The Film
As I watched Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, I had this odd feeling that I was watching a propaganda film. Whether intentional or not, the film reeks of chest-pounding on the part of the People's Republic and while I certainly understand the deep seated hatred on the part of the Chinese (my great-great grandma was a Chinese Jew) toward the Japanese who were horrible occupiers, it ruins the film to a certain extent. What should have been a really engaging WWI drama with fantastic action sequences is a confusing tale of China's involvement in the war and how it affected life in the 1920s. The film is based in Shanghai and while it looks great on a visual level, I'm not sure that it is a very accurate historical portrayal of how that city looked during that period.
Action superstar Donnie Yen (who played Chen Zhen in the Fist of Fury television series) reprises the role that Bruce Lee made famous in the original Fist of Fury and he's more than competent throughout the film. He may not command the screen like Bruce Lee but he's a joy to behold from an acrobatic angle and he's more like Jet Li (who has also played Chen Zhen) who made bouncing off walls and opponent's faces look easy. Yen, unfortunately, is seriously let-down by a weak script that doesn't pay enough attention the rest of the cast and one is left wondering what happened to the character development.
If you can get past the ethnocentric chest-pounding (not sure that this film would play too favorably with a Japanese audience), the film has some outstanding action sequences that are quite breathtaking. This feels like one of those films that had the potential to be outstanding but sadly is only average.
The Picture
The Sound
Action films are often offered with aggressive surround tracks that impress initially, but then become tiresome as one can only handle so much gunfire or screaming. When dialogue becomes secondary (which is often the case in most action films) to the sound effects, it's not always the best scenario for success. This film was originally recorded in Cantonese, so you're not crazy if you notice some lip synching issues while watching the Mandarin or English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes. It can certainly be distracting but it doesn't diminish the quality of the sound at all.
The surround mix has to be one of the most immersive lossless tracks I have heard this year; the opening war sequence will/should scare the family dog and leave you reaching for your jaw which will be on the floor. If you were impressed by the D-Day beach landing scene from Saving Private Ryan (which is still miles ahead of everything else), you'll be impressed by the effective use of the surrounds and LFE channel on this track; there is a lot going on but the sound quality never suffers.
When the film moves to Shanghai, the mix is more subdued, but the immersive quality of the mix remains strong. The action sequences are quite spectacular and you might get yelled at by your wife/girlfriend because you'll want to listen to this quite loud. Impressive and fun at the same time.
The Extras
The WellGo release of Legend of the Fist is being advertised as the Collector's Edition Blu-ray and it is one of those releases where you better hold onto the DVD because most of the bonus content has been placed there. The Blu-ray features two relatively short featurettes about the making of the film's elaborate sets and two theatrical trailers. The featurettes utilize time lapse photography and it's neat to watch the crew put the set together.
The supplemental content on the DVD is far more substantial; including a 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at how the fight sequences were choreographed and the rehearsal footage. There is also close to 50 minutes of interview footage with the director and the cast which certainly helped fill in some of the gaps -- why they didn't do it in the actual film is another issue.
Final Thoughts
Legend of the Fist has some fantastic sequences, but the film doesn't feel complete due to some sketchy editing and poor character development. Donnie Yen is the genuine article, but he doesn't command the screen with the same intensity of Bruce Lee or Jet Li and his solid performance is left hanging on a ledge by the filmmakers. The Blu-ray is one of the best of 2011 from a technical standpoint, offering breathtaking image quality and superlative surround sound -- it's just a shame that the film is only average. Recommended but you may want to rent before buying.
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