
The film was disappointing. Surprisingly unconvincing plot, all the characters are cardboard. They cast an unknown number of people to play the fighters, but in the end it was all ropes that were unbelievable to the point of yawning. I understand everything, this is a fantasy genre, but it’s a pity! And those who could really fight on screen were not allowed to turn around at all, apparently to hide the wretchedness of the other pop fighters. If the fights were choreographed by Yong Woo Pin, then this is definitely weak, weak choreography. Of course, time passes and the requirements for the physical fitness of actors decrease, but this is kung fu. Why so? In short, there are no fights, just flights and unclear choreography and absolutely no plot. My opinion: disappointed.
PS The main character’s daughter just killed her, quiet horror. The master's student is also for me.