In Praise of #5: Drunken Master 2

Hello, 

and welcome to the latest of the 'In Praise Of' series. This will be the second one about a movie, after the one on Mad Max 2, accessible here. Today will be on another underrated classic, 'Drunken Master 2', also known as 'The Legend of Drunken Master.' This is a kung fu movie which even people with no interest in kung fu will enjoy, and one of the best martial arts and acrobatics films ever.

Better than it looks. [source]

I get the feeling that Hollywood movies like 'The Medallion', 'The Tuxedo' and maybe even the Rush Hour series will have tainted people against Jackie Chan. As opposed to his mediocre Hollywood Movies, which aren't great, this is a production from Hong Kong. For these Hong Kong movies, typically they will think up stunts and fights, and then staple a basic plot around them.


A usual Jackie Chan movie made in Hong Kong have in total:  
  20 minutes plot setting and comedy scenes 
  10 minutes love interest
  10 minutes uninformed Chinese propaganda
  40 minutes and fighting
  2 minutes action replay of stunts (deadly)
  3 minutes giving the main bad guy an excuse to get away so they can fight the: 
  10 minute conclusion fight and happy ending


However, for 'Drunken Master 2' this is different: The plot setting, love interest and comedy scenes are combined, which leaves you with half of the movie as action scenes. Also, the action, in terms of speed, precision, and acrobatic ability, are the best you'll ever see. This, of all Jackie's movies, is the one with the very best fights, and Jackie at the peak of his athletic powers. More importantly, he may also be at the peak of his powers as a physical comedian.

The Drunken Master technique requires booze, here Jackie overdoes it . [source]

The plot revolves around the use of the banned 'Drunken Master' technique, which which Jackie learned in the original movies. Apparently getting really drunk allows your reflexes to kick in and allows you to dish out some serious ass kicking. However, scientifically dubious fact is more or less irrelevant, as is the plot. The plot, such as it is, involves the British Consulate trying to steal some valuable Chinese jade ornaments. Eventually Jackie (or Wong Hei Fung) gets involved, and he has to try to reclaim them, prevent more theft, and also keep his father's Kung Fu school open. Yeah, you know what to expect, so instead, you watch for the fight scenes, which are impressive beyond mere words:  

However, there are some problems: It's set when Hong Kong is a British colony, (I think sometime between the two World Wars), and the British are shown as treacherous and duplicitous- the special services guy tells that if given the chance, they will steal the entire Great Wall of China. I don't want to get into the politics of it, but it does seem to forgive and forget the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. This makes sense as the movie was made right before the handover of power back to China. However, this political stuff isn't particularly invasive or annoying, and luckily neither is the love story, which is subtly tacked on, giving Jackie someone to fight for other than his parents, and country.

Jackie's step-mother in the movie (she is seen in the video just above) is some pop star who is much younger than him. She's funny, and provides good humour to her scenes. She's also a very sympathetic character, and the movie shows the importance of family without ever getting too saccharine. Unintentional humour comes from some workers, who manage to steal guns from their British oppressors, only to break them up on their thighs, instead of, you know, using them. Other comedy scenes are patchy also. However, I don't want to sound negative, this is an excellent action movie, and one I've watched loads of times - it's one of those, introduce-it-to-friends-who-then-introduce-it-to-their-friends type movies. In case you are worried, it is a movie filled with action, but only rarely with violence: really, it's sheer entertainment.

The movie is underpinned by a half dozen jaw dropping fights. Other than the one linked above, and others, the scene below where Jackie and his new friend fight off a hundred members of a gang in a restaurant, is often mentioned as one of the best ever filmed. It can be seen in two parts here:

Probably the best of all is the insane final scene, which is a highpoint in action cinema. A battle which takes place in a smelting room takes up the final 15 minutes and is amazing. Jackie's main opponent (seen below) is his bodyguard and friend in real life, and only played the role when the original actor pulled out. He performs more than admirably. This scene is tense, brutal, and filled with genuine excitement. Watch it now:

For the record, that is Jackie Chan on fire, and escaping genuine flaming coals. Of this scene, Roger Ebert said "coming at the end of a film filled with jaw-dropping action scenes, this extended virtuoso effort sets some kind of benchmark. It may not be possible to film a better fight scene." I think he's right, here's the scene, it's incredible. 

Further acclamation was that TIME magazine chose this movie as one of its best 100 movies of all time, even though, on closer inspection, it listed 133 movies. Still, it's no mean feat. What makes this even more impressive that at the time of filming, 1994, Jackie was pushing 40 years old, he's still in incredible shape. Furthermore, this makes the scenes where he is beaten by his father (a man of roughly the same age as Jackie) for excessive drinking and fighting all the more insane. 

In conclusion: The best fight scenes ever filmed, with funny bits and which highlights family bonding and friendship as well, make this an absolute winner. However, this movie is not available on DVD in the UK (I have an Australian version) which is incredibly depressing. 'How I Met Your Mother' is on every single day, for sale in every shop, while you can't get one of the best action movies ever, Weak. Still, hunt it down, you won't regret it. Alternatively, just watch the videos above, that's pretty much the best stuff!


Have a great weekend, Pascal.