Tai ji: Zhang San Feng (1993)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Woo-ping Yuen

Writer:

Kwong Kim Yip (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 November 1993 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Une rencontre de légende

Plot:

Jet Li was a monk in Shaolin. In a friendly competition for a higher place in Shaolin, his childhood...

Plot Keywords:

Shaolin | Tai Chi | China | Revenge | Martial Arts

Cast

Jet Li	...	Junbao
Michelle Yeoh	...	Siu Lin
Siu-hou Chin	...	Chin Bo (as Chin Siu Ho)
Fennie Yuen	...	Miss Li (as Fannie Yuen)
Cheung-Yan Yuen	...	Rev. Ling (as Yuen Cheung Yan)
Shun Lau	...	Master Jueyuan (as Lau Shun)
Hai Yu	...	Head Master

Also Known As:

Twin Warriors (UK) (USA) (DVD title)
The Tai-Chi Master (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for martial arts violence.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Eastern Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jet Li is kicking a ball against a wall, the wall breaks before the ball hits it.

Quotes:

Junbao: Enough! Stop living in your past! What do you think you're doing here? Stop shoving me away! The past is what makes up who we are. Don't let it become your burden.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "HBO First Look: Making 'Romeo Must Die' (#7.3)" (2000)

Jet Li's best and most definitive Shaolin film

Twin Warriors is without a doubt Jet's Li's finest Shaolin movie. This movie has it all: friendship, love, betrayal, corruption, murder, and comedy, not to mention the kung fu Style of Shaolin which will never cease to amaze, bewilder, and captivate the viewer.

The plot itself is simple and easy to follow. Junbao and Chin Bo are misfit friends inside a Shaolin temple. Feeling both ambitious and outcast form the others in the temple, these two secretly practice kung fu while performing menial tasks such as sweeping the temple floor and doing laundry. Things come to head when Chin Bo takes things a little too far during a kung fu initiation, attacking a master with some of the master's own secret kung fu moves.

Forced to leave the temple Junbao and Chin Bo are forced to live as street entertainers, demonstrating their kung fu and ability to absorb punishment for money. That is until the Government wants a cut of that money. It's at this point that that the yin and yang relationship develops between Junboa and Chin Bo, one sticking to the virtues of Shaolin, while the other becomes a corrupt power hungry officer of the provincial army. The struggle between good and evil that rips two old friends apart is masterfully captured in this movie. Thankfully there are two key elements of the movie that save it from being a depressing tale about a friendship gone awry.

The first element of relief is comedy. While this is by no means a funny movie, there is a fairly long segment where Junbao becomes insane and partakes in some hilarious shenanigans. First he believes he is a duck and hides underwater in a fountain. Then he believes a pillar that holds up a building is his long lost Shaolin master. He even get mad when at a weeble-wobble `Mr. Tao' doll when it will not answer his questions. This comic relief is much needed, saving the film form being depressing.

The second element that makes this film a must see: The incredible martial arts sequences. From beginning to end this movie is packed with the best kung fu I have ever seen in a movie. So many different styles and techniques are used, and jet Li makes them all look as if they were child's play. Fight sequences are beautifully choreographed putting the ART back into martial Arts. I highly recommend this film for any casual or die hard fan of Jet Li, he is simply amazing in this film 10/10 stars!