Day 45 - Man of tai Chi (chinese/American)

"Tiger Chen is the sole student of his elderly master's Ling Kong Tai Chi style. Whilst Tiger excels in the physical aspects of his training, his master struggles to instill in him the philosophical aspects, and fears for his character. Tiger harbours a determined ambition to prove the martial effectiveness of the style, as he competes in the local Wulin contest.
When the mysterious Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves) offers him a "security" job, Tiger seizes the chance to escape his tedious day job as a courier, but when he discovers that the "job" is to become a paid contestant in an underground fighting ring, he refuses to compromise his honour by fighting for money. However, he quickly relents when he discovers that his master's 600-year-old temple faces a demolition order, and realises that Donaka's money is his only hope of saving the temple."




This is Keanu Reeves debut as a director and I have to say..not bad. It's not great but its entertaining. I have never seen tai chi used in this way and was quite an interesting take on the martial art known for it's health reasons. Tiger chen's acting was not bad but his acting could have been better. Meanwhile Keanu Reeves definitely knew what kind of character he wanted to play and I think he played it well.
The fighting were interesting and fun to watch but could have been more. Though to give credit they had to film the fighting scenes with handheld cameras thanks to technical limitations.
There is a little romance like you would suspect but it's nothing that big and she doesn't make a lot of appearances in the film though she does play a good character.

I wouldn't mind seeing another Keanu Reeves movie

P.S. This film was inspired by Keanu Reeves' friend Tiger Chen who is a stuntman

2/5

Cast

Keanu Reeves as Donaka (Also starred in The Matrix, Bill and Ted, 47 Ronin)

Tiger Chen as Chen Lin-Hu (Also starred in Kung Fu Hero and did stunt work for the Matrix)