In fact, "Martial Arts" tells an old-fashioned story: the bloodthirsty Jianghu people retire from the Jianghu, retreat to the garden, but have no choice but to expose their identity. Only by fighting head-on (rather than feigning death) and killing the boss can they truly retire. But how can "Martial Arts" make the audience burst into laughter many times within 115 minutes? This is reflected in its cleverness of putting new wine in old bottles.
First of all, place the underworld movies with strong Hong Kong flavor in the relatively unfamiliar and symbolic border towns in Yunnan. There, the folk customs are simple, folk songs are sung, mantras are hoeed, the water is clear and grass is seen, natural waterfalls and other spectacle-style images are fascinating. It is in this large container that the old-fashioned martial arts story unfolds.
In the first half of the film, the Hong Kong-style nonsensical "dead grass" + CSI-style 3D animation reproduces the internal structure of the human body, so that the audience is attracted by the suspense and enjoys it. The second half returns to the usual kung fu boxing films and Hong Kong-style underworld films. Donnie Yen has been revived from the "Wu Xia" since the weakest BOSS in the history of the PK movie. In the play, Takeshi Kaneshiro is a combination of forensic medicine, case determination, and breaking the law. With a Chongqing accent, he blocks sympathy and pursues the supremacy of "law". He covers most of the laughing points in the whole film.
If this film is determined according to the grading system, it is at least PG level, not suitable for young children to watch, the picture is too bloody and dark: children will poison their parents, the heroine will kill the elderly at will, Donnie Yen breaks his arm, and his son is abused. , various flashback clips show human corpses hanging like livestock, children being beheaded, demonized jungles, earthworms twisting, flies flying around... "Martial Arts" is a mix of horror, post-industrial, suspense, Jianghu films, martial arts and other elements, this has to be attributed to the fact that the film was born in the era of "eyeball consumption" and the kitsch needs of exhibiting in Cannes. "Wuxia" also has its unique inheritance and development as a new martial arts movie.
Inheritance: martial arts return to their homeland
Chinese martial arts are the opposite of western cowboys. The former is always tired of wandering and looking for a home, reflecting the traditional Chinese ethics, and home is the ultimate destination of life; while the latter is a cowboy who arrives in a town to eliminate local bullies , continue to wander the world. Like "Wu Xia", the film echoes the beginning and the end, starting with the daily life segment of the family getting up in the morning and sitting around eating breakfast. However, at the beginning of the film, the crisis has not been resolved, it is temporarily stable, but the crisis is full of crises; Feel free to say what I have been afraid to say: I will be back at night - to strengthen the concept of "home" again. Donnie Yen, like all Chinese "Xiamen", chooses to abandon the dark and turn to the bright, from a cold "home" to a warm "home". The English translation of the title is actually Chinese pinyin. Wuxia is a unique hero in China, and only Chinese can express its inner meaning.
Innovation: Wuxia also tells science
stories is set in 1917, when a mere catcher could own a pocket watch. The use of the most traditional acupuncture and moxibustion in China and the use of Western scientifically created lightning rods resolves the traditional Chinese martial arts traditional moves of fighting with force, and uses the power of heaven to overcome strong enemies.
In any case, as a new martial arts movie 50 years after the golden age of Chinese martial arts movies, "Martial Arts" can be regarded as a breakthrough. Looking forward to Chen Kexin's next movie.
Written on 2011-7-5
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