The Tai-Chi Master (1993)

In The Tai-Chi Master , two orphan boys grow up in the Shaolin Temple, Junbao (Jet Li) and Tianbao. The two are young when they first meet and are forced into menial labor, although they dream of being great kung-fu warriors. As they grow older, they both become very skilled and remain great friends. Their master warns them not to use their powers for aggression, but instead for helping others. Nevertheless, during a tournament within the temple Tianbao acts violently and ends up hitting his master, which angers him and causes the two orphans to fight off a huge number of other martial artists.

The battle lasts a long time and is by far one of the more impressive battles in any Hong Kong action movie. Both Junbao and Tianbao are armed only with wooden polls, but their opponents are armed similarly. Nevertheless, their skills far exceed those of the other feeble monks. While there is no decisive victor, both orphans escape without much injury. They are expelled from the temple, however, and they have to leave their monastery life behind. The two friends attempt to find work in the city, but Tianbao has higher aspirations. He wants to become a high ranking and wealthy military officer.

Despite his friend's dreams, Junbao does not share the same goals in life and realizes that the government is out of line and unfairly taxes the people of the land. The two men separate, but they meet again as enemies later in the movie, which leads to several impressive showdowns. The Tai-Chi Master has an excellent and well-developed plot. The themes present are classic and timeless. The battle scenes are spectacular and arguably some of the best ever, but the story does not suffer as a result. Rather, the battles are appropriately placed and executed with mastery.

Wires are used extensively in The Tai-Chi Master . American audiences might have first seen wires used in The Matrix , although the crew used them sparsely compared to many Hong Kong movies. The wires are used much more extensively in The Tai-Chi Master , which makes some of the fight scenes somewhat unrealistic, but incredibly awesome and intense. The amazing coordination needed for many of the stunts boggles the mind. The cinematography and directing are both excellent, which is not always common for Hong Kong action movies. The subtitles are sometimes somewhat difficult to understand, although the story still comes through very well.

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