“Drunken Master II” Chinese Theatrical Poster
Director: Jackie Chan
Co-director: Lau Kar Leung
Cast: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Ti Lung, Lau Kar Leung, Felix Wong, Chin Kar Lok, Ho Sung Pak, Ken Lo, Suki Kwan, Lau Siu Ming, Bao Fang, Chan Daat Gong, Cheung Chi Kwong, Mark King, Johnny Cheung, Ho Pak Kwong, Mark Houghton
Running Time: 95/102 min.
By TheFrankEinstein
Jackie Chan is THE MAN. If there was any doubt in your silly little head about that fact, this film will clear you right up. Early on in the movie, it appears that Jackie might be taking it a little easy. Of course, that’s excusable; he was forty years old when he stepped back into the role of Wong Fei-hung that he originally portrayed in 1979’s Drunken Master. At first it appears that time might have finally gotten the better of the cannonball… but then he gets drunk. In case you don’t know, Jackie’s Wong Fei-hung is a practitioner of the Drunken Boxing style of Kung Fu. This includes stances mimicking eight different Chinese Gods, all drunk off their asses. It involves lots of staggering and posture which insinuates holding glasses/jugs of wine, a flute, or perhaps even a bum leg. Fei-Hung’s pretty good at this style sober, but when he gets a little shitfaced, look out.
So, point being, the rather geriatric performance during the first fifteen minutes is intentional, perhaps to lull you into a false sense of kung fu security, so that the erratic martial arts action will catch you off guard and kick you square in the nuts. Then, when compared to the original, Drunken Master 2 excels. Hell, when compared to anything at all, it excels. But the somewhat clunky, obviously choreographed fights of yore give way to the newer high octane all-or-nothing hyper-kinetic caffeinated-monkey-fu. So now, rather than being a labor of love like the older kung fu stuff, watching this is thrilling, unpredictable, mind-bending, and a little frightening. By frightening, I mean that I’ve grown a little paranoid that a small red Chinese man will use me as a wheelbarrow. That’s a rational fear, right? But aha!
The new fighting style isn’t the only addition, as Anita Mui occasionally steals the show as Wong Fei-hung’s mischievous mother. The comedic addition of Fei-hung and mom’s relationship really frees Jackie up (for once) to be a pretty straight bad-ass, and it adds some A-class humor to the movie without dumbing it down or making it too juvenile (damn you, Jar-Jar Binks!) If anyone wants to know how to add comedic interludes to an otherwise fairly serious story, look at this, because they did it very well. I’ll shut my yap now and leave you with this – Not often do you get to see Jackie Chan… Mr. Nice Guy… HONG KONG’S FAVORITE SON… go completely ape-shit. In fact, just the other day I had this to say to my friend: “Friend”, I said, “I’ve won the lottery twice, and been struck by lightning three times, but NEVER have I seen Jackie Chan go totally ape-shit!” and he said “Hey! You’re right! I’ve been hit by seven meteorites, but have I seen Jackie Chan lose it? No!” But that all changed by the end of Drunken Master 2, and now I can die a happy man (who’s also rich, has a bit of a stutter/stammer and glows in the dark.) I’ll leave it at that, you need to buy this sucker right now.
TheFrankEinstein’s Rating: 8/10
By S!DM
Possibly Chan’s best film, and most hyped, Drunken Master 2 brings us back into the world of classic kung fu cinema. Jackie’s Wong Fei Hung, portrayed here as a mischeivious youngun’, has him trying to save one of China’s ancient treasures from being immorally (but not illegally?) exported to Britain by means of the evil British consul (come to think of it, why didn’t Fei Hung just tell the truth or contact the Chinese authorities or gather a band of marauders or…). Well, not much of a plot, but you know that everybody watches Jackie’s movies strictly for the story and not for the painstakingly choreographed fight scenes anyways đ This has to be one of the single greatest “fight” movies of all time. I really enjoyed the varied choreography: it seems to encompass every variety of old school rumble:The “one-two-three” school of fighting, The “whooshy Wushu weapons” school, The “wire-fu” school, The “bench-fu”school, And Jackie’s typical variety, which all are great.
