Customer Reviews

Tai Chi II [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't pay any attention to the reviews that say that this is yuen wo ping's worst movie. I'ts actually one of his best. Don't get me wrong though, this movie doesn't have the greatest plot and what the subtitles say is sometimes(hopefully) not what the actors are actually saying. But, anyone who watches Yuen Woo Ping's movies should know that they're all about the fight scenes. Insane superhuman lightning fast fight scenes. This is where this movie truly shines. Nobody does fight scenes as well as woo ping. I recommend this or any yuen woo ping directed movie to anyone interested in hong kong martial arts. Anyone looking for a great story may be disapointed. But for me the fight scenes more than made up for this err.

This movie is an excellent and effective combination of comedy, martial arts mastery, likable characters, and rapid-fire action. Although it lacked a solid story--self-taught Tai Chi fighter helping Chinese revolutionaries dressed in English attire butting heads with traditionally clad Chinese militia in cohorts with opium-smuggling English citizens--the well positioned, amazingly choreographed fight scenes are well worth the purchase. Jacky Wu is a fresh face in the world of Hong Kong martial arts movies of today. With his acting and martial arts talent--highly evident in this movie--he is sure to go far.

Tai Chi II, set during the time of British imperialism and the illegal opium trade, is one of the most action-packed and well-balanced non-"Old School" kung-fu films I have ever seen, ranking up there alongside Jet Li's "The Tai Chi Master."

The movie is cast well, with delightful and memorable characters.
The main plot revolves around the illegal opium trade propogated by the British--to the detriment of the native Chinese, the general clash of cultural values and how various segments within Chinese society adapt to the western influence. Secondarily, there is a romantic side of the plot between the main character, the very lovely leading lady, and her fiance. The film also highlights the strength and interplay of Chinese family relationships--for those reacting to the western presence in different ways--in a wonderful way (remeniscent of the Fong Sai Yuk films with Jet Li). In the end, the moral mainstay of traditional Chinese culture wins the day with a very satisfying resolution of circumstances.

The action choreography is quite well done (bravo! Yuen Woo-Ping!), making good use of multiple angles and very good use of slow motion to showcase the grace, power and superiority of Tai Chi. While there is limited use of wire, it is fairly well integrated with the rest of the fight sequence(s) and does not in any way detract from the general tone of the film, or eclipse the excellent emphasis on the Tai Chi methods.

If at all possible, get the original Hong Kong import version of this film (I bought mine for $7.99 from EDay Movie: www.edaymovie.com). The picture and sound quality are top-knotch, even though the English subtitles display the occasional spelling or grammatical anamoly (which I have come to expect--and even to enjoy(!)--over the years).

All tolled, a stellar offering that easily merits the top-shelf and quite possibly the top-ten in anyone's kung-fu movie collection! Along with The Tai Chi Master, Tai Chi II is easily one of the best non-"Old School" kung-fu film you are ever likely to see.

"Tai Chi Fist (aka Tai Chi II)" is a great Tai Chi movie, which you should definitly see if you liked The Tai Chi Master (Series Movie). Jacky Wu plays the main character, so the Tai Chi Quan Kung Fu is top notch! The movie also stars many of the same actors, who were in The Tai Chi Master (Series Movie).

Like Tai Chi Master starring Jet Li, "Tai Chi Fist (aka Tai Chi II)" is both a comical and a serious movie with both awesome and funny kung fu scenes."Tai Chi Fist (aka Tai Chi II)" has a nice story, good actors and great kung fu directed by Yuen Wo Ping.

This film has alot of martial arts and a story that is not like the other martial arts film, the story keeps you interested and the jokes and comedy are genuinely funny. Buy this film if you like martial arts.

This movie ranks up there with some of the best martial arts films ever made. If you like Hai Yu (Master from the Jet Li Shaolin films) then you'll love this film. Christy Chung is irresistably beautiful and Jacky Wu's fighting scenes easily match that of my favorite Jet Li movies. This is a MUST HAVE for any martial arts film fan. I'm going to enjoy watching this one over and over. The production is top notch and the fight scenes (although some are a little wire-assisted; not too bad) just plain rock. Whoever it was that wrote the bad review obviously doesn't comprehend what a good martial arts film is all about. Buy it now, you won't regret it!

A lot of recognisable Taiji techniques. Quite spoofy in places. It really has a go at the West for oppressing the Chinese and i'm sure break-dancing wasn't really invented back then.......

This is a horrible movie especially dubbed in english,although I haven't seen the sub-titled version which probabley isn't as silly,I doubt it's much better.So what's so bad,hmm,let's see,no plot,un-interesting characters,and some not so funny punch-lines.The fights are ok, but definitley sub-standard for YUEN.I definitley cannot reccomend the dubbed version,but it's possible that the Chinese one sports a better plot.

This is not as good as the other Tai Chi movies. Unpolished, poor gongfu spoils the good parts. The ending is especially weak... the sudden appearance of "string" aided stunts makes it laughable in a bad way. The lack of a good villian is sure to kill any decent movie, and the bad guys are really subpar in Tai Chi II.

Likewise, I am unimpressed with the storyline... it starts off as a "girl-meets-boy" who already has boyfriend plot and tries to become an old vs. new China (opium wars) flick. Additionally, the young kungfu master goes through no personal jouney (training/failure/rivalry) - I guess I just didnt find it too interesting.

Pass and buy another one in the TAI CHI series.

It is a good film which portraits the time when western countries invaded and colonized China. Although the film has good moments, this version is not as good as the first film in terms of martial arts scenes. However, Jacky Wu looked flawless in his fighting performance most of the time during the story developement. I would recommed it!