REVIEW: The Tai-Chi Master (1993)

Portraying legendary tai chi chuan founder Zhang San-feng in this wire-enhanced kung fu extravaganza from screen fighting master Yuen Woo-ping is Jet Li who joins Michelle Yeoh in a vicious fight against a eunuch overlord (Sun Jian-kui) and his ruthless lieutenant as played by MR. VAMPIRE star Chin Siu-ho. Through a sometimes uneasy mixture of the Yuen Clan’s nonsense humor and endlessly creative and intense high-wire action emerges an entertaining yet lightweight martial arts actioner that serves as a warm up to the matured Yuen-Li collaboration in Ronnie Yu’s superior FEARLESS.

As is often the case with China’s kung fu originators, little is known about the real Zhang San-feng and his known exploits are more embellished folklore than history. All that really matters regarding facts is that the film is dealing with the founder of an internal martial art with roots in Taoism and Buddhism. In this, Yuen Woo-ping is successful by depicting Zhang from his early life as a Shaolin monk to anti-government rebel and enlightened martial arts master adapting naturalistic Taoist principles to create what would become tai chi.

For Jet Li, who also acted as producer on the film, THE TAI-CHI MASTER is one of his earliest attempts to reveal the true nature of Chinese martial arts. In the film, a contrast between the righteous and worldly paths is depicted by the evolving relationship between San-feng (Li) and his friend Tian-bao (Chin Siu-ho). Both grow up as monks at Shaolin Temple but from the very start it is established that Tian-bao’s mind is tainted. Although possessing the knowledge of Buddhist thought, he continues to see the world in a secular view and once exposed to it is quick to seize on any opportunity to seek power, fame and fortune while willingly soiling his own pride in the process. He uses his strength and physical abilities to further his ambitions at the expense of others by joining the military and ruthlessly working his way up the chain of command.

San-feng represents the ideal Chinese warrior-scholar mentality often displayed by righteous heroes in martial arts movies and novels. Although humble enough to accept a job as a lowly restaurant waiter, he refuses to bow down to corrupt tax collectors. His fighting skills are applied to combating the injustices of a corrupt official which ultimately pits him squarely against his friend.

On another level, the film is a relational study of how two friends with a shared past can become bitter enemies. As primarily an action director, Yuen Woo-ping is not known for his skill at directing drama and his take on San-feng’s internal struggle to come to terms with the betrayal he suffers from Tian-bao is simplistic and ultimately veers back to comfortable territory, namely screwball comedy lifted from his ’80s kung fu movies. After being betrayed by Tian-bao and forced to fight him in order to rescue fellow rebel Qiu Xue (Michelle Yeoh), San-feng retreats into himself and becomes a buffoon, unwilling and unable to cope with the situation.

Enter Yuen Woo-ping’s real-life brother Cheung-yan, as a struggling student of Taoism and fellow rebel who inadvertently exposes San-feng to principles in Taoism that play a vital role in San-feng’s recovery and development of tai chi. What the film does only on a superficial level is show how a holistic and nature approach to martial arts development can be used to both combat external aggression from others and internal conflict from within. By coming to the realization that the body can work in concert with the natural flow of what is essentially basic laws of physics to enhance power, balance and focus, San-feng regains his senses and emerges better equipped to deal with Tian-bao.

Interestingly, Tian-bao is not shown to be a stranger to internal fighting, even though much of his movements rely on external strength and outward aggression. Shaolin training has its own set of internal study apart from Wudang and Taoist thought. Tian-bao is shown secretly learning a Buddhist Palm attack that relies on the build up of qi energy. He also engages in a “pushing hands” exercise with San-feng which is a common element of tai chi training. He is even given a book by his master that deals specifically with the flow of qi energy in an effort to quell his restless mind. All these examples appear to be a conscious effort by Li and Woo-ping to establish the fact that Tian-bao was given the opportunity to follow the same path as San-feng but instead chose to abandon what turns out to be the most important aspects of his training.

Action sequences in THE TAI-CHI MASTER are first-rate examples of the creative wire use that was widely administered to help revitalize kung fu movies in the early 1990s. Prior to the hugely successful release of Tsui Hark’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA in 1991, wirework had been primarily used in wuxia filmmaking where fantasy movements first described by genre novelists were adapted to the screen. By 1993, it was not only accepted but standard procedure to have previously grounded kung fu stars rigged up and flying through the air in ever more sophisticated and elaborately choreography aerial displays.

As skilled as Li and Yeoh both are at screen fighting, much of the credit for the success of their excellent physical performances in the movie rests with Yuen Woo-ping and his wire handling. Wirework is like marionette puppetry with human beings and the puppeteer is the action director who guides the handlers assigned to each wire, the positioning of the camera and the editing. Not counting his limited wirework in early ’80s films, this was Yuen’s fifth attempt at pure wire-powered kung fu action. For unrestrained creativity and complexity, it is second only to his phenomenal wire action in the previously released IRON MONKEY and stands equal to Corey Yuen’s kung fu wire mastery in FONG SAI YUK.