Plus, as an added bonus, we get fights directed by Lau Kar Leung AND Jackie Chan…personally, I think the fight underneath the train is one of the greatest filmed fights of all time. But the finale is what gets people onto the edge of their seats. What we see here is so great, so magnificently WONDERFUL, that many people would disobey even their own mothers to watch this again. It took four months to shoot, and was worth every minute of it. Ken Lo vs. Jackie Chan. Ken Lo pummels Chan for quite a time in the most powerful looking kicking sequence I’ve seen. Not many complicated movements here, Ken just shoots out kick after kick before posing the coolest leg raise ever…he really shows his stuff. But surprisingly, many wires are used in the later part of the fight, and this really upset alot of people not keen to floating people.
While this is a cool film, the plot borrows from Young Master, Dragon Lord, and some of his earlier films, such as the infamous “skirt kick” technique.
S!DM’s Rating: 8/10 if you like Jackie’s usual stuff, 9/10 if you like your fighting “old school”, 10/10 if you are a Ken Lo fan, 7.5/10 if you like wire movies, 11/10 if you like your kicking swift and fast.
By Ro
At first I didn’t know what to make of this movie. It’s been rated #1 on most web sites as the best Jackie Chan film ever made, but I was having a hard time seeing it. The subtitles (from Tai Seng video) were almost illegible, making whatever plot and humor the movie had incomprehensible and the fighting was good, but nothing to rave about. Then I got to the final fight scene! In my (admittedly unprofessional) opinion, this is without a doubt the best overall fight scene in any Jackie Chan film I’ve seen to date! Then I watched the entire movie again and I realized what makes it so great (OK, it took me 2 tries – most of you saw it in only one. But in my defense, the subtitles were driving me insane!).
I believe that Jackie set out to make the ultimate Kung Fu movie, using the old fashioned formula (good guy gets beaten up, then whups his opponent in the final battle), and adding all the skill and know-how he gained from decades in the business. In my opinion, he succeeds in his goal. He blends stunts as good as any you’ll see in his current day films, with kung-fu fighting faster and more furious than you’ll see in the old chop-socky movies. He builds on each fight scene, making them harder and more complex, till the film reaches it’s incredible climax. I’m probably the only person to really enjoy he first fight held under the train, then the platform. That’s because I can really appreciate the effort that went into it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do anything when you can’t stand up straight?!? I do, and my hack hurt just watching them. And the scene with the ax-gang was incredible! But does anybody know why the Manchu officer told him to strip then spit oil (?) on him. I’m not complaining, you understand, I’m just confused.
One final comment on Anita Mui – she is arguably the best actress ever to work with Jackie and this film really showcases her talent. Whether she’s throwing bottles of liquor to Jackie so he can demonstrate ‘drunken boxing’ for her friends, putting one over on her husband, or taking on the Manchu officer one- on-one, she’s one tough momma. She created the most memorable character in the movie, and she did it under the burden of either playing a woman who gave birth while she was still an itch in her Daddy’s pants (if she’s supposed to be his mother), or a woman who has an obscenely close relationship to a stepson her own age. Either way, her acting ability transcended the language (and even the subtitle) barrier!
Ro’s Rating: 10/10
By T-Man
This movie is what watching Jackie Chan movies is all about! It has great fight scenes, a solid plot, great humor, and good stunts. The drunken boxing is both fascinating and humorous to watch. Jackie Chan is arguably at his acting best. Anita Mui also does an excellent job. It is difficult to find a strong second actor in any of Jackie movies (except for Heart of the Dragon), but Anita definitely pulls it off. The fighting is incredible and well-choreographed. The movie also has one of Jackie Chan’s greatest stunts (I’ll leave you to find it). This movie also has some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen in a Jackie Chan movie. Hollywood wishes they could make a movie this good!
I have one question for those of us who have seen it: Where is everybody at the end?! Jackie is followed by his kung fu friends and a mob of people into the factory, then they all just disappear at the end. Also, if you get the subtitled version, the subtitles are hard to read alot of time. I realize I’m nitpicking here, but the movie is that good. Is it the best Jackie Chan movie? Probably not (I’ll have to watch Dragons Forever again to decide), but it’s darn close!
