20131005: Action Review--Wing Chun

Wing Chun

1. Fundamentals
1. Hong Kong live action feature length film, 1994, NR, 95 minutes, action-adventure. Spoken language is Cantonese; subtitles in English.
2. IMDB: 6.9/10.0 from 2,100 users;
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No score yet,' and 72% from 2,623 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.7/5.0 from 113,958 users.
5. Directed by: Yuen Wo Ping; screenplay by Elsa Tang and Anthony Wong.
6. Starring: Michelle Yeoh as Yim Wing Chun, Donnie Yen as Leung Pok To, King-tan Yuen as Abacus (Aunty) Fong, Catherine Hung as Charmy Mang, Chui Siu Keung as Flying Chimpanzee, Lee Chi Hung as Wong Hok Chow.


2. Setup and Plot
1. I saw Michelle Yeoh first in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), next in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), then in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) before I saw her in the film under review, Wing Chun (1994).


2. In the first three films, hers was a strong, polished presence, showing an accomplished actor capable of nuance as well as swift direct action.  The 1997 and 2000 films showed her physical prowess as well, but by the 2005 film, her acting alone was impressive.


3. Wing Chun was a bit of a pleasant surprise.  The screenplay, the direction, and the production values clearly did not make full use Yeoh's abilities.  On the other hand, it was funny, sweet, and moved along to a pleasant conclusion.  The screenplay and the other actors were just good enough to carry the film to the next part where Yeoh was present.


4. Wing Chun the character was a woman who had moved away from her early home to study kung fu in seclusion.  Later in life, she was fine with helping protect from bandits the town where Aunty Fong did business.  She expected to live out her life with her dignity, but not have a husband.


5. Life changed for her when her childhood sweetheart Pok To rolled into town; she recognized him, but he did not recognize her, which started a sequence of misadventures.


6. The leader of the bandits (Flying Chimpanzee) gets discouraged with being thwarted by Wing Chun, and decided to make a cause of her.  This involved lots of choreographed kung fu fighting, fighting with weapons, fighting on horseback, and so on.


7. The fighting and the romantic entanglements resolve in ways that were happy for almost everyone.


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Action-adventure film also works well as romantic comedy.
2. Four stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 9/10 Very good in most of the film.


2. Sound: 8/10 Fine, except for the over the top foley for the fighting sequences.


3. Acting: 8/10 The main players were fine, but many of the supporting cast not as much.


4. Screenplay: 8/10 This is the best comedy I've seen in many years.