My Schoolmate, The Barbarian - 我的野蠻同學 (2001)

Edward (Stephen Fung) is transferred to a new school after an incident involving his ex-girlfriend. Not long after he butts heads with the school bullies and is forced into a fight. After losing, another student called Stone (Nicholas Tse) agrees to train him so he can better defend himself. Meanwhile Stone has to deal with Mantis (Samuel Pang) constantly challenging him in order to become The King Of Duel.

Wong Jing has always been a film maker for better or worse that can make a profit. Not a huge profit when compared to most Hong Kong film makers but enough so he can fund further projects. With a knack for being able to make movies very fast and very cheap, as well as being able to change scripts on the fly even when filming. Wong Jing has gained a reputation among fans as a director which you either love or you either hate. Especially when you consider the fact that he's worked with some of the top names in the HK film industry. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung and Chow Yun-Fat are just some of the people which he has worked with on a consistent basis.

My Schoolmate, The Barbarian is a film which sees him working with what were at the time two of the hottest young actors working in the industry, Nicholas Tse and Stephen Fung. Two actors who have since gone on to have very successful careers even in a time when young actors like themselves would often fall out of popularity with local audiences and fade into obscurity. Nicholas especially has matured into a very capable actor in both the dramatic and action stakes with Fung enjoying a career as a film maker in his own right having directed films such as Enter The Phoenix, House of Fury and the upcoming Tai Chi O.

It's a good thing this film has two actors like Tse and Fung in the lead as if it had starred anyone else it could have easily fallen apart very quickly. While Wong Jing may be able to make films quickly, some times they just aren't very good. The pacing which moves at the break neck speed suffers from annoying supporting characters, horribly written dialogue and not enough action to justify the title. Wong isn't entirely to blame though. He actually co-directed this with another director Billy Chung who has directed such genre "classics" as Kung Fu Mahjong and The Lady Iron Chef. You would think an inept film maker Chung would be able to rein in the mediocrity once in a while but it's obvious that Wong Jing seems to be responsible for most of the scenes that were filmed.

Getting back on topic with the two leads. Tse and Fung are very likable. Fung plays the naive smart guy pretty well and Tse plays the stoic hero in a very competent way. Tse's character Stone especially gets to enjoy the benefit of actually being fleshed out and given a real personality with a believable if not purposefully tragic back story. Shame none of the other characters enjoy this sort of treatment. Joey Yung's character Phoenix almost comes close but when she has moments which sees her screaming for no apparent reason we stop seeing her as an interesting character and somebody who should be receiving psychiatric treatment. Her parents come off slightly better though. Frankie Ng and Rocelia Fung have some nice scenes together and it is nice to see Frankie play something other then a Triad for once.

Handling the fight choreography is Ching Siu-Tung, another big name who has worked with Wong Jing on several occasions. Ching seemed to be an interesting choice here as at this time he was mostly doing more fantasy orientated work like The Duel and Shaolin Soccer and despite the film trying to be a teen comedy drama he uses the exact same style of choreography and film techniques he applied to those films. Not that I had a problem with that in any way. I'm all for action directors doing fight scenes in unique and interesting ways and it's a testament to Ching's talent as an action director that he's able to apply his style of frantic and fantastical action to a film such as this. One problem I did have with the film was that there wasn't enough of it.

The film opens with a great fight between Nicholas and another actor whose name seems to allude me. Right away this fight sets the tone for the style we will be seeing. It very much reminded me of the classic Kung Fu movies of the 70's which would open with a fight that displayed what would be the primary style and generally easing the audience into the over tone of the film. The fight uses a lot of exaggerated kicks and punches with a lot of it done in slow motion allowing for some cool moments so the actors look like they are legitimate fighters. Nicholas has always impressed me when doing action. It comes as no surprise that even to this day he takes his training very seriously and has been able to show off what he can do in films such as Invisible Target and Shaolin. His moves are a little stiff but for someone who was never formally trained he is very impressive.