T-Man’s Rating: 9.5/10
By Dorgon
A few years ago after seeing Rumble in the Bronx, I was attempting to “discover” Jackie Chan and I go into Saturday Matinee and buy myself a $6.99 copy of Drunken Master. Although I can’t read the subtitles and the transfer is really poor, I am duly impressed. So I drove an hour to the trendy video store and I rented Drunken Master 2. Oh yeah.
DM 2 is as perfect a Jackie Chan movie as I have ever seen (at this writing, I’ve seen 14). The top notch fight scenes are intertwined with some fantastic work from Anita Mui as his mother (who is younger than him – must be some sort of Sphinxian [Is this a word?] riddle). There are a few throwaway plot complications, i.e. the stuff in the factory, but this was necessary to setup the final battle.
How would I describe this film? Lightning fast displays of power and grace!!!
The movie is non-stop. It goes direct from great scenes with Anita Mui to an ass kicking fight with Jackie to another great Anita scene to another great Jackie ass kicking. There are no wild car chases here (it is a period piece after all), but they are not missed. Instead, we get to see the perfect movement of Jackie. I read a great line once recently: “Watching Jackie Chan jump from ledge to ledge and from tree to tree is like watching Gene Kelly lie back in an easy chair and you think that it is the most graceful thing you have ever seen.” Amen, brother. This is Jackie’s American in Paris – I will use it for all time as the movie to show people to say “this is Jackie Chan.”
Dorgon’s Rating: 10/10 (but I give the Axe Gang a 6 – never miss….pshaw)
By James H.
Ah yes, this film recalls a time were getting pissed and kicking the shit out of people was socially acceptable. How I wish I could live in such a time. What an incredible movie this is. I want everyone now to thank Jackie for making this movie. By the looks of it, he went through a lot of pain to make this movie. He set himself on fire for us. He crawled across burning hot fucking coals so we could be entertained.
This movie has a great charm to it. I loved everything about this film. It’s a very welcome return to the “old” style kung fu movies. They simply aren’t made anymore. In today’s kung fu movies, the hero is always a cop of some sort. I was blown away by the fighting in this movie. Nothing can compare to Jackie vs. 60 dudes with hatchets. And the end fight is absolutely jaw-dopping! The choreography is the best I’ve seen in a long time. Jackie moves so fast and flows with impeccable rhythm, style and ease.
What was great too was that the version I rented was letterboxed and the subtitles were more legible than usual. The costumes were very cool, I love the styles back then. The sets were great and so was the cinematography, it is beautifully filmed. It’s one movie that shouldn’t be missed.
James H’s Rating: 10/10
By Numskull
HOOOOLLLEEEEEE CRAP!!! OVER-RATED!!!! Heh… well, only a little bit. 2.7 shitloads of people seem to think that this movie is the greatest thing since toilet paper, and folks: in my most humble of opinions, that just ain’t so. It is undoubtedly superior to the first Drunken Master as well as a top tier JC film, but I definitely wouldn’t place it above #3 (I rank Police Story and Project A as #s 1 and 2, respectively).
The plot is the bastard offspring of a menage a trois between Drunken Master, Young Master, and Dragon Lord. The latter two films are currently Buster Keatoning the shit out of each other to determine who the real sharpshooter is, and Drunken Master is trying to prevent its ex-spouse Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow from obtaining visitation rights, which is gonna be tough since they’re practically the same damn movie.
