Drunken Master II [醉拳II] (1994)
AKA The Legend of Drunken Master
Starring Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Ti Lung, Felix Wong Yat-Wah, Lau Kar-Leung, Cheung Chi-Gwong, Ken Lo, Ho Sung-Pak, Hon Yee-Sang, Hoh Wing-Fong, Andy Lau, Bill Tung, Chin Ka-Lok
Directed by Lau Kar-Leung
Expectations: C’mon, it’s Drunken Master 2! I know it’s awesome!
I can confirm that love at first sight exists, because from the moment I first laid eyes on Drunken Master II, nearly 20 years ago, I was completely and utterly smitten. Time has changed many things in my life, but time has not diminished the power of Drunken Master II even a smidgen. It is every bit the amazing film it always was, and re-watching for the first time in many years brought back every enthusiastic feeling I ever had about the film. Heaven is indeed real, and it is watching Drunken Master II! Hyperbole aside, Drunken Master II is great and if you love martial arts films, I don’t think there’s any way for you not to love this one.
The film begins with Wong Kei-Ying (Ti Lung), his son Wong Fei-Hung (Jackie Chan) and their assistant Tso (Cheung Chi-Gwong) waiting to board a train home to Canton. Fei-Hung doesn’t think they should be forced to pay taxes on the ginseng root they are bringing back for a patient. Tso tells him that British consulate members don’t need to pay the duties, so when a group of them go past, Fei-Hung swaps the ginseng box with an identical box of theirs.