Stephen Fung also gets to look like a bad ass fighter when he has a rather impressive fight with Yu Ka-Ho. The most interesting aspect of these fights are that they take place on a bunch of school desks all pushed together to create a platform. As each move is executed the desks are knocked away leaving a smaller area for them to fight. This made Ching become more creative in terms of the choreography and I'm surprised this idea of a slowly shrinking area of movement hasn't been used in other films.

Another good fight sees Nicholas fight Samuel Pang. Pang is a performer who I've yet to see used to the effect he was here. He's an extremely capable fighter but no one has used him like this since and it's a shame because I'm hugely supportive of actors who can not only act but can fight convincingly on screen and Pang is one of those types of actors. His very lean build and cold stare make for a good villain and I hope one day a director will realize his potential and use him in a good way. His fight with Nicholas is a fine example of his skills and flexibility, particularly when he throws a few nice looking kicks.

We then get a rather lengthy and nicely done finale taking place in a garage. Ching throws in as many ideas as he can in the remaining running time. Both Tse and Fung take on Lee Tat-Chiu. Lee's character uses a lot of big kicks and some traditional arm and hand locks. Again, the exaggerated way in which Lee uses his moves and applies them evokes 70's Kung Fu with a slightly contemporary edge. He has a few nice exchanges with both actors. There's a nice moment when Chiu and Nicholas have a classic sword duel with a spanner and baseball bat replacing swords. Ching uses the exact same style of action he used in films such as Swordsmen II and it was interesting to see this used in a more modern setting. Things get even crazier from there when Fung has to fight on his own against Lee and we see Wong Jing indulge in his love for video games. Something he's done before. It's a good solid final fight and is definitely worth checking out.

My Schoolmate, The Barbarian is an interesting mix of comedy, drama and almost fantasy style martial arts action. Not all of it works but what does work is great and what doesn't is ultimately forgettable. While I wouldn't say it's a must see for fans of Hong Kong action cinema. Fans of Ching Siu-Tung or Nicholas Tse might have a good time with this one.

Jetruary #4: Swordsman 2: Invincible Asia (1992)

For my fourth entry into Jetruary I decided to review what is essentially Jet's first entry into the fantasy martial arts genre. In the sequel to the classic Wu Xia epic directed by King Hu, Jet Li replaces original star Sam Hui as the swordsman Ling in what is seen as a film that not only manages to be a worthy follow up to the original but surpass it in many ways. Ling is a man who has a love for drinking, singing and women. Along with his faithful companion Kiddo (Michelle Reis) they both retreat to the mountains intent on retiring from the martial arts world and lead a quiet life. However they soon get involved in a plan to rescue Master Wu (Yen Shi-Kwan) who has been imprisoned by the mysterious Dawn (Brigitte Lin) who plans on ruling over Asia using his new abilities gained from a powerful scroll granting the user supernatural abilities.

At this point in Jet's career he had mostly done realistic and traditional martial arts action and this is the first time we see him donning wires and flying through the air with all the charm and grace he possesses. The style of action is very different to that of Shaolin Temple or Dragon Fight but it's easy to see why Jet would end up going this route in his later films. While he looked incredible doing more grounded kicking and punching, here we see him doing amazing flying kicks and lightening fast sword displays, it's the type of action that would go on to define his on-screen style well into his career and Swordsman II is where it all started. First of all, his on-screen persona is very different to what he has displayed previously. In Dragon Fight he was very much the stoic hero, down playing his emotions for the most part. Here we see him laughing, smiling, singing and generally just having a good time.

It reminded me very much of the personality he displayed in Shaolin Temple but here he really brings it forward and does an excellent job of differentiating his character to ones he had played previously. He does get more serious as the film progresses, especially in the final act of the film and it's easy to see why he was Tsui Hark's number one choice to play Wong Fei-Hung in the excellent Once Upon A Time In China series. This is definitely a must see for fans of Jet as it allows you as a viewer to see him really getting to grips with how he wanted to portray himself on the big screen.

