We are fans here at the FCU of actor Keanu
Reeves, not so much for his filmography, but because he seems
like such a nice and genuine person. And since most of
us know that Mr. Reeves isn't the greatest actor around, I
tend think that this persona of his is true. But even if
we might question Keanu's acting ability, it's still a unique
style that is all his own, and that really isn't something
anyone can legitimately debate. Today we are privy to
see Keanu Reeves directing debut with this film 'Man of Tai
Chi', and from what I can tell after watching 'Man of Tai Chi'
is that it looks like, at least, that Mr. Reeves was paying a
little attention to what was going on the other side of the
camera of the plethora of films he has appeared in.
Keanu assumes the role of Donaka Mark, an American living in
Hong Kong who does something or another that pays him an awful
lot of money, which allows him to reside in a dope sky-rise
apartment building, drive lots of nice cars and fly his own
private plane. In his spare time, Donaka likes to host
illegal closed circuit fights, and while these fights look to
be lucrative, the money doesn't seem to matter to the man, but
more so the theater of the individuals involved. The
individual that Donaka was using as a headliner for his fight
game won't be of much use to him at the moment, he kind of
fell on a knife over and over again, so now Donaka will need a
new person to attempt to corrupt.
This introduces us to Tiger Chen, as played by Tiger
Chen. We must assume that during production, Mr. Chen
had difficulty answering to any other name, so they just
called by his regular name. Tiger is attempting to
become a master of the discipline of Tai Chi, but his sensei
Master Yang (Yu Hai) feels a disconnect in his young
pupil. Part of this disconnect could be that Tiger feels
Tai Chi is more than exercise and a path to internal peace,
but can also be a viable combat martial art. He even
enters a local martial arts competition and proves this to be
the case, which brings him to the attention of Donaka.
You are probably familiar with the
routine. Donaka asks Tiger to fight for him, offers up
boatload of cash, Tiger politely refuses, Donaka puts a few
subtle things in motion which will force Donaka, of his own
imagined free will, to fight for him, and now the young man is
seduced by the money, the notoriety, and the feeling of power
that can only come by having pockets full of money and beating
people near to death.
While Donaka is entertained by Tiger's descent, all he really
cares about is the endgame. Complete Corruption.
And without that, it's all been a waste of time, and Donaka
Mark doesn't like wasting his time. Somehow, someway,
he's going to make this young man do what he wants. The
showdown looms.
For his first foray into narrative storytelling, director
Reeves certainly isn't taking too many chances with 'Man of
Tai Chi' as this is about as straightforward and as linear as
an action film can get, and this is a simplicity that we can
appreciate. No need to reinvent the wheel, no need to
get cute, just give the fans what they want and then get out
of town. Now of course it takes that little extra, that
little special something that we've never seen before or
a special re-imaging of something we've seen before that
will make a movie great, which 'Man of Tai Chi' is not, but it
is solid, action filled, martial arts entertainment.
First order of business, cast yourself a super athletic lead
who can kick ass and hopefully act a little bit. One out
of two ain't so bad. Tiger Chen isn't so much a bad
actor, just one that's not all the compelling to watch, unless
of course he's beating somebody up. Considering he's our
main character and our emotions are designed to be caught up
in his plight, Chen simply didn't have the emotional range to
bring us into this plight of his. At least in our
opinion. This just might be the opposite for Reeves
character of Donaka Mark, as Keanu Reeves just might be a bad
actor, but to the contrary, he's almost always compelling to
watch because he does possess a certain amount of screen
presence which demands your attention. The casting
office also had the foresight to cast Hong Kong acting
veterans, and personal favorites of ours in Karen Mok as the
cop investigating Donaka, and Simon Yam as her boss. And
since it is Simon Yam in a movie, chances are he's up to no
good. These actors didn't have much to do in this movie,
but their presence was appreciated.
Second order of business, see if Yuen Wo-ping is available to
choreograph the fight sequences. He was, and the fight
sequences are clearly the most impressive thing about
this movie, and Reeves the director did an admirable job in
filming these sequences, which is made all the more impressive
with the limited use of wire work. The cinematography
was also a cut above, with most of the movie given to a hazy
muted grey tone which highlights the overall darkness of the
subject matter, except for a few of the fight scenes which are
slick and hyper colorful.
'Man of Tai-Chi' isn't a special film or a ground breaking
film, but it was an entertaining film, highly so if one were
to ask me. Assuming this is Keanu Reeves new calling in
life, I will be looking forward the next project he chooses to
take on.
