Member ShaOW!linDude Posted September 14, 2012 Member Share Posted September 14, 2012 Has anyone seen "Kung Fu Man?" I asked this in another thread a year or so back but I can't remember what it was about. But I believe the answer I got back was that it never got completed or was never made. I think a trailer may've been made purely to garner financing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted November 8, 2012 Member Share Posted November 8, 2012 I thought this was going to be a period film but it seems it's going to be a little more modern than I expected judging by these set shots... Oh and Simon Yam has signed on for a role. Here he is with Iko Uwais on set... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted November 8, 2012 Author Member Share Posted November 8, 2012 In pulling up this film on IMDB, it claims the action director is Yuen Woo Ping, while the actual fight choreographer is Jon Valera. What does this mean exactly? That we won't see Woo Ping's choreography at all? Well, this means that Yuen Woo-Ping will be in charge of the overall action while Jon Valera and Chad Stahelski (who was Keanu's double in THE MATRIX) will work as choreographers, as if they are assisting Woo-Ping. He did the same thing with HOUSE OF FURY, where he was listed as martial arts director while his brother Shun-Yi and Deedee Ku were listed as martial arts choreographers, but they were on-set assisting Woo-Ping. I think the action director is a rank up from action choreographer in Hong Kong terms these days if this is the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted November 8, 2012 Member Share Posted November 8, 2012 Well, this means that Yuen Woo-Ping will be in charge of the overall action while Jon Valera and Chad Stahelski (who was Keanu's double in THE MATRIX) will work as choreographers, as if they are assisting Woo-Ping. He did the same thing with HOUSE OF FURY, where he was listed as martial arts director while his brother Shun-Yi and Deedee Ku were listed as martial arts choreographers, but they were on-set assisting Woo-Ping. I think the action director is a rank up from action choreographer in Hong Kong terms these days if this is the case. Thanks Albert, that clears a few things up. I appreciate your input on the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Youal Posted June 12, 2013 Member Share Posted June 12, 2013 Finally get to see Iko in action for a brief moment. Here's the international trailer: hMC66Jw52Dk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted June 12, 2013 Member Share Posted June 12, 2013 I'm sad to say that this looks painfully generic in every way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member dopemonkie Posted June 13, 2013 Member Share Posted June 13, 2013 looks kinda cool and some familiar faces was surprise to see Mantis master Yu Hai, The shaolin master from Jet Li' shaolin temple trilogy playing the old master in this... i'm happy! :bigsmile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted June 13, 2013 Member Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm sad to say that this looks painfully generic in every way. yeah, but may be having Keanu Reeves in it might help make this movie a success? Maybe it might boost mainstream popularity for martial arts movies? At least I hope so ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jay Stone Posted July 13, 2013 Member Share Posted July 13, 2013 Just saw this. I really thought it was good. Great fights and plenty of them. Keanu is still as stiff and wooden as ever, but this is Tiger Chen's movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member rdenn Posted July 13, 2013 Member Share Posted July 13, 2013 enjoyed this as well, the editor should have stepped in when Keanu started kicking that was quite painful to watch,tiger chen has s weird look about him kind of looks like a villain and good to see Yue Hoi in this mainland china really does look out for its veteran.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted July 13, 2013 Member Share Posted July 13, 2013 Damn you guys for seeing this before me!!! Now I can get excited for this. So Keanu Reeves is solid as a director? You see him making more martial arts film in the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BaronK Posted July 17, 2013 Member Share Posted July 17, 2013 T'was alright. Wires didn't bother me except in the 2-1 fight. It wasn't a wire movie. Would have like a bit more bite in the soundfx dept but it wasn't wooshy like The Matrix and other America action movies. Keanu kicking was very bad but doesn't put a damper on any of the action as a whole. Action was good and clean. Lot of fights. I do not like tournament movies, shows or based fights but this didn't even bother me at all. Simple matinée movie, good action. Lot of fights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Travis Posted July 20, 2013 Member Share Posted July 20, 2013 I saw it last night. I did not really