REVIEW: Adventures of Johnny Tao (2007)

Martial artist Kenn Scott, best known for playing “Raphael” in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II, writes and directs this enjoyable family-oriented, martial arts fantasy actioner with above average fight choreography from Marcus Young (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA) and competent lead action performances from newcomer Matthew Twining, KAMEN RIDER: DRAGON KNIGHT star Matt Mullins and wushu-trained actress Chris Yen (GIVE ‘EM HELL, MALONE). It’s a low budget production with modest aims but like Steve Wang’s DRIVE, it gets a considerable boost from the passion and professionalism of the people involved in its creation, many of whom count among the best in the business.

Let’s get a roll call out of the way before proceeding so that it’s clear what kind of acting and action talent is behind this film. You’re not going to find many one million dollar productions that can boast having among their supporting cast and stunt crews James “Lo Pan” Hong, fight choreographer J.J. Perry (BLOOD AND BONE), Ilram Choi (UNDISPUTED III), Ron Yuan (FAST & FURIOUS), Mike Gunther (THE BOOK OF ELI), Larnell Stovall (BLACK DYNAMITE), Ryan Watson (X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE), Johnny Tri Nguyen (THE REBEL), Marcus Young (again), and other A-list talents I apologize for not listing in the interests of getting on with the review. Had a bomb gone off during production while all of these people were together, we would have lost a sizable percentage of the film industry’s top action talents working today. Thankfully, the film is bereft of dangerous pyrotechnics and all cast and crew survived unharmed, save the usual scrapes and bruises, to carry on their trade for our enjoyment.

ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO is a modern-day fable that mixes Taoist philosophy with Hong Kong-style fight choreography and a mash-up of classic 1980s-era, action-adventure film conventions drawn from, or akin to the likes of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, BUCKAROO BONZAI and THE LAST STARFIGHTER. It doesn’t have the budget of any of those films, nor is it as fully fleshed out in its conception but it shares with them a light-hearted and quirky vibe that shines through.

A demon spirit from ancient China is accidentally unleashed near a small desert town in America and starts possessing each of the townsfolk beginning with a simple-minded young man named Eddie (Mullins). The possessed victims become kung fu-fighting maniacs with a voracious appetite for… junk food. That’s right, no Hostess cake or doughnut is safe in this town.

The only hope of stopping this ravenous menace that threatens to turn an entire country of junk food-eating people into a country of cranky, junk food-eating people with red glowy eyes rests with lowly gas station owner Johnny Dow (Twining), a young man who has learned kung fu from watching old school kung fu movies. With hapless town Sheriff Lenny (Kelly Perine) and would-be sweetheart and town councilwoman Jenny (Lindsey Parker) backing him up, Johnny fights back.

Aiding Johnny is Mika (Yen), a young demonslayer from China who is tasked with recovering a lost demon-slaying Dragon Spear. As luck would have it, the spear, or at least part of it, now resides in Johnny’s possession as the custom-made head on the guitar once belonging to his missing, rockabilly-singing father. Once equipped with his father’s guitar, frilled leather jacket and the demonslayer spirit passed on to him by Mika, Johnny heads off for a final showdown inside a closed down fortune cookie warehouse where he faces off against his former best friend Eddie and the demon that resides within him.

The premise is intentionally hokey, particularly the doughnut-eating, demon-possessed people. According to Scott, the original idea was to have townspeople turn into zombies with some gory elements tossed in. He also wanted Johnny to wear an Elvis jumpsuit. Had it been made this way, it might have strayed into BUBBA HO-TEP territory with emphasis on kung fu fighting. Sounds like a great movie concept, however Scott’s final product is far more tame and compatible with the film’s positive Taoist themes and hopeful message of achieving success by believing in yourself. However, these same ideas, along with the demon possession angle, may turn off fundamentalist Christians. Apart from this, the film is fairly kid-friendly with no foul language, only mild POWER RANGERS-grade violence and only one death.

With so much action talent involved, the film possesses excellent fight sequences despite being a production rushed through a mere 25-day shoot. A lot of the previously mentioned stunt actors had only minor roles or cameos and some of them would be unrecognizable without the aid of Scott who points them out in his audio commentary on the MTI DVD release.

The film opens with a fight between the demon, oddly in armor reminiscent of a MORTAL KOMBAT costume, and a demon-slaying ancestor of Mika in ninja garb. The performers under the masks are fight choreographer Marcus Young and Johnny Tri Nguyen. It’s a decent, yet short fight that falls below the potential of both performers as far as I’m concerned. Interestingly, this sequence was a re-shoot of a fight shot three years earlier by Scott to help sell the movie to investors. The original sequence, available on the DVD release, is actually superior as it comes closer to capturing the kinetic style of ’90s-era Hong Kong action cinema. The newer version is watered down and this is pretty much what we get throughout the rest of the film with the exception of Matt Mullins’ sequences.