Jet also gets to work with a great cast of Hong Kong talent. Michelle Reis plays his companion Kiddo. A tomboy sword fighter with a crush on our hero. She does well enough given the material she's working with and looks good in the many sword fights she partakes in, which is impressive as Michelle isn't someone with an extensive martial arts background. Rosamund Kwan plays one of Jet's love interests and gets to kick some serious ass with a bull whip. Sadly she doesn't get to really show off her excellent acting talent but does get to really use those big expressive eyes which I find almost hypnotic at times. Yen Shi-Kwan rocks out as Master Wu and Brigitte Lin plays the role that would define her career as Dawn, a martial artist who goes through a gender transformation in order to become the strongest martial artist in all of Asia.

This is interesting as this type of character is very unique to Chinese cinema. The idea that in order to really become the most powerful of fighters, one must go through such a transformation is an incredibly unique idea that it's odd  it hasn't been explored outside of Asia. Imagine how mad The Matrix would be if in order for Neo to be victorious over Agent Smith he'd have to get rid of his wedding tackle and grow a pair of breasts. As I said this was the role that would define Brigitte's career and she would go on to reprise the role on Swordsman 3 and also play variations on the character in films such as Deadful Melody and Three Swordmen. She does an absolutely stellar job playing Dawn with such conviction that critics did take notice and nominated her for a Hong Kong film award, which she sadly did not win.

These kinds of odd and wild ideas are what help shape the Wu Xia genre as a whole. The fact that these worlds are not constrainted by things such as gravity and allow characters to fly through the air and display techniques which wouldn't work in other genre films. This style of film making is definitely an acquired taste when you compare it to more traditional martial arts films but you'll find that Wu Xia epics are some of the most beautifully put together and visually creative films you'll ever see. It's always nice to see modern Chinese films makers revisit the genre now and again and it seems Jet has strapped on the wires one more time in the upcoming Flying Swords of Dragon Gate which I'm very excited about seeing.

In charge of the fantastical sword play is Ching Siu-Tung, a director and fight choreographer who would go on to be the go to guy for this type of film. It seems he made the transition from doing normal ground based Kung Fu and began his long career in the Wu Xia genre. Here he displays his abilities as not only an incredibly fast story teller but also a brilliant choreographer. The many fights set through out the film are excellent and he uses the sword play style to make all the cast look magnificent. Swordsman 2 is one of the finest examples of the genre and is a great introduction to those who may never have seen this type of film making before.

One thing I would like to address is the relationship between Jet and Brigitte's characters. When they first meet Ling is unaware that Dawn is a man. His outward appearance has given him the feminine looks of Brigette but his voice still has a masculine tone. Ling is unaware of this as Dawn doesn't utter a single word and immediately you can see an attraction between the two. As the story moves along things such as sexuality and morally are called into question and these are very weighty subjects that are being addressed here. Especially given the fact that this a film that features a woman with a bullwhip capable of ripping men limb from limb but the fact that these issues are addressed is what really raises Swordsman 2 above it's predecessor. 

While the original was content on just telling a good old fashioned story of good versus evil, Swordman 2 challenges social taboos by having two male characters fall in love. Sadly, the conclusion to this story didn't reach a particularly satisfying one but Ching Siu-Tung has to be commended for telling such a bold story. It also helps that you have two capable actors in Jet and Brigette. They have good chemistry, even in the early scenes when Dawn is completely silent, the way he looks at Jet you can see that he is slowly becoming enamored by him. Likewise with Ling who seems to be attracted by Dawn's air of mystery. It's without a doubt one of  the highlights of the film and it would be great to these themes explored in more modern Chinese films.

Swordsman 2 is an instant classic that should be viewed by anyone who is a fan of Hong Kong films. We get some crazy action and a fantastic story that really makes it a must see for fans of anyone involved. For those who would be interested in wanting to learn more about Brigette's character and the idea of transsexualism in Asian cinema should read my friend Meredith's review Swordsman 2's Invincible Asia and the tradition of Cross Dressing in Kung Fu movies.

