Hey everyone. Capone in Austin here.
Fantastic Fest's unofficial sidebar this year were three awesome new films starring martial arts legend Donnie Yen (IP MAN 2 and 14 BLADES were the other two), but I think my favorite of the them all was LEGEND OF THE FIST (subtitled THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN, a character that Bruce Lee played a version of in FIST OF FURY). Part of the reason I loved it so much was the opening sequence set in World War I, during which China sent 100,000 men to Europe to act as laborers and workhorses for the various Allied armies. Chen Zhen went to France to deliver ammo and dig trenches, and did so proudly. But when his group of workers begins taking on fire, Chen Zhen leaps into action in one of the most dazzling action sequences I have ever seen. There is something so unbelievable about watching Yen leap around a leveled city to take on machine guns, snipers, and other attackers. The opening alone is worth the price of admission, but the rest of the film makes you feel like you got a great deal on the ticket price.
Chen Zhen decides to assume the identity of a dead comrade before returning to China, in an effort to become anonymous and work for the resistance against Japanese occupation in Shanghai under the guise of a rich man named Qi. He comes into the top club in the area, Casablanca, and makes friends with its owner, played by the great actor Anthony Wong. Before the night is out, Qi is a part owner in the club and making his move on the establishment's hostess Kiki (the talented and beautiful Shu Qi). With the mixed cultures (British, Japanese and Chinese) all jockeying for power in Shanghai, it isn't long before strife and violence become commonplace. In order to stop an assassination attempt on a Chinese general, Chen Zhen swipes a Masked Warrior costume from a nearby store, and gives birth to a new hero to the population.
LEGEND OF THE FIST builds up to an inevitable battle between Chen Zhen and the purely evil Japanese general who runs a nest of spies that have infiltrated all areas of Shanghai, including the club, law enforcement, and pretty much any other established business where resistance pockets exist. The fight sequence is so brutal, it's sometimes hard to watch, but it's also beyond awesome. There's another action scene in a newspaper office that has Yen literally walking on the walls, and I'm pretty sure special effects are not involved. Yen continues to impress me in his recent works, not only because of his athleticism but also because the guy can act. Here, he's called upon to be charming, dapper, angry, and grieving, and he pulls it off without embarrassing himself. I love that often blatant Chinese nationalism messages inserted periodically in the film, but that makes it all the more fascinating a work. What else can you say about an action movie like LEGEND OF THE FIST? It either kicks ass or it doesn't, and this one does more than most.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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