By Mark Pollard | Published October 20, 2009

The first trailer for action director Yuen Woo-ping’s TRUE LEGEND is here and it looks mighty fine, in fact, better than I had expected knowing that fantasy elements would be involved.

In the film, veteran wushu star Vincent Chiu (THE BLADE) returns to the big screen to portray legendary kung fu folk hero Su Qi-er, better known as Beggar Su, a wealthy man stripped of his riches by elements within the Qing government. Forced to become a beggar, he devotes his life to martial arts and reemerges as a hero crowed the “King of Beggars.”

Co-stars include mainland actress Zhou Xun, the late David Carradine, Michelle Yeoh, Jay Chou, Cung Le, Andy On, Conan Stevens, and Guo Xiaodong.

The film represents Yuen’s first highly anticipated solo directing dig since 1996. Prior to his work as a high-profile action director on films such as THE MATRIX, KUNG FU HUSTLE and KILL BILL, Yuen was one of Hong Kong’s top kung fu filmmakers with a long track record of hits ranging from SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW (1978) through IRON MONKEY (1993).

In a recent production diary entry posted on the film’s official site, Yuen talks about a fight sequence in the film between Chiu and Andy On (BLACK MASK 2) that was originally supposed to be set on a ship but ended up being moved to a massive waterfall in Shanxi Province. This sequence can be briefly seen in the trailer at about the one-minute mark. What isn’t shown in the brief footage is that the combatants are fighting on a shaky wooden platform built right over the turbulent water. Yuen reveals that extra precautions were put into place, including the use of extra wires, to ensure that nobody fell off. More of the sequence appears in the first teaser trailer.

TRUE LEGEND has the look of a true Yuen Woo-ping production with highly imaginative characters and expertly choreographed and wire-enhanced martial arts action. The production design looks great. It’s creative and colorful with interesting locales yet earthy less pretentious and overbearing than typical mainland martial arts films. What I’m not seeing is a lot of special effects, cheesy slow-mo or excessive hyper editing which shows that Yuen hasn’t been corrupted by his years working in Hollywood alongside lesser action directors. Yuen truly is the Master and I cannot wait to see his first self-directed movie in nearly 15 years. In addition, I’m pleased to see Chiu back in the limelight. He was brilliant in Tsui Hark’s THE BLADE and should have gained the same recognition as fellow wushu stars Jet Li and Donnie Yen instead of fading back into TV roles. This could represent a second chance for him to step up as a leading kung fu star, especially now Li has shifted his energy to charity work and Yen is already planning his future retirement from the genre.

Another potential breakout performance could be from Andy On in the villain role. I’m especially liking his look in this movie. Not everyone looks good in a queue (pigtail with shaved scalp) but he’s rocking that thing, along with a pimped out period robe like no other.

Related Topics:
Jay Chou  •  Michelle Yeoh  •  True Legend (2010)  •  upcoming  •  Videos  •  Vincent Chiu  •  Yuen Woo-ping