The Great Magician (2011)

[Drunk Monk]

I thought I might watch some Tony Leung films in the wake of Shang-Chi and this has been in my queue forever. It's a Hong Kong farce, a period comedy martial arts romance war film. It's hard to grok in that very HK way.

Leung plays a great magician dealing with a warlord named Bully Lei (Lau Ching-wan) who wears a cowboy hat and has a fancy six shooter and 7 wives, one of whom is Leung's fiancee, played by Zhou Xun. She's a martial arts master and her father is held captive by Bully. Bully also has a tank. 

It's one of those HK films that has cute cameos. This one includes Tsui Hark and much to my surprise, Daniel Wu. He's only in the beginning though, for a scene with a flying guillotine. 

I dunno about this film. It's nonsense but with that ol' HK style. I found myself amused at times, confused at others, and drifting off wondering what it all meant. There were some mildly funny bits - I particularly liked the shuriken scenes - and the ending surprised me, even though I was barely engaged anymore.

Leung and Zhao Xun are great as always as they trod through the silliness with their usual panache. 

Sword fights. Well, sort of. There's a nunchuk scene and twin short swords versus double ham hocks, plus an assortment of magic fights and odd combat scenes. Not particularly DOOM recommended unless you have a high tolerance for HK shenanigans (I'm looking at you, cf).

[cranefly]

Noticed you looking at me, DM.  Have now watched it.

A big mess of a movie.  Lots of outrageous action and CGId magic tricks, yet it still seemed way too talky.  Tony Leung is one of my favorite Asian actors, yet I wondered if he phoned this one in.  I don't think so.  There was so much over-acting by everyone else that it made his performance seem flat.  He obviously put in a lot of effort giving the sleight of hand a lot of flair.

But I wondered at times if it was really him.  There were enough close-up shots where you could clearly see his face, but he was awfully good waving that sword around.  Wushu-good.  He doesn't have a martial background, does he?  He was wearing an outfit with a high collar, which would have made it easier to CGI his head onto a stuntman's body.  Whether that was done, I just don't know.  He just seemed uncommonly athletic in some close-up shots where it was clearly his face.

Overall a bit too noisy and chaotic for me, but still enjoyed seeing Tony in an unusual vehicle (referring to this movie, not the tank).

[Drunk Monk]

Leung has been doing movie martial arts forever. He's been in some of the most recognized Kung Fu cinema of all - Ashes of Time, Hero, The Grandmaster - so he's got skills. He delivers some nice fights in Shang-Chi, however there he is clearly deep-faked (as is Michelle). But that's an MCU where most of the fights are CGI anyway. 

Beyond that, I share your opinion on this. I did like Zhou Xun here too. She's one of my fav actresses as well.