Man of Tai Chi (2013)

(Just released on Netflix streaming - released summer 2013 overseas and November 2013 in the US, though limited, I think.)

Ludicrous!  My first actual review in a movie blog and I think I'll be taken seriously if I write about a martial arts film starring Tiger Chen (who?) and Keanu Reeves, who also happens to be making this film his directorial debut.  You must have heard about it - Michael Cooney wrote it.  Wait, who?

I missed almost every Oscar worthy movie in 2013, but Man of Tai Chi... yeah, I saw it.

First, please give me the benefit of the doubt - you stick to the subject matter with which you're most familiar.  Anything testosterone driven has me at "Hello."  I had heard about the movie eons ago and it finally popped up on the list of on-demand Netflix streams, so I had to give it a chance.  Plus, I absolutely couldn't resist the temptation of... Keanu Reeves - Director.

Second, that said, *it wasn't that bad*.  I can't believe I wrote that and I'll even write it again for good measure - it wasn't that bad.  I didn't jump out of my seat at any point during the movie, but I'll give it it's due.

Man of Tai Chi, briefly, is about a Tai Chi student (Tiger Chen) who inadvertently becomes involved in an underground, reality-show fight club, directed by a blood-thirsty businessman (Keanu Reeves) who won't let the student leave without paying a very deadly price.  Ugh.

The easiest thing to say about the movie is that, overall, it felt like a video game.  Anybody can say and write that because, if you spend the energy to find out "Who the hell is Michael Cooney?", then you'll see he has almost nothing to his name but shorts and video games.  And that's absolutely fine.  The movie has a very standard plot - student gets roped into something he knows he shouldn't (and against his master's good lessons) because he needs the money for noble causes - simply to move the film from fight scene to fight scene.  And as the character travels further along this standard, but tried-and-true, plot, the danger becomes greater and culminates with an "end boss" scene.  It's no Ip Man, but it's definitely not a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat.  So I can't fault Cooney for writing a perfectly mediocre film and putting it into the hands of -

Keanu Reeves.  Maybe I'm more forgiving of this man than others.  If he's in an action film, I'll watch it.  Now, if he's associated with an action film, I'll watch it.  He's had enough action movies under his belt so that, if he's given a film that's not expecting much from its director, he can deal with it.  There were no twists and no real surprises... everything was fairly linear.  The scenes were straightforward, the landscapes weren't grand, the dialogue was sufficient, and the fighting was very well choreographed and filmed.

And the casting was certainly to his benefit - the member with the least amount of credit to his name was Tiger Chen, who performed solidly throughout the entire film.  The supporting cast (Karen Mok, Simon Yam), those primarily consisting of the police force looking to take down the illegal fight club, are well-established and required little direction to make them work.  The worst actor in the film, solely in my opinion - Keanu.  Of course, it was Keanu!  But as long as he's not making A Walk in the Clouds 2 (please burn my eyes out now), it works.  The roles tend to work for Keanu, not the other way around.  There always seems to be something around his characters that make me forget how bad Reeves is.  The Matrix?  Sure, Neo needs to take the stick out of his ass, but... he's "The One."  Point Break?  Johnny Utah is a fish on land, but who cares... he's hanging with Bodhi and the cool kids!

*I was going to say, "The action (only) roles tend to work for Keanu," but that's not necessarily true.  He's been board-stiff in plenty of roles and they've worked fine for him - The Replacements is still a guilty pleasure of mine.  A Scanner Darkly is also on my rewatch list (granted, also containing Robert Downey, Jr.).  And if you try to tell me you flip the channel when Bill & Ted's is on, you're a liar.

So, don't expect much.  Typical video game, action movie: one good guy, one bad guy, action scene after action scene, straight-forward story arc (good guy innocent, good guy hangs with bad lunch crowd, good guy falls from grace, good guy redemption).  It had just enough heart to make me feel like I hadn't wasted my time at the end, which was refreshing.  Try saying that about the Expendables.

If you're looking for a decent fight film with a character that you can root for, but a bad guy you can give or take, then put your Keanu prejudices at the door and see this film.  You'll get more believable action than a generic Jason Stathom flick (and I love those) and a hero you can get behind.