The Legend of Drunken Master

Jackie Chan, like all others who come to Hollywood, wants one thing: global domination. For a period of five years or so, he was struggling to overwhelm one part of the world he has no control over, USA.

Chan tried to win American audiences by fighting on their ways, in a series of films that randomly played with the principles of the Western thriller, some of which were funny (like “Rush Hour”) and some which were really bad (some might say “Rumble in the Bronx”). However, in some way none of them really dominated, took over, stood out and destroyed everything else, as Chan preferred.

When “The Legend of Drunken Master” came out in 2000, Jackie Chan was saying, “I now return to my old ways. Old ways are better.”

Stephen Hunter said in his review, “In fact, "The Legend of Drunken Master" is itself an old way. It's a 1994 film – original title "Jui Kuen II," which translates literally into "Drunken Fists II" – that was made primarily for the Asian market without the genre-bending necessary for a big American release. It's really a Hong Kong kung fu opera, unrepentant, full out, sans apology or explanation, goofy as heck, broadly silly and . . . astonishing.”

Chan plays Wong Fei-hung, the ill-behaved son of herb doctor Wong Kei-ying, played by Ti Lung, somewhere in China in maybe the 20s, as it looks like. Traveling to Siberia to look for rare herbs, he tries to avoid paying them on a train trip home by hiding them in the English ambassador’s luggage. As you might have guessed, he picks up the wrong box, and gets an antiquity (an ancient seal) that the ambassador is exporting back to England for the British Museum.

However, someone else is trying to find the missing seal, a Manchurian officer who wants to return it to…first off, a little sidetrack. I want to mention Wong’s funny stepmother and Mah-Jong player, played by Anita Mui, and other minor characters. The dubbing may be bad and some might call (kindly) Asian plot patterns, which means mainly “anything goes at any time.”

Now time to mention the fight scenes.

These are some of the best choreographed fights. One of them has Chan and the Manchurian, played by Chi-Kwong Cheung, in a spear-and-sword fight in a small area (i.e., under a railway car). The blades and spear points are at such great speed and precision and you wouldn’t think that two crouching men could be so fast and perfect in a small area and come out not injured.

Hunter credited, “If limits define that fight, lack of limits define the next, which features the two (now partners) fighting about a hundred ninja types. I mean it: The directors (Chan himself and Chia-Liang Liu) make you believe two against a hundred in a whirling melee that careens through (and destroys) buildings left and right, as the two keep picking up and improvising weapons from broken furniture to splayed bamboo poles to fists and hands. And, oh yes, Chan is drunk (an actual kung fu style, evidently) at the time. So not only is he doing incredible things physically, he's doing them in the character of a drunk!”

However, the final fight is the best. Here, Chan fights against Ken Lo, who was actually both Chan’s real-life bodyguard and a martial arts champ, and appeared to have the fastest left food ever. Lo fights on his right foot, and his left, held before him, is faster and more swift than a fist, able to block, dodge, force and kick with such ability. Hunter admitted, “I've literally never seen anything like it.”

Hunter continued, “They are in a steel mill, and my goodness if that isn't an actual bed of red-hot coals there next to them (Chan rolls through it), and dad-gum it if Chan isn't actually set on fire two or three times, during which he (a) keeps on fighting and (b) keeps on pretending to be drunk.” This has to be seen to be believed.

I saw this movie before I saw the first one. Even though it may be considered a sequel, you don’t have to see the first one to understand this one. I think this has got to be one of Chan’s best works he has ever done. It’s definitely one of my favorite Chan movies ever. You just have to see this movie if you’re a Chan fan. I give this one a high recommendation.

Sorry for posting this really late, I had a really busy day. Stay tuned next week when we continue the hilarity of “Jackie Chan Month.”