know anything about it before hand and had not seen a trailer. Overall, the movie was dark, violent, typical for a modern film, and had plenty of really cheesy moments, like when Keanu growls into the camera. People in the theater broke out laughing at that one. Most of the movie, Keanu is a voyeur that just sits around watching Tiger with a serious look on his face until he finally gets off his butt at the end. I normally like Keanu as an actor, but I had to wonder why he gave himself a role where he does very little except for some cheesy moments. The directing was mostly well-done and the fights weren't bad. It just had a straight forward story that you would expect to find in an early 90's straight to video movie. There really are no surprises in it. It is pretty easy to see why it isn't released in the USA. It was mediocre and was more like something you would expect from Steven Seagal, not Keanu Reeves. My guess is this will end up being a straight to video movie in America like Keanu's other recent films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member trueth Posted August 9, 2013 Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 I thought this was a good film. The choreography was enjoyable as was how it was filmed in a way that you could see and admire the exchanges. Though cheesy, I like Keanu playing the villain. Really the only negative things I could mention are that the wire work in the 2 vs 1 was a little over the top, Iko Uwais was criminally underused and the ending of the final fight seemed rush, which is a shame because I was having Neo flashbacks watching Keanu. That said, loved the film and you can tell the director was a fan of MA films. Sad considering how The Man with Iron Fists turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member derwood Posted August 10, 2013 Member Share Posted August 10, 2013 Like others I found this a superior film to MWTIF from a 'made by a MA fan' point It is well shot too which blew me away. I could actually see the fighting, not just strobing edits with close ups of knuckles & grimacing faces Didnt expect much from Keanu, & he delivered on that account. Are we sure he's not William Shatners lovechild? Was not sold on Tiger from the trailer (as a lead) but he did well in that role. He fitted the average joe part perfectly, found him to be a decent actor in the end too. The movie did a good job of focusing on the lead character. At one point I thought it might go off the rails with too much police focus, which although played well in the film, would have taken from the main storyline (the changes in Tigers character). Highly recommend this to anyone wanting consistent & plentiful fight choreography that is raw & above par Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 The trailer didn't do anything for me... but I'm willing to give it a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Karlos Posted August 10, 2013 Moderator Share Posted August 10, 2013 Fights were above par (apart from the final throwdown, which was shot haphazardly, I'm guessing, to make it look like ol' Canoe was a tough guy); rest of the film is below par. Worth a watch for free, I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted August 10, 2013 Administrator Share Posted August 10, 2013 I'm looking forward to this. It sounds like a nice little fight movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted August 11, 2013 Member Share Posted August 11, 2013 Cheesy acting, badly plotted but very well directed and, more importantly, SUPER satisfying! I was really, really impressed as "Man of Tai Chi" is fight-focused cinema done right. It won't win any awards but the martial arts here is pretty great. Well choreographed, interesting, brutal and even the wire work is tolerable. Even Keanu Reeves looks great fighting, simply because it plays to his strengths. He doesn't attempt anything too fancy. Go in with low expectations and you'll be very surprised. It's a well shot, fight filled 'b' movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Amazing Psycho Per Posted August 11, 2013 Member Share Posted August 11, 2013 Just saw this... Meh... Pretty average stuff. If you've seen the trailer you pretty much know what to expect plotwise. It's all been done before and there are not much surprises. Karen Mok and Simon Yam's part feel totally useless. As what I glanced from the trailer, I don't think Tiger Chen is a star in the making. He doesn't have the look, the charisma, nor the does he bring anything fresh martial arts skill wise... A far as the MA action goes, I'm really growing bored of Yuen Woo Ping's choreaography and that's saying alot. He used to be one of my top three fight choreographer, and for his past work he still is, but I think he hasn't done anything inovative or exiting in along while. It's shame beause I thought the first fights showed promise, espacially the second one with the mix of mma trown in, but everything goes downhill as the