If Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and the traditional Kung Fu movie met and had a baby, TAI CHI O would be its offspring.
In TAI CHI O, the story follows the protagonist Lu Chan as he travels to Chen Village to learn an internal form of Kung Fu called Chen Style Tai Chi. In Chen Village everyone is a martial arts master, but it is forbidden to teach any outsiders this form of martial arts. When a man from the village’s past returns with a huge, steam-powered machine that will forcefully build a railroad through the town at any cost, the villagers have no choice but to turn to Lu Chen who has a secret power of his own to save the day. Watch Trailer
This is not your usual, run of the mill Kung-Fu movie. The film’s comic-book/steam-punk mash-up style was definitely something I had never seen before and I have to say, it was strangely captivating. Director Stephen Fung’s unique approach to the genre will make this type of film a lot more accessible to a young, American palate. It had elements of Kung-Fu classics, though it stayed pretty contemporary with its use of jerky camera movements and edgy rock music, which includes a tune reminiscent of the theme from Legend of Zelda. I found myself on the edge of my seat for most of the fighting sequences that were in fact, beautifully choreographed. In hindsight, this movie may very well have hypnotized me. It was just so abnormally immersive.
In all its cheese and campiness, this film was executed with great finesse and for that, it’s a bit genius. If you could stick it out to the end, I think you’d agree.
