divemaster13
Member: Rank 4
The Young Master (1980)
Jackie Chan's first directorial effort, made just prior to Chan's foray into Hollywood (The Big Brawl; Cannonball Run, etc.). Typical Chan silliness and prop-fighting (fan; wooden bench; cane), interspersed with hand-to-hand "tumbling" and acrobatic kung fu. Better than some; not as good as others. Could have dialed back on the silliness a bit, if they wanted my opinion.
Chan and "older brother" are orphans in the martial arts school, which is sortof the laughingstock of the town. Like Northwestern in the Big 10, or Vanderbilt in the SEC. Not highly regarded. And it's worse for them when "older brother" gets paid off to throw the Lion Dance competition. He gets kicked out of the school and falls in with the wrong crowd. Chan goes out to redeem his honor and bring him back into the fold. That involved a lot of fights (and silliness). He has to match skills with Yuen Bao and also Lily Li (who played the mother in 8 Diagram Pole Fighter).
Some good fights, and the story is serviceable. The soundtrack relies almost exclusively on Gustav Holst's The Planets. So if you want to watch kung-fu fighting set to Mars, the Bringer of War or Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, here's your chance. Not bad, but Chan has done better.
3 stars
Jackie Chan's first directorial effort, made just prior to Chan's foray into Hollywood (The Big Brawl; Cannonball Run, etc.). Typical Chan silliness and prop-fighting (fan; wooden bench; cane), interspersed with hand-to-hand "tumbling" and acrobatic kung fu. Better than some; not as good as others. Could have dialed back on the silliness a bit, if they wanted my opinion.
Chan and "older brother" are orphans in the martial arts school, which is sortof the laughingstock of the town. Like Northwestern in the Big 10, or Vanderbilt in the SEC. Not highly regarded. And it's worse for them when "older brother" gets paid off to throw the Lion Dance competition. He gets kicked out of the school and falls in with the wrong crowd. Chan goes out to redeem his honor and bring him back into the fold. That involved a lot of fights (and silliness). He has to match skills with Yuen Bao and also Lily Li (who played the mother in 8 Diagram Pole Fighter).
Some good fights, and the story is serviceable. The soundtrack relies almost exclusively on Gustav Holst's The Planets. So if you want to watch kung-fu fighting set to Mars, the Bringer of War or Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, here's your chance. Not bad, but Chan has done better.
3 stars