movie progresses. You have a montage of generic fights against big westerners and then everything feel like wasted opportunities that leads up to my most disapointing moment in the movie, the part of Iko Uwais. His short screen time his wasted chasing around a Tiger Chen who refuses to fight him... A real shame... Why bother casting him for that? Not all is absolutely bad but nothing impressed me either. It sure was a threat to see Yu Hai back on screen and, maybe to YWP's only choreography credentials, he actually looks pretty good in his fighting moments. All in all, your milage may vary on this one, but I think it'll be quickly forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BaronK Posted August 11, 2013 Member Share Posted August 11, 2013 WP didn't choreograph the movie. He was the overseer. Like Panna will be. The choreographers are mentioned in this thread. Sport tkd man, Jon Valera and another. I really get the feeling Iko was an add on. Kenannu prob digs him and wanted him in. The scene only had him doing anything and never looking bad or getting beaten. It's sort of a, hey that's the Raid guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BaronK Posted August 21, 2013 Member Share Posted August 21, 2013 Incidentally, the male detective, the one with Karen Mok is Michael Tong, the lead with the hair from this series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheGrimReaper Posted September 5, 2013 Member Share Posted September 5, 2013 Atrocious movie, with dumb acting, even more stupid fight scenes and Keanu should reconsider his directing duties big time... It is an insult to put Iko Uwais and not use him properly, they just rediced him to a participant in touch-and-go game from pre-school, jeez it was painful all the way, I do not know what all the people involved were thinking - tai chi looks cool on screen and martial arts fans would get excited seeing Keanu playing bad-ass this time...not. Disastrous attempt to try and make a hybrid between East and West, shame on Yuen Woo Ping to have his name put in it, and about the choreography - I've seen some bad scenes in that department, but this is something different. Imagine Fist of Dragon (that idiotic Malaysian/Singaporean "thing") and multiply it by 2... It is a disgrace towards Tai Chi and most of the martial arts movies. Keanu probably was thinking that starring in The Matrix movies made him a martail arts expert, well Keanu you are far, far from the truth, this movie sucks and nothing can wipe the stupidity out of it... Fellow forum members - please stay away from this movie as it is going to cost you many brain cells and curses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted September 5, 2013 Member Share Posted September 5, 2013 Atrocious movie, with dumb acting, even more stupid fight scenes and Keanu should reconsider his directing duties big time... It is an insult to put Iko Uwais and not use him properly, they just rediced him to a participant in touch-and-go game from pre-school, jeez it was painful all the way, I do not know what all the people involved were thinking - tai chi looks cool on screen and martial arts fans would get excited seeing Keanu playing bad-ass this time...not. Disastrous attempt to try and make a hybrid between East and West, shame on Yuen Woo Ping to have his name put in it, and about the choreography - I've seen some bad scenes in that department, but this is something different. Imagine Fist of Dragon (that idiotic Malaysian/Singaporean "thing") and multiply it by 2... It is a disgrace towards Tai Chi and most of the martial arts movies. Keanu probably was thinking that starring in The Matrix movies made him a martail arts expert, well Keanu you are far, far from the truth, this movie sucks and nothing can wipe the stupidity out of it... Fellow forum members - please stay away from this movie as it is going to cost you many brain cells and curses... So wait, the fight scenes didn't deliver? That's the only element of this movie I was looking forward to the most. How did you see this, torrrent/theater????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted September 5, 2013 Member Share Posted September 5, 2013 So wait, the fight scenes didn't deliver? That's the only element of this movie I was looking forward to the most. How did you see this, torrrent/theater????? Personally, I think the fights are better than 90% of the shit we get to see these days. They're crisper and far more complex then seeing a flurry of trick kicks in slow motion. There's decent exchanges here. It's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination but if you've been stuck watching bollocks like "King of the Streets" and Corey Yuen's recent output then this is definitely a step up. Again, it's not a good film but I think the fights are well choreographed and for 90 minutes of cheesy entertainment you can do much, much worse. I'd actually watch it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.