Man of Tai Chi (2013)

A young martial artist's unparalleled Tai Chi skills land him in a highly lucrative underworld fight club.

Director:

Keanu Reeves

Writer:

Michael G. Cooney

Stars:

Tiger Hu Chen, Keanu Reeves, Karen Mok

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tiger Hu Chen	...	'Tiger' Chen Lin Hu
Keanu Reeves	...	Donaka Mark
Karen Mok	...	Inspector Suen Jing Si
Hai Yu	...	Master Yang
Qing Ye	...	Ching Sha
Simon Yam	...	Superintendent Wong
Yasuyuki Hirata	...	Thin Man
Brian Siswojo	...	Gong Au Young
Michael Tong	...	Shek Kuan
Sam Lee	...	De-Ming
Jiulong Guo	...	Old Commentator
Huang Jiang Xiang	...	Young Commentator
Zihan Xia	...	Li Hung
Sung-jun Yoo	...	Chi Tak
Iko Uwais	...	Gilang Sunjaya

Storyline

Tiger Chen is a Tai Chi student who is rather rebellious and uses Tai Chi to fight despite his master's concerns. When the temple where he studies get threatened from modern redevelopment, he fights in an underground fight club to get money the temple needs. However he soon realizes that his employer has other negative motives.

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts | opening action scene | watching tv | abuse | gambling | 

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Taglines:

No rules. No mercy. Pure fighting.

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

USA China Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English Mandarin

Release Date:

5 July 2013 (China)

Also Known As:

O Homem do Tai Chi

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$61,054, 3 November 2013

Gross USA:

$100,144

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,464,885

Company Credits

Production Co:

China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), Company Films, Dalian Wanda Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tiger Chen really did dislocate his shoulder during one fight. Which prompts Chen to say that in real-life, it was his right shoulder, not left, which was dislocated.

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Quotes

Female Announcer: A fine line separates a fighter from a warrior. One is motivated by reason, the other, by purpose.

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Connections

Featured in The Dom Reviews: Man of Tai Chi (2015)

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Soundtracks

Salut D'amour
Written by Edward Elgar
Performed by China Philharmonic

User Reviews

I think I just found myself a new favorite director

It wasn't exactly a surprise, though. To paraphrase a character from the movie, I knew he had it in him. But knowing and actually seeing are two different things. The movie has an old school feel to it - and yet not. It builds slowly, maybe too slowly for most people's taste. Slowly, subtly, steadily; like the bass line of a Foo Fighters song. Like a lazy snake that uncoils in the sun. Like Chi in meditation. It picks up its pace only after 40 minutes or so. But until then, the audience is given plenty of details, hints and reference to work with - if so inclined. And when things do start happening, it's beautiful to watch. Yes, it does have a few stiff and/or formulaic moments but given the genre and it being a directorial debut, this was inevitable ;) Also, in spite of the genre and the references/homages to other movies,Reeves' directing style is original.He might have been inspired by the masters, but he doesn't borrow from any of them. Like Tiger, Reeves created his own style: ironic,realistic, minimalist, sharp, punctual, complex,subtle, multi-layered. Although being promoted as a 'kung-fu movie', Man of Tai Chi is much more than that. It's a meditation on many aspects and trappings of today's life. But none of them are spelled out in neon letters; it's up to the audience to recognize them. All in all, it's like... a Chinese menu: there's something in it for everyone, but some of the dishes are not everyone's favorites...

If there's one thing the movie fan in me wanted more of, it's real interaction between Reeves' and Karen Mok's characters. I would have wanted to see the sparks fly ;) But the more I think about it, the more I realize that by not including that element, the team made the right artistic decision which served the story, not the sheer entertainment factor. And that's a bold thing to do.

Well done, Mr.Reeves. very well done. Looking forward to the next one :)