Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 11:32 pm
It kind of felt like I got to watch a film maker learn how to make a movie while I watched his movie.
Some of the opening fights actually had stop-motion gimmicks where the video and sound would pause for 3 seconds so we could truly appreciate one move or another.... which wouldn't have been so bad if most of the karate wasn't so sloppy. A lot of it had the kinetic visual effect of a 4th grade schoolyard slap fight with the old kung fu "kapow" sound effects. At least the stop-motion stuff stopped happening after the first 15 minutes, or so.
Some of the many vs. 1 fights felt like the director said, "Just pretend to hit each other with sticks for the next 2 and a half minutes."
And their time frames didn't add up. They said time and again that there was something that happened 10 years ago, and the only way the ending made any sense is if it happened 20 years ago. I had the twist figured out except for the timeline not making sense.
And then, they throw in a ham fisted "something to grow on" message at the end.
I may be taking a break from the kung fu movies. The bad stuff I have been getting lately is making it feel more like a chore than a pleasure.
Probably the most interesting thing about this movie is that in this old chinese stuff you have no idea if the flick is taking place in 1270 or 1970 until you see the power lines.
Some of the opening fights actually had stop-motion gimmicks where the video and sound would pause for 3 seconds so we could truly appreciate one move or another.... which wouldn't have been so bad if most of the karate wasn't so sloppy. A lot of it had the kinetic visual effect of a 4th grade schoolyard slap fight with the old kung fu "kapow" sound effects. At least the stop-motion stuff stopped happening after the first 15 minutes, or so.
Some of the many vs. 1 fights felt like the director said, "Just pretend to hit each other with sticks for the next 2 and a half minutes."
And their time frames didn't add up. They said time and again that there was something that happened 10 years ago, and the only way the ending made any sense is if it happened 20 years ago. I had the twist figured out except for the timeline not making sense.
And then, they throw in a ham fisted "something to grow on" message at the end.
I may be taking a break from the kung fu movies. The bad stuff I have been getting lately is making it feel more like a chore than a pleasure.
Probably the most interesting thing about this movie is that in this old chinese stuff you have no idea if the flick is taking place in 1270 or 1970 until you see the power lines.