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I was pleased when Jackie and Lau-kar Leung fought (seriously) under the train almost immediately, but then I got Good ‘n’ Fruity…no, Good ‘n’ Plenty…PISSED when Jackie chased him and started playing games with him. “EX-FUCKING-CUSE me? Weren’t these two trying to kill each other 43 seconds ago?” Well, it didnt get off to such a promising start, but neither did Who Am I? and look how much ass it ended up kicking. Now shut your hole and drop the sledge hammer…
Then Jackie fought a man who sells fish. Some of you may find this amusing, but in reality, seafood merchants are very disturbed people. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. How would you feel if people caught notice of your approach from upwind and deliberately kept themselves at a distance from you, even going so far as to step in the excrement of some stray mammal or other, claiming that the smell didn’t bother them? How would you enjoy having hordes of militant leftist lesbian vegetarians with nose rings parading in front of your place of business yelling “Meat is murder!” and “Boycott the butchers!” on a daily basis? How would you like it if the scent of your product was the standard comparison for the aroma that a certain part of the female anatomy develps when it goes unwashed? Please, everyone…let’s all make an effort to extend some common courtesy to the hard-working men and women who put such delicious, nutricious fish in our lunch bags and on our dinner tables, so that their lives may be at least as bearable as those of America’s greatest usung heroes: sewage treatment engineers. Thank you.
Next totally unnecessary outburst of violence over a minor dispute that could have been more easily resolved by discussing the matter over a nice cup of tea: Jackie takes on a bunch of guys in the streets while his mother (who, by the looks of her, gave birth to him while she was a fetus) and her friends toss him various bottles of wine upon which to get thoroughly sloshed, thus boosting his fighting skills.
(Suddenly, Numskull’s consciousness is inexplicably replaced with that of a 38-year old white suburban yuppie mommy!)
I did not think this scene (or this film, for that matter) was very amusing. In fact, I found it downright disgusting! The haste with which the so-called “hero” engaged in a senseless brawl in the middle of a public street was bad enough, but the fact that he unreservedly consumed massive amounts of alcohol to further desensitize himself to the pain he was causing was even worse. What kind of message is this “Jacky Chan” trying to send to our children…that it’s OK to start throwing punches and reach a gross state of intoxication at the drop of a hat?
This film was introduced to my household when it was recommended to my daughter Brittany by a member of her soccer team (whom the court has ordered me not to name). As I understand it, many (sick) people feel that “Drunken Master 2” deserves an honorable place in the pages of cinematic history, but after watching the aforementioned display of gratuitous fisticuffs and substance abuse, I decided that the only place it had in my childrens’ lives was in the garbage can. I’m writing a letter to the inividuals in this “Honk Kong” who are responsible for trashy films like “Drunken Master 2”, and I have asked all my colleagues in the PTA to do the same. Furthermore, I positively encourage all responsible parents whose hard-earned familial harmony has been violated by these filthy “Honk Kong” films to strictly forbid-
(At this point, the mad scientist who has kidnapped Numskull for purposes of mind transfer experimentation experiences technical difficulties. The insidious device malfunctions, allowing Numskull to return to his senses and destroy it, but not before blowing away its deranged inventor. Finally, he tracks down the 38-year-old white suburban yuppie mommy and ventilates the fucking bitch. And enjoys it immensely.)
OK, now that that’s settled, let me just say that I disagree with all the views and opinions expressed by the minivan-driving woman with the hyphenated last name. Now let’s move on to that gem of a scene in which Jackie and Lau-kar Leung are the defenders in a siege on a restaurant with about 67 attackers. Don’t ask why…just enjoy it. It was my favorite part of the movie. By the way, that red fluid that comes out of people’s skin when it gets cut is called “blood”. You don’t see it too often in JC films that don’t have Lo Wei at the wheel, and you may have thought that it was something doctors made up to attribute diseases to, but in fact it is very real. To see just how real it is, take a razor blade and draw it down the veins in your wrist. That warm, syrupy substance that issues forth from the wound and sprays you in the face? That’s blood. It is a necessity for life so for God’s sake don’t deprive yourself of it by slicing up your flesh. That would be just plain foolish.
Now let us inspect the climactic duel with Ken Lo, which involves hot coals, industrial alcohol, and other implements of mayhem which should be kept out of the reach of small children. This may be Jackie’s greatest one-on-one fight scene of all time…it beats the hell out of the one at the end of Wheels on Meals if you ask me (or even if you don’t, in which case fuck you). Wipe my ass and call me pampered if it didn’t make me ache a little just watching it.
Well folks, that wraps up another fun-filled review of another fun-filled JC film. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to return to my fun-filled torture chamber and spend some more fun-filled time with the makers of that Midnight Thunder Gatorade commercial. Wheeee!!!
