Man of Tai Chi (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Keanu Reeves
	Actors: Tiger Hu Chen, Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix 1-3), Karen Mok
	Country: USA, CN, HK
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 06.12.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Tiger Chen (Chen) wishes to promote Tai Chi as a powerful Martial Art and displays his talent at a competition on TV. He is spotted by Donaka Mark (Reeves) who is looking for a new star in his underground boxing tournament.
Review: On the same year as 47 Ronin, it is funny to see that Keanu Reeves was starring in another Martial Arts movie for the first time since his noticeable performance in The Matrix. It is also funny that he looks younger and more energetic in 47 Ronin while in Man of Tai Chi he surprisingly plays a bad guy with a purpose, and does so quite well. Contrarily to what the poster suggests, he is not at all one of the main fighters of the movie. Tiger Hu Chen however is and I liked his style, different from the Thai style made popular in the last decade, and in fact showing a more traditional fighting style like in the "Old-School" Wu Xia Pian films of the Shaw Brothers for example. This is obvious not only in the fighting style but also in parts of the story (the Master and his training), the scenery (traditional temple), the stunts (just wired enough) and the cinematography (zooms on the faces). All of this is quite appreciable and may be due to a Sino-American co-production and the influence of Keanu Reeves in his directorial debut. I could however criticize the extreme simplicity of some scenes and character's reactions (influence of the Chinese cinema?) and some confusing ellipses, in particular one that made me loose the track of the story for a few minutes.
Rating: 6 /10