Director: Yuen Wo-ping
Year: 2010
Rating: 6.0
This depiction of the life of the historical figure Su Can, better known
to filmgoers as Beggar So is directed by Yuen Wo-ping in a return to the directing
chair after an absence of fifteen years. Beggar So was a famous martial artist
in the 19th century and one of the Ten Tigers of Canton. Even though the
factual data on him is minimal, he has been portrayed in many films over
the years - most famously by Simon Yuen Siu-tin (father of Yuen Wo-ping)
in a few films in the 1970's where his Drunken Boxing forms were very popular.
In his shaggy white wig, he became an icon of sorts and was often imitated.
So that Yuen Wo-ping returned to direct a film about the same character makes
sense but it is a very different Beggar So than those his father was in.
Here he is played by Vincent Zhao starting as a young man in the army. As
best as I can find out, all of this is made up and could have been any character
real or fictional but they make it Beggar So.
It is like a Christmas Grab Bag at your job when people reach in for random
gifts. You can get something good or some weird sex toy that someone thought
appropriate. In this you can reach in and get some overly wired but still
excellent martial arts action scenes or you can get David Carradine and go
wft did I do to deserve this or some of that dreadful Mainland (where this
was produced) phony looking special effects or a lot of self-pity or most
weirdly an epilogue that feels like it was added for nationalistic purposes.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. All here. It is hard to know what to make
of this film in its entirety. Hell, there is even a cameo from Michelle Yeoh
on her day off.
It starts off so promisingly with a couple action scenes that felt like
straight out of the 90's Wuxia films from the likes of Wong Jing. Frantic
and over the top. The first 30 minutes is good fun. In a fine chaotic set-piece
General Su saves an Imperial Prince from execution at the hands of the rebels.
Afterwards the Prince wants to reward him with a Governorship, but Su declines
and convinces the Prince to give it to his beloved adopted brother Yuan (Andy
On). He just wants to go home and marry his sweetheart Ying (Zhou Xun) who
is his adopted sister - real sister to Yuan - and open a martial arts school.
At the celebration of the school opening, Yuan shows up being carried in
a litter with a deadly pale face and black eyes hinting that this will not
go well. Su's father (Leung Kar-lan) adopted Yuan and Ying after he killed
their father who had gone on a killing spree. This being China that is probably
a bad idea. Insanity runs in the Yuan family on the male side and Yuan who
has sewn in metal plates to protect his body - gets his revenge with his
Five Venom Fist. Another terrific fight ensues on the edge of a raging river.
All good so far but then the bad sneaks in like an unwanted dinner guest
- there is a very lengthy mid-section in which Su mopes for years as he regains
his health and powers with the help of a hermit doctor (Michelle Yeoh) - and
the Ugly when there is some poor use of CGI when he duels daily with the
God of Wushu (Jay Chou) and with commentary from Old Sage (Gordon Liu). Whether
real or not we are never sure. He may be going nuts as well. Then another
good action piece and you think the film should be ending - really - end
damn you. But instead, we get that very out of sorts section in which now
Beggar So in his rags and bottle of wine has to fight for the pride of China
against these monstrously large white fighters managed by Carradine (in his
final role) - at the same time in a ring to a cheering Chinese audience. Guess
who wins. While watching this I was mentally rating it - oh, maybe an eight
- well make that a 5.0, no a 7.0 - no. let's go with a 6.
