It’s so fun to watch a movie when you are a big group! We consumed 1.5 rows of the movie theatre and we even hanged out just to discuss what we thought of the movie afterwards. It was just full of fun, fun, and fun!
Everyone voted for Man of Tai Chi when there were bigger movies showing in the cinemas. The consensus is that people tend to want to watch those blockbuster movies with their special someone and leave the not-so-popular movies for night outs with colleagues. You know what? Man of Tai Chi turned out to be a very entertaining movie that we ended up enjoying a whole bunch of it.
We also had our picture taken of us having a tai chi pose. The bonding was that successful and we all enjoyed the night, the company and yes, the movie 🙂
Photo by my colleagues Carlos & Anna
Spoiler alert!
Man of Tai Chi is the story of Tiger Chen, a Tai Chi student. He works as a courier by day, learns english on his way to work by listening to the radio and lives a very simple life. In his off hours, he meets with his Tai Master from Lingkong School of Tai Chi in a 600-year old temple to further hone his Tai Chi skills. Like superhero.
Tiger joins a martial arts competition to show the world that Tai Chi is not being used just for exercise. During that competition, he’s discovered by Donaka (Keanu Reeves) and lures Tiger to join his underground fight club as a fighter. Tiger Chen initially rejects Donaka’s offer but was forced to participate due to an urgent need of cash to save the Tai Chi temple that his master has guarded for years. As Tiger continues to join the illegal fights, the killer instinct in him is released. Will he be able to control it?
Overall, I really liked the film. I guess I went inside not having any expectations apart from seeing Keanu in the screen again after a very long time. If you’re someone who analyses films that you watch and wants to further understand each major character’s story then you’ll be disappointed.
Man of Tai Chi is a very simple film. Actually, I think it’s a collection of different fighting techniques which most martial arts fans would love. If you love action, wresting and martial arts, then you will definitely love Man of Tai Chi because 80% of the film is all action, action & action!
For girls who swoon on Keanu Reeves, you won’t be disappointed! He didn’t change at all! In fact, if there is someone who mastered the fountain of youth, Keanu must be it! Boy, he didn’t age at all. Upon watching the film, I was actually laughing my heart out because in spite of several punches to his face, he didn’t seem to have any scars, blood or anything, it’s like his face is insured or something. It was really funny! You’ll notice it when you get to watch Man of Tai Chi. But of course, this is not new to anyone, Keanu still has the same emotionless expression 😛
This is Keanu’s directorial debut. While lacking in plot, I believe Man of Tai Chi is a decent film to watch. It’s good to know that Keanu made the movie in honor of Tiger Chen (coincidentally same name as the film character) after having worked with him in the Matrix franchise. Tiger was Keanu Reeves’ trainer and was mostly responsible for the stunts in movies like Matrix and Kill Bill.
As a bonus (at least for me), I’m very happy to see my favourite Chinese stars acting on the big screen (i.e., Karen Mok and Simon Yam).
My Rating for Man of Tai Chi: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I mistook the Tai Chi dude for Stephen Chow. 😀