The action is not without fault. Today, quality prints available on digital home video reveal that nearly every rigged action shot in the movie plainly shows the wires that are hoisting the actors around. In this respect, Yuen Woo-ping’s creativity outstripped the technical limitations of an era before digital effects were available to erase wires in post-production editing. Once you start seeing the wires, it becomes a distraction that takes away from the action sequences.

Another glaring fault appears during a “luohan pole formation” depicted early on in the movie. Whether intentional or not, Yuen creates a terrific homage to the formation fight choreography seen in the classic kung fu era from action directors like Lau Kar-leung and Tong Gaai. Following a misunderstanding during a Shaolin competition, San-feng and Tian-bao find themselves facing an imposing formation attack designed to restrain a boxed-in opponent. The main gimmick is that a second line of monks are supposed to be standing on the shoulders of the first line to form in impenetrable wall. Yet in several shots, the second line of monks can be clearly seen standing on benches positioned in plain view behind the first line. Along with the visible wires, this hurts the presentation of the action no matter how impressive the rest of the sequence is. It’s like a magician accidentally revealing the secret behind his trick as he does it. We know it’s all a show but it’s no fun to be reminded of that fact when it’s not intended.

Are the revealed tricks behind some of the action scenes deal breakers? Heck, no. Yuen Woo-ping still manages to produce scene after scene of amazing fighting that truly makes an art form of wirework. Large group fighting that employs extras filled by hundreds of mainland Chinese military personnel is epic by Hong Kong movie standards of the day.

The high point of the movie occurs during the first fight between Jet Li and Chin Siu-ho. It’s basically your standard sword fight but done Yuen Woo-ping style, which means that it’s 10 times more dynamic and exaggerated than most anything crafted in the west. The dramatic intensity of this match up is extreme because we’re seeing two former best friends face each other for the first time and the set up of having Michelle Yeoh tied precariously to the top of a tower of logs that is coming apart as the two fighters battle on it ratchets up the excitement even further. Special attention is paid to the progressively degraded condition of the fighters’ swords. This is an element that is rarely seen in martial arts movies that involve a lot of weapons sparring. The reality is that most Chinese-made swords, particularly the flexible water song variety used in this scene, are not made to stand up to serious combat application for very long. Beyond that, in the context of this movie we have two opponents with unusual strength fighting with extreme ferocity. Seeing their blades degrade really adds a lot to this scene.

For their first time onscreen together, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh lack chemistry which is the opposite of what I thought when first viewing the movie nearly a decade ago. I’d have to say Yeoh was better matched with Jackie Chan in POLICE STORY 3. I’d lay blame on the script and possibly Yuen’s direction for failing to provide better material for the two actors to work with. There was an attempt to find common ground between their characters in their internal struggles but Yuen scuttles that with forced humor that Yeoh looks uncomfortable with. Yeoh doesn’t disappoint with her action scenes though, particularly against mainland wushu actor Sun Jian-kui.

Martial arts-trained actor and Shaw Brothers veteran Chin Siu-ho also makes a strong showing in arguably his finest role. Usually cast as a hero, likely because of his boyish good looks, he admirably plays the lead villain with gusto. He is an actor with great physical ability who usually lacks charisma and this is likely why he’s not better known in the west. Yet in this case, he delivers one of the best lead villain roles of any martial arts movie from the 1990s, in part because he actually starts out likable and ends up a real bastard. A big chunk of this movie rests on Chin’s shoulders and he carries it very well.

THE TAI-CHI MASTER is one of a handful of Hong Kong martial arts movies from the 1990s that prominently features mainland Chinese cast members, crew and shooting locations, a practice that began with Lau Kar-leung’s wushu classic MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN. THE TAI-CHI MASTER was mostly shot in Beijing and as a result features the talents of lesser-known mainland wushu champions such as Yu Hai and Sun Jian-kui, both of whom appeared in Li’s first movie SHAOLIN TEMPLE. Smaller roles are filled by mainlanders as well including an uncredited female fighter who goes against Yeoh. This practice continues 15 years later with unknown mainland wushu performers making limited appearances in Hong Kong-produced films such as INVISIBLE TARGET. The additional benefit of the mainland location is the large outdoor locations and historical buildings used in the movie.

While not essential, THE TAI-CHI MASTER is still a highly enjoyable entry in the wire-fu frenzy of the early 1990s. It’s also a showcase for some of Yuen Woo-ping’s most elaborate, albeit obvious wirework action and the dynamic capabilities of kung fu star Chin Siu-ho who holds his own against superstar Jet Li. The film marks Michelle Yeoh’s second appearance in a period kung fu movie after Ching Siu-tung’s BUTTERFLY & SWORD. She appeared even more prominently in Yuen Woo-ping’s similar wire-infused kung fu movie WING CHUN.