Numskull’s Rating: 9/10
By Dead Channel
Ahhh shit! My favorite movie of all time, undisputed! I remember reading a little kung fu newsletter back in the day called “Way Of The Fist” … funny I never got anything else from them.. anyway! The letter had a Jackie Chan discography, and I remember seeing “Drunken Master” and “Drunken Master 2” on there… I thought immediately, “I bet that shit is dope!” It had been a long time after that, and my sister was reading the movie section of the newspaper, and said they were showing Drunken Master 2 at this dollar theater! I freaked out of course, never seeing it. Turns out, it was some sort of a benefit, and even though it was at a dollar theater, it costed six bucks. After seeing it, I would have paid sixty bucks had I known how great this movie was (and is) ! Fucking amazing, on the big screen and all…
A few years later, after still wanting the movie on tape but not knowing how to go about getting it, I kinda forgot about it. That is until I went to this indoor flea market they have down the street from my house, and found a little place that sold all kinds of Jackie Chan stuff.. I asked about DM2, and the lady said she was sold out but to come back next week. I didn’t have enough money anyway hahah. She said it was 30 bucks, and that was for the English dub version. I really wanted the subtitled version (the one I saw in the theater) so I kind of forgot about it for about a month. Then one weekend I was like fuck it, I have money in my pocket and I can’t live without that movie one more second! I’ll just get the English dub version I don’t care! So I rolled up there, and asked about it. The lady was all, “I just got some in today.” And I was like, “Hell yeah, sucka!” So I go back to the movie section, and sure e-fucking-nough, they have the SUBTITLED version, and she’s only charging $25 for it!
I busted a nut needless to say, and sped home only to dodge street gangs, police, little kids and rednecks with guns (after I bought the movie of course…) but nothing would stop me now goddamnit. So as soon as I get home I start watching it again, and I was about to cry. It’s so unreal to me… Now, since that was as bit off topic and non-review like, I would just like to say that the scene where Fei-Hung is fighting the gang of guys who stole his mom’s (or is it stepmom?) diamond necklace (thinking it was the jade seal, I assume) and his mom and her friends are throwing Jackie bottles of wine .. he proceeds to get pretty fucked up, and ends up attacking his own dad without realizing it.
This movie has it all. unbelievable fight scenes, comedy, Anita Mui (Elena from Rumble in the Bronx, hah!) and drinking! What more can you ask for already?! All I have to say is, if you haven’t seen this one, you are missing out so hard, that you don’t deserve to own a VCR! Buy (or rent… whatever!) it at any cost, and heed my words. By the way, the best part is when the guy at the English Consolate says, “Here, carry these for me will you?” (and they subtitle that in English!) And a few moments later Jackie drops the “books” and the guy says (it the most rediculously overdone sounding voice), “Why did you drop those books?” Check it out to see what I mean! If you don’t think it’s funny after you see it, crawl in a fucking hole and die, mate!
Dead Channel’s Rating: 10/10
By Eirias
It isn’t often you sit down to watch a Jackie Chan movie with the expectation of watching a really good movie — or indeed, a movie than has any reason to exist without his incredible self. Drunken Master II is not only the best feature of Jackie Chan himself, it is strong all through the cast, and through the story and imagery. Though bits of the story are standard Jackie style goofiness, they work better than usual, partly because he’s working with actors whose comic talents are as good as his.
Anita Mui nearly walks off with the picture as his mother, and Ti Lung lends are terrifying dignity to the dramatic scenes as his father. And, most importantly, the fights are some of the most inspired ever put on film, as Jackie practices his skills in drunken boxing, weaving from side to side as his kicks the bad guys ass. Though I have to admit I haven’t managed to follow the later plot developments leading to the final showdown — because of the old white shirts against white walls while white subtitles play over them — I don’t really care. As Jackie walks into the iron works, a long, flowing white robe draped around him, and a fan in his hand, preparing to fight a long, hard duel with the incredibly Ken Lo…
Eirias’ Rating: 10/10
By Vic Nguyen
Ok, Ok, I admit that I might have gone overboard with my first review of Drunken Master 2. 50/10?! What the heck was I thinking? Well, that was when I first saw the picture. Believe me, opening a brand spank-me new package that contains a laserdisc copy of a Hong Kong movie gets your adrenaline going full blast. Well, now that I have rewatched the film for the 10 dozenth, I was not nearly as excited as when I first saw the film. Instead of a classic, 50/10 must see pic, the film became a good-not-great, 9/10, lets-see-whats-playing-in-the-dollar-movies type films. Don’t get me wrong, the film is still great Jackie Chan, but now that I think of it, it is not his best. Just as Jeff said, the film owes more to Young Master than anything else.