Mullins is truly a gifted screen fighter with plenty of charisma, who deserves to have his own starring action roles. Here he plays Eddie, the simpleton friend of Johnny who becomes leader of the demon-possessed band of townsfolk. He has two standout fights in the film, first with Chris Yen and later with Twining. In each fight, he displays a phenomenal range of sparring and acrobatic skills that in my mind put him on par with Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror. I’d love to see him end up in an Isaac Florentine movie.

Chris Yen, known among genre fans as the younger sister of Donnie Yen, has her first major role in this film after previously having a brief fighting role in the Hong Kong action comedy PROTÉGÉ DE LA ROSE NOIRE, co-directed by Donnie. It’s a great showcase for her wushu skills, learned under the tutelage of her mother, Master Bow Sim Mark, and reveals that screen-fighting talent runs in the family. The only drawback is Yen’s petite size. As is often the case with female fighters, she is having to match men much larger than her onscreen and it’s done in a very unrealistic fashion. Granted, this isn’t a realistic movie but I wouldn’t have minded seeing her rely more on deflective or qi-point Tai Chi moves rather than try to sell unrealistic power moves. But still, I would have much rather seen Ms. Yen star in STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI than Kristin Kreuk.

Marcus Young’s fight choreography is intentionally unrealistic and relies somewhat on wirework, although it’s arranged, shot and cut better than a lot of the action in big budget Hollywood films these days. It’s easy to follow the action and see that the performers, be they the actors or stunt doubles, have substantial skills. Some of the wirework is a bit excessive but it fits the tone of the movie. The fight work could have been better overall but it’s decent given the budget. I have a few minor gripes. One is that Johnny’s special “Dragon’s Flight” move is referenced several times but never comes into play in the final fight. Another is that Johnny is able to pick up anything resembling practical martial arts from watching kung fu movies. It’s too cliche and something I would expect to see in a Hollywood-produced Jackie Chan movie. The last time we saw that was in BULLETPROOF MONK and it didn’t help that movie either. My final gripe is in reference to the match up between Chris Yen and Matt Mullins. They both perform well in an obviously well rehearsed sequence but the weapons sparring between is weak. Mullins is wielding this large, cumbersome baseball bat with nails sticking out of the end while Yen has twin short swords, one in either hand. Mullins swings the bat with two hands, leaving himself repeatedly wide open. Yen could have easily deflected the bat with one blade and driven the other into just about any part of his body. The problem isn’t that she doesn’t do it, it’s that we’re allowed to see that she had the opportunity on more than one occasion. The only thing more annoying to me personally is seeing all of the possessed townsfolk attacking her one at a time.

Looking at Matthew Twining, I feel he could have a successful career as an action and martial arts star. While he has the least amount of martial arts training among the lead cast, he still performs many of his own moves and manages to keep up with the rest of the crew. On top of that, he’s got looks, acting chops and a lot of leading-man charisma. Unfortunately, he’s been off the radar for over two years since this movie came out but perhaps one day he’ll resurface.

Someone else I think we should see more of onscreen is J.J. “Loco” Perry. Word is he doesn’t like to act but he has the looks and manner of an actor. I could see him in more villain roles. Then again, if it distracts from him coming up with more kick ass action like we see in UNDISPUTED 2 and BLOOD AND BONE then he might as well stick to fight choreography.

Music in JOHNNY TAO plays an important role and on that count, Scott scores with some rockin’ rockabilly that ably sets the tone for the movie. I only wish the whole rock ‘n’ roll theme could have played a bigger role in the conflict then having Johnny hit the demon with his guitar. The impression is made that Johnny rides off into the sunset to fight more evil. Was he ever to return, I hope he comes packin’ some mean strumming. I’d still like to see more of Scott’s original vision on full display rather than the teaser that this film seems to be.

ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO is a modest film but well made within its means and worth at least a rental for some light-hearted, martial arts family fun, assuming no one is offended by demons with a serious sweet tooth. Minus the gore, the film reminds me of Jon Knautz’ horror actioner JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER, also released in 2007. They both rekindle the fun of campy, ’80s genre films with toned down but enjoyable results. The fighting action is entertaining, Chris Yen kicks butt and I almost guarantee you’ll want to hit up Dunkin’ Donuts or Krispy Kreme after watching a horde of zombie-like folks descend on a yard full of tasty-looking pastries. What’s not to like?