Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLegend of the Fist (2010)
Director: Andrew Lau
Movie review
From Time Out London
This crazy Hong Kong hybrid mixes a raft of different film genres to spin a laborious saga about Chinese underground resistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s. There’s a whole patchwork of styles here, from brutal war spectacle, Bond-style espionage, noir and violent gangster thriller to lighthearted superhero actioner, kung-fu high jinks, ‘Keystone Cops’-style comedy caper and romantic drama. The weirdest thing is how these disparate elements flow into each other: one minute someone is having a 12-inch blade thrust into their abdomen; the next we’re in Laurel and Hardy territory with people comically tripping over themselves.Donnie Yen (‘Ip Man’) plays the hero of the piece. When he isn’t masquerading as a Shanghai club-owner’s business partner, he’s wearing a corny Lone Ranger mask and kicking seven shades out of a Japanese colonel’s hired killers. There’s no sense in divulging any more plot because its structure is as confusing as a Mandelbrot set. But credit is due to the top-notch cinematography and the smartly choreographed martial arts sequences.
Author: Derek Adams
Time Out London Issue 2102: 2 – 8 December, 2010
Cast & crew
Director: Andrew Lau
Cast: Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Period/Swashbucklers
Rated: 18
Duration: 106 mins
UK Release: Dec 3 2010
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now