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Drunken style vs Thunderleg!
Drunken Master reunited Jackie Chan with much of the cast and crew from Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow from March of the same year. This time Chan played a mischievous Wong Fei Hung who much against his will was forced to be the student of Drunken Master Beggar So/Sam Seed. He was finally motivated to improve his skills and become serious with his training when confronted by Hwang Jang Lee’s Thunderleg!Wong Fei Hung seems to make or find trouble wherever he goes. His exasperated father calls upon Uncle So to train or break the young man before he causes trouble he and the family cannot get out of. At first WFH doesn’t take the training too seriously until he is humiliated by the deadly Thunderleg who considers him unworthy of killing. The requisite training scenes follow along with a couple of test fights before he’s finally able to face Thunderleg in the grand finale.
The beginning of the film dragged with Uncle So only showing up around the 45-minute mark. That’s not to say there weren’t entertaining fights in that time. Chan had a memorable fight with Tino Wong in the market place and then later against his toady in the Wong school. The real highlight was when Wong put the moves on a girl in town and her mom schooled him in kung fu and manners. Linda Lin Ying was a delight to watch sparring with Chan. There were a couple of “comic” scenes and fight scenes that didn’t serve much of a purpose though. The story kicked into gear when Uncle So arrived and showed Wong his weaknesses. A 66-year-old Simon Yuen really found his hallmark role with the drunken master. Still nimble and energetic he held his own against the kung fu clown. Hwang Jang Lee’s Thunderleg was properly menacing and he showed why he was the most feared kicker in Hong Kong. At least he didn’t accidentally kick out one of Chan’s teeth like he did in the previous film!
The best part about movies like this was that there was almost no wire-fu. Utilizing wide angles and long takes you could watch people who actually knew how to do the moves and weren’t faking it with lots of editing and closeups. There was also no kung fu posing. The moves were relatively fast and fluid with each fight showcasing different skills. Yuen Woo Ping and Hsu Hsia provided the fight choreography. Hsu made an appearance as the King of Sticks fighting both Yuen and Chan with, what else, a long stick.
This was not a movie with much plot, not even a secret book or list and nary a rebel to be found. Most people, including myself, don’t worry about the plot much as long as the fights were entertaining and Drunken Master succeeded in that goal. They were well choreographed and shot. Although it had comedic moments it wasn’t over the top slapstick as some kung fu comedies could be. I liked this movie quite a bit better than Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. While Wong Fei Hung could be cocky and annoying at times, he also faced consequences for his actions propelling him slowly but surely into being a better fighter and human being. Drunken Master ran a little long but the inventive fight sequences by compelling characters more than made up for it.
11/20/23
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