That's it for this week. This was intended to be the last entry into Jetruary but I've decided to review one more film to close out the month so be back next week.

The Master Strikes (1980)

Here's my next Casanova Wong review for what has to be his most bizarre acting performance he's ever given. He plays an escort who is hired by Yen Shi-Kwan to deliver a jade artifact to his home. Funny thing is when Casanova arrives at his home Yen is already there which kind of makes hiring him completely pointless but hey far be it for me to question the logic of the movie's villain. It's soon discovered that the artifact is missing and Wong is forced to sign over his entire estate as compensation.

As a result he goes completely insane and spends his days in a tea house beating up anyone foolish enough to talk to him. Two gambling hustlers played by Chin Siu-Tung and Meng Yuen-Man decide to help him in return for some money and "hilarity" ensues, very painful and very unfunny "hilarity" at that.

You'll have to excuse the poor quality of the video as it's the only one I could find

Right away I have to say this is probably the most annoying kung fu film I've ever watched. Everyone and I mean everyone talks over each other in the dialogue scenes for the majority of the time, especially when Ching and Meng are on screen. I highly recommend hitting the fast forward button on these scenes as you'll not be missing anything important. Then again, fast forwarding is something a lot of us are used to when watching these movies.

As I mentioned before Wong gives a really bizarre performance, using the character's insanity to pull silly faces and act like a complete cartoon lunatic. It's great to see him as the hero but good lord is he irritating in this. His co-stars fair no better Ching and Meng crank up the goof factor right up to eleven and it's immensely satisfying when Wong beats them up in many of the fight scenes they have.

As for our dastardly villain in Yen Shi-Kwan, well, he's his usual shifty self. In fact, he's so shifty that he goes to great lengths to kill anyone who deals with him, even those he personally hires to take out the heroes. It seems he's so desperate to cover his tracks he's probably kill his own grand mother if she caught him doing something wrong. Though he handles himself well in the action scenes and even gets to throw down with Eddy Ko who plays a man out to get revenge on him. Quite why he's so determined to do so is never made very clear but it's always a treat to see Eddy in action, especially against Yen.

It goes without saying that the action is the only reason to tune into this one. Ching Siu-Tung handles the choreography and it's interesting to see his style before he went all wire-fu later. Everybody and I mean everybody gets to really show off in this. Casanova Wong delivers on what has to be some of the best fight scenes he's ever recorded and given the films he's been involved like The Iron Fisted Monk and Warriors Two that says a lot.

Still, all that great action is almost derailed when the film's plot decides to shift onto Wong's co-stars. While they try and think of a way to help him out they meet Beggar Su, the popular fictional character who appeared in films like Drunken Master and King of Beggars. Here he is played by Max Lee. This is where it gets really irritating as we have to bare witness to some painfully unfunny comedy antics and it almost ruins the momentum the film had going up to this point.

Fortunately just as you're about to bash your head in from the sheer stupidity of it all we shift back to Wong's story. Sadly it doesn't last long as we end up baring witness to a over long sequence set in a brothel. What should have been a very short scene ends up going on for far too long, there's a little bit of action but I think you may forgive yourself skipping it as it's not very long and not to the standard the rest of the movies had set.

So I think I'll move back to the action as I think talking more about the story and the acting will cause me to throw my computer out the window and that would just be silly. Unlike Method Man, Casanova Wong actually goes beyond the call of duty and is able to seriously go all out in what has to be a stunning finale fight sequence. Ching Siu-Tung seems to have been a much stronger and much more creative action director when dealing with traditional kung fu films. As much as I enjoy his later work this has to be one of best films he has ever done.

Pleasantly surprised is a word I would use to describe this particular film. Surprised in just how good the action is but also surprised in just how bad everything else is. Would I recommend it? oh, absolutely but it might be worth keeping the fast forward and mute buttons handy so you don't have to subject yourself to the horrendous attempts at comedy.