Tag: Mandarin Chinese

100 YARDS – Review

A scene from 100 YARDS. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

For many of us, the first thought the title 100 YARDS evokes is of a football field. But this is a period Chinese martial arts drama that’s long on action and short on plot coherence. An old wushu master dies and designates his top student (Andy On) as his successor, rather than his son (Jacky Hueng). Both are top-notch fighters, but the old boy thinks the future of their discipline is bleak in the early 20th century, and that his scion should embrace the region’s burgeoning international economy by becoming a banker. Jacky don’t like that none.

The tedious story involves periodic flareups between the two guys, plus threads involving a gang of slingshot-wielding dock workers, a council of martial arts elders, a handful of foreigners and probably others I’m forgetting. It covers China at a time of its opening up to economic and social influences from abroad, sexism, racism and fading traditions.

But it doesn’t cover any of them well. That’s primarily because there’s no emotional hook to be found. This is a genre that reliably plies the waters of good underdogs overcoming evil despite long odds. But this script never makes that distinction even remotely clear. Viewers won’t know who to root for, and may windup switching allegiances a few times as the story unfolds. The solution might be to just enjoy the first-rate sets and costumes, while waiting for the next fight.

The action is the only big asset here. Many sequences are superbly choreographed – several on a large scale. The gritty clashes are fast-paced without wire work, exotic weapons or prominent CGI enhancers. Those scenes are satisfyingly energetic, piling up a hefty body count without showing much blood and gore. The clashes are reminiscent of Hong Kong chopsocky flicks of the 1970s, when budget limitations generally kept the physical bits more within human capabilities for most of the productions.

One could derive the perks of this one by fast-forwarding through the talky parts, allowing the fine action portion to shine. Since the dialog won’t steer your loyalties, anyway, why not just cherry-pick the goodies?

100 YARDS, in Mandarin with English subtitles, is available on digital formats from WellGo USA starting Tuesday, Feb. 18.

RATING: 1 out of 4 stars

A LEGEND – Review

A scene from A LEGEND, starring Jackie Chan. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

I’ve been such a huuuge Jackie Chan fan for so long I never pass up one of his releases, even though he’s been largely coasting on fumes for a while. In his prime, no one from ANY country crafted and executed scintillating action with comedy and charm like he did. But he turned 70 last spring (April 7, for those who want to celebrate his next birthday), and understandably can’t do what he did in front of the cameras, despite the amazing degree of agility and stamina he still has after so many years and so many injuries.  Just what’s been recorded in the legion of outtakes during decades of credits would have killed most mortals – including the dudes from those “Jackass” programs.

A LEGEND is a dramedy that dives into historical fantasy, as present-day archeology professor Jackie pursues ancient artifacts in a mostly wrap-around format, with elaborate staging of ancient battles between the Han Dynasty and the Huns, all triggered by finding a key relic from that era. Jackie and his students have the same recurring dreams about those ancient events, in which they looked exactly like several of the main figures. A much younger-looking Jackie was a general for, of course, the good guys. Events of the two periods are paralleled, as the quest for a hidden treasure-filled, power-granting cache drives both eras’ plot-lines.

The story is rather stale and much longer than it needed to be. It runs over two hours for maybe 90 minutes worth of content, with too much exposition dragging down the pace. But several battle scenes are epic in scale, backed by some gorgeous art design. In those major clashes, there’s considerably more blood and gore than in most of Jackie’s films. There’s also considerable CGI mastery in the mix, NOT including whatever they did to make Jackie look young in the historical sequences. Joan Rivers’ plastic surgeon delivered a more realistic appearance than what he got.

Throughout the film, most of the action, drama and romance are carried by Jackie’s handful of rather bland young co-stars, with relatively little of the Jackie we’ve all admired. But in the climactic sequence, he’s back for a typically frenetic fight with fast action and some of his signature comedic reactions. Patience with all that went before is rewarded… at last.

Several lyrical scenes rival the likes of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON for color and scope. One might enjoy this even more by fast-forwarding through chunks of dialog for undiluted focus on the good stuff.

A LEGEND, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, is available on digital Bl-Ray or DVD from Well Go USA starting Tuesday, Jan. 21.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars