Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen [精武风云] (2010)
Starring Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Anthony Wong, Huang Bo, Kohata Ryu, Yasuaki Kurata, Zhou Yang, Huo Siyan, Shawn Yue, Ma Yue, Ma Su, Chen Jiajia, Zhang Songwen, Lü Xiaolin
Directed by Andrew Lau
Expectations: Moderate, I heard this wasn’t that good.
I’m a huge fan of Donnie Yen and I’d love to come out and say that everybody needs to check out the latest of his films to hit stateside. I’d be lying through my teeth if I did though, because Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen is a major disappointment. I even went into the movie with tempered expectations after hearing it was just alright, but the actuality of watching it was even worse than I had prepared myself for. This is a real shame because Donnie Yen in the role of Chen Zhen sounds like an awesome setup to me.
The film opens during World War I where Donnie Yen and some fellow Chinese brethren are doing their best to stay alive amidst the explosions in the devastated war zone. Yen eventually kicks it into high-gear and single-handedly annihilates the opposing force with a mix of superhero spunk and martial skill. The action here is ridiculously over-the-top & unbelievable but it’s incredibly fun. If only the rest of the film could keep up the pace and boisterous nature of these opening moments.