When I first saw the film, the only other Jackie film that I saw at the time was Rumble in the Bronx, and when I saw this film, I thought the fights were the most original things that I have seen. But as I began to indulge into Jackie’s career, watching all of his films and memorizing key moves, camera angles and moments, I realized that they weren’t all that original. A lot of key MOVES, CAMERA ANGLES, AND MOMENTS were lifted in the final fight of Drunken Master 2 from Young Master. If you need more ‘splainin, consult Jeff. But the other fights were original too, the spear fight between Jackie and Lau Kar Leung, the Drunken boxing bout in the town square, and the tea house brawl with an axe gang ruled. But the moments in between are SOOOOO slow. The purpose of them seems to be just to pass time and make critics believe that there is a plot. There are hardly any of the funny, comedic scenes that we all know and love and there is none of the spirit and spunk that was contained in the original.
So, what else is there going for the film besides the fight scenes? It is the performances from all the cast. ( Thank god there is no sign of a bad acting gweilo cast that has plagued Hong Kong movies for years, only those British guys that steal the treasure stuff that take up most of the space between the fights). Anita Mui gives the audience a spirited performance that wins the heart of everyone that sees the film. This performance, perhaps, was to be a change of pace from the bad girl image that the Hong Kong press have labeled her. Ti Lung, one of Shaw Brothers most gifted actors who marks his return (well, a second return, he made his first return in the 80’s with John Woo’s melodrama gangster classic A Better Tomorrow, then disappeared, then came back) in this film gives an excellent performance as Wong Fei Hung’s strict minded father Wong Key Ying. Other great performances include Lau Kar Leung’s portrayal as the former Manchu officer turned rebel, Wong Tat Wah’s performance as Fei Hung’s companion, and Andy Lau’s performance as a high ranking son of a government official (curiously, he is not to be seen again in the film after the first part, this is because Jackie cut out all footage after the first part when he took over as the director).
So, although the film has great fights and good performances, the rest of the film balances the scale downward from a classic to just a required viewing. It looks like the last really great, must see Jackie film is Crime Story, which was made a year prior to this films release. Crime Story, like other classics like Dragons Forever, Project A 2 , Police Story, and Police Story 3: Supercop, contain scene after scene of entertainment that does not let down (notice that all these films received a 10/10) This film has these moments, but not scene after scene. Hopefully, Jackie could prove me wrong and make a film of that calibre again (I’m not asking for non stop fights, just have some comedic scenes to balance it out). Overall, after thinking about it again and again, Drunken Master 2 is not the genius piece of work that I originally thought it was, it is just a flawed genius.
Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 9/10
By Hendri Liato
Chan’s homage to the ‘roots’ that made him a superstar and a legend in Asia is arguably the best Jackie Chan movie ever made. This is Chan’s most coherent film to date, tightly written around a somewhat familiar theme of loyalty and national pride. But don’t worry this is not a polemic on China’s struggle against Western corrupt influences, it’s an ass-kicking bring-the-house-down kungfu movie.
The line between good and evil is clear so that we know when Jackie beats the crap out of a guy, he is one of the bad guys. There are many great sequences in this film. When Jackie first gets into the classic steps of the Drunken Boxing, you feel the adrenaline pumping as that music plays int he background. The two-against-a-million fight at a tea house is jaw-dropping in its furious pace and intensity. And that doesn’t prepare you for the final ‘seeing-is-believing’ fight between Jackie and Ken Lo, which is already legendary and deservedly so. It’s simply one of the most amazingly staged and photographed fight sequences ever committed on film. Less inventive than his best prop fights, it nonetheless shows the full range of martial arts skills that both fighters possess and what martial arts is all about.
