Kung Fu Blockbusters
January 17, 2009
The martial arts drought is temporarily over, and the art of kung fu is once again playing a central role in two destined blockbusters this year.
First of all there is of course the highly anticipated Forbidden Kingdom which features the two top contemporary martial arts heroes in the world, Jet Li and Jacky Chan. Watching Chan and Li locked in battle is a dream come true for three decades of martial arts fans. There have long been debates over who would win, with many saying it would depend on the circumstances and setting of the fight. The possibilities are endless, but the fight between them in this film was a wonderful balance of elegance and skill, power and fluidity, and the two heroes take turns pwning each other as audiences struggle over who to root for.
On a lighter note, we have Kung Fu Panda which is coming out in early June. This cg masterpiece has a star-studded cast of voices. Just to name a few, Jack Black plays the questionable Panda ‘chosen one,’ Lucy Liu is the double edged Viper, and Angelina Jolie brings her sultry yet powerful vocals to Tigress. To top it all off, Jackie Chan is the friendly prankster Monkey.
Both films do a great job of highlighting different styles of kung fu, especially in terms of the animal fighting styles. They’re definitely a far cry from the awkward fighting stances of Disney’s Mulan or the overly flighty and fanciful encounters of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon that did so well here in the states. Further the backdrops are full of stunning Chinese aesthetics that would be eye candy worth going to the theater for in and of themselves.
Conclusion? Hollywood’s been improving their kung fu.
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4 Responses to “Kung Fu Blockbusters”
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You have it wrong in the end of that third paragraph. Jackie is not the prankster monkey,,,jet is the Monkey king. Didn’t you watch it,you can tell it from the beginning when you see the eyes and that grin on jet’s,I mean the Monkey Kings face,it is easy to tell.
In a response to ina eaton, the author was referring to Chan’s Role in “Kung-Fu Panda”, not “The Forbidden Kingdom”. In “Kung-Fu Panda”, Chan plays a monkey. (By the way, is it just me or did this article come out really, really late?)
I think those films very very interesting and funny, especially Kungfu Panda.. I had seen both of them
Okay, cinephiles, off with the gloves.
And who, among you, watched Cecilia Chang’s? and Ang Lee’s er, ah literal interps of WWII sexual athletics in Shanghai?
Amidst all the reverent and irreverent responses I noted on IMDb, has anyone observed that, yes, the Hong Kong “prolog” was overlong AND as weak as its subjects, but that the subsecquent “story” more than made up for it?
Also, that the villain was merely the instigator, and how “important” could a mere buksiness type be to the Japanese military?, and that dewy=eyed heroine was the raison-d’etre?
The amateurism of her sponsors seems less than likely to this viewpoint, but, then, I wasn’t there then.
And, bottom line as far as this rflick goes, it seems to me the entire scenario is encapsulated in that near-closing shot of the heroine glancing at her hero as the both of them are about to be consigned to the “rock quarry.”
Onlly one establisheing scene before, when she asked him, why didn’t you do this three years ago?
In light of the entire period’s genocide, this single thread of war is, to me at least, less than relevant, even as it is MORE than relevant to an appreciation and approximation of the ambivalence of sex AND politics, then as today.
Hey, Phil, Chung that is, you liked the flick?
Personally, I am absolutely polarized, both ends.