R E V I E W :   The Master

Reviewed 2/27/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

 

Background 

Universe / 1992 / 88 minutes
Directed by Tsui Hark
Written by Lam Kee-To and Lau Daai Muk

Made in 1990, during Jet Li's initial stay in America, The Master is a strange little collaboration between director Tsui Hark and star Jet Li.

The film received its Hong Kong theatrical release in May 1992, in the wake of the financial and critical success of Once Upon a Time in China.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: Tak, a kung fu master and herbalist, lives in Los Angeles. One night Johnny, a nasty blonde American martial artist, viciously attacks him. He and his gang burn Tak's shop. Tak receives unexpected assistance from Anna, a gymnast recently expelled from a training school for fighting. Anna puts Tak up in her mobile home while he recuperates from his injuries. Shortly thereafter, Tak's long-estranged top student, Jet, arrives from Hong Kong. It seems that Jet was hesitant to make the move to America but has now come for a visit. As he searches for Tak, he is trailed by a group of Mexicans who want him to be their master. He also keeps bumping heads with May, whose bank loaned Tak the money to open his shop. The film culminates in extended fighting sequence atop a Wilshire-district skyscraper in Los Angeles.

Performances: Jet Li gives a winning performance as "Jet." Crystal Kwok is charming and feisty as May. Yuen Wah demonstrates impressive martial arts ability as Tak, but is a bit wooden.

Production: The opening sequence plays its action dead-serious yet routine. Then Jet Li appears and the joking and slapstick begins. From there the pace picks up and there's nary a slow spot. The plot is old hat, but I laughed a lot and the action (directed by Brandy Yuen Jan Yeung and Yueh Wah) was fiercely entertaining across the backdrop of the dreary Los Angeles wasteland. You can call this a determined B-movie with some A-movie qualities.

Rating: Category II. The requisite kicking, punching, and beating, some blood spattering resulting from gunshots, a few nasty glass cuts, and quite a bit of profanity.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The full frame presentation is barely adequate. I don't know the original aspect ratio, but I didn't notice any scenes where vital action was cut off due to the framing. The source print is less than pristine; the black levels are off and colors are not vibrant.

Sound: I listed to the Dolby Digital 5.1 Cantonese audio track and it sounded fine. Use of surrounds was sparing. The other audio track provided is DD 5.1 Mandarin.

Subtitles: The English subtitles are white with a thin black backing. A good job with few obvious mistakes. Other subtitles provided are traditional and simplified Chinese, Japanese, Bahasa (Indonisa), Bahasa (Malaysia), Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Features: Eight chapters are listed with full-motion video in the chapter menu. Stars' files (biographies with fractured English translation and film listings) are provided for Jet Li, Crystal Kwok, Tsui Hark, and Yuen Wah. The original theatrical trailer is supplied, along with trailers for Sammo Hung's Millionaire's Express, Eastern Condors, and Prodigal Son.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. I can't get over the feeling that Tsui Hark was slumming with this picture; it's low brow and populist to the extreme. Instead of multiple layers and complex characters, it's cheap and fast. Yet it's also a lot of fun and relatively well made. Lower your expectations for a Tsui Hark film, enjoy a wireless Jet Li, and the film's 88-minute running time will fly by.

 

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