This being a JC movie and also the one that features the ‘Drunken Stance’ extensively, there are moments of extreme goofiness –always a HK movie staple and an acquired taste here in the West– that you have to groan and wince through. Fortunately, there are a lot less sadomasochistic comic relief moments that mar the enjoyment of many Chan’s films (worst offenders: OPERATION CONDOR, MR NICE GUY). Anita Mui –in the role of Jackie’s stepmother–plays more of a spoiled 90s material girl in period costume than a gregarious wife of a patriach (Ti Lung) in traditional China. And that what makes her character so hilarious. Mui mocks the old traditional patriach system with her performance while her on-screen character constantly exploiting it to her own advantage. Her comic timing is pitch perfect in this movie and she is an absolute delight to watch.
The fine production design is the most elaborate since MR CANTON AND LADY ROSE and the widescreen compostion captures the bygone era wonderfully. No gravity-defying car crashes, no major property destruction, no hopelessly flailing women. Just lots of classic Chan.
Hendri Liato’s Rating: 10/10
By Dan-O
When I first reviewed DM2 for this fine figure of a Jackie Chan website, I literally had just viewed it for the very first time. If you have had the displeasure of reading my initial review, you might have noticed that I was rather taken by it. It went somthing like this, “HOLEEE CRAP!! ABSOLUTLEY LEGENDARY!! Jackie Chan serves up a heapin’ helpin’ of 100% Grade A, farm fresh, home-made whoop-ass, and washes it all down with about 2 quarts of industrial alcohol!” That was almost 9 months ago. Flash forward to today. I’ve had some time to digest this film a wee bit more. To mull it over, to ponder it’s meaning in the universe as a whole. I still love this movie to death. If you consider yourself to be a Jackie Chan fanboy (or girl), you will do drastic things (such as taking hostages) to procure yourself a copy, legit or not.
But now I actually have somthing negetive to spew about this otherwise gorgeous piece of Hong Kong filmaking. First of all, after having seen TheYoung Master, it becomes blatantly appearant just how derivitive the final fight sequence really is. The wires kinda bugged me too (also from ths last fight scene). Yes I know, this is an acceptable style to Hong Kong audiences, but I just thought it looked out of place in a Jackie Chan flick. Anyway, why does anyone give a steaming pile what I have to say? I’m neither intelligent nor trustworthy. Just go watch the friggin’ film for yourself and formulate your own damn opinion. Opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got at least one.
Dan-O’s Rating: 9/10 (nope, no cute rating today)
By Dr. Guajardo
When I heard that Jackie Chan was to make a film with the grandmaster of martial arts films Lau Kar Leung, I didn’t care what kind of film it was going to be as long as I got a chance to see two greats perform. I was not disappointed! The story, the acting, and of course, the fight scenes were top notch! This may well be one of the top ten martial arts films of all time! The story involves a young Wong Fei Hung(Jackie) stumbling upon a scheme by the British government to steal Chinese treasures as revealed to him by the last decorated Manchu soldier played by Lau Kar Leung. There are all kinds of twists and little subplots in the film (Fei Hung still trying to meet his father’s demands, his mother’s gambling, improving his drunken boxing, and so on) that eventually lead to a showdown with the villains.
The fight scenes are probably some of the best staged scenes since ‘Enter the Dragon’ and ‘Chinese Connection’ (and that says a lot!). To describe each and every fight scene would just take too much space. The two that stand out in my opinion however were Jackie fighting alongside Lau Kar Leung in a restaurant against what seemed to be about 300 hatchet carrying assasins. Incredible! The other that stands out is the final fight between the Jackie and the Brit’s top fighter at a steel factory. Jackie doesn’t get any better than this! It is hard to imagine how Jackie will top this one off because so far (in my opinion) he hasn’t. Reportedly there was friction between Jackie and Lau Kar Leung during the filming but you could never tell. Drunken Master II is a MUST HAVE for any Hong Kong, Kung Fu, or Jackie Chan fan! Get it while you can!
Dr. Guajardo’s Rating: 9.5/10
