The Legend of Drunken Master
The Legend of Drunken Master
R | 03 February 1994 (USA)
The Legend of Drunken Master Trailers

Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.

Reviews
Morris Ma

Recently I accidently rewatch this movie. I lost count on how many times I have watched it since I was a child. I have watched almost all Jackie Chan's movies. However, until now I am very impressed by this one. By putting the word "Best" in the title is not saying the others are not good. The point is that the final fight in this one tops all the fighting shots. The opponent is really good and he fights back even after the tipping point. This is very rare in all the martial art movie. Usually the bad guys surrender easily when the good guy reaches to the submit. Also unlike other Hollewood productions, they did not use many stunts. The stunts are directly part of the film with makes the cuts of the film are much better. In addtion, this movie contains two types of martial art fights. The first one against Master Fuk is the classic one, just like in the Drunken Master I. The second in the Factory is more modern and faster. I believe they increase the camera speed. So the audience can enjoy a transition of the martial art fights.

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Riley Porter

So this film is fairly uneven. On one hand, its story is either lacking in tonal coherence or is generally scatter brained. On the other hand, the fight choreography and stunt work is genuinely breathtaking.The story isn't necessarily incomprehensible, though it seems to try very hard to be. I get the distinct impression that there was either difficulty in getting all the coverage required for the plot, or that the editor had a very fuzzy understanding of how to put all the scenes together in a way which made sense, mostly it feels like the former. At a certain point it literally feels like scenes are missing from the film. It doesn't ruin the experience, but it makes it difficult to be especially invested in the characters and their motivations. Speaking of characters, they're mostly fine I guess. Jackie Chan at least represents some kind of arc or emotional conflict that the audience can get involved in. For the most part though, a lot of characters feel underdeveloped to the point of being sort of place-holders. I guess the main takeaway is that this film would be kind of bad if not for the martial arts. The martial arts and accompanying stunt work in this film is of the highest caliber. It's sort of to be expected of a Jackie Chan feature, but even so, there are some fights in this film which seem to defy all conventions of action and the laws of physics. Admittedly, a lot of it is pretty cornball. The sort of levity which is characteristic of a lot of the action is very fitting I think. It better compliments the light comedic tone of this film than more serious encounters might have. I mean, the fighting can often be a lot funnier than the sort of weird attempts at humor that come during the "down time". I'm not trying to undermine the legitimate tension that comes during some of the fighting. I'm just saying that the tone of the action fits very well into the rest of the film. Despite the largely messy story, the martial arts action in this film is executed with absolute mastery. It's worth checking out by virtue of its highlights. Go for it, it's good.

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BA_Harrison

A 40-year-old Jackie Chan proves that he still has what it takes to make the jaw drop to the floor with Legend of the Drunken Master, a period martial arts film that features not just some of the best fight scenes of Chan's career, but of kung fu cinema in general.Chan plays legendary martial artist Wong Fei-hung, son of kung fu master and physician Wong Kei-ying (Ti Lung). Returning from a trip to replenish their medical supplies, Fei-Hung tries to avoid paying taxes on a parcel of ginseng by concealing it in a British ambassador's luggage; but when he sneaks into the luggage compartment on the train journey home to retrieve his package, he grabs the wrong bundle, mistakenly taking a precious jade seal destined for the British Museum. This makes Fei-Hung the target of a Chinese master, Fu Wen-Chi , who is determined to avoid the antique from leaving the country, and also the evil British ambassador and his henchmen.What follows is an action packed comedy caper as our hero tries to hang on to the seal while keeping his promise to his father to not drink and fight. Of course, this proves impossible with numerous people trying to get their hands on him, and with drunken boxing as Fei-Hung's preferred style of fighting.As with many Chinese Chan movies, there's quite a bit of broad comedy, which, depending on your sense of humour, you will either find amusing or bloody irritating (I tend to lean towards the latter), and the plot is far from inspired, but it's the martial arts that makes this truly unmissable, actor/director Lau Kar Leung capturing Jackie and his co-stars at their absolute best. An early fight between Fei-Hung under a train and a station platform quickly sets the bar extremely high, but that is eclipsed by a fun exhibition fight in a fish market and a spectacular brawl against countless axe wielding gang members in a restaurant (with bodies regularly falling from great heights).The best, of course, is saved for last, with a blistering battle that takes place inside a steel mill and which has to be seen to be believed, the scene making good use of the surrounding props, with steel bars, flaming coals, chains and flammable liquids all playing a part. A one-on-one between Chan and high-kicker Ken Lo is my favourite part of the whole film: amazingly fast, with superb choreography in which the star performs some incredible acrobatics, this is so good that its impossible to do justice with mere words. Do yourself a favour and just watch it for yourself now! You can thank me later.8.5/10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb.

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eric262003

Next to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan stands out as one of my favourite action movie stars in cinematic history. "The Legend of Drunken Master" truly showcases just how flexible and high-flying Chan is in one of his best martial arts action films out there (even better than the "Rush Hour" series). You have to see this with your own eyes if you want to catch my drift. This movie has one enjoyable scene after another. The simplistic display of storytelling will keep you intrigued along with the heart-pumping action, wonderful comical moments and a very tantalizing plot. The characters are very rich and vibrant like the comical performance from Anita Mui as Wong's (Chan) step-mom Ling to the insanely antagonistic bad guy Ken Lo as Jon/John. The casting decisions were well put together that adds dimension to the story and the characters. The story is about an iconic folk hero named Wong Fei Hung, a well- meaning, but naive student in the art of Drunken Boxing also known as Zui Quan. Even though he tries not to get involved when trouble is on the horizon, he becomes a witness to British thieves who are robbing rare priceless Chinese artifacts out of the country. Wong feels it his destiny to use his unorthodox fighting skills to prevent this happening.I know the concept of Drunken Boxing sounds utterly ridiculous, but it's anything but. When it comes to surreal fighting fight scenes, Jackie Chan is a master in this parameter. He makes these fight look real and very easy. And with all his movies, street-fighting appears all the time. But here, Chan's fighting is more aerial and flamboyant than compared to his other films and it's equally believable as the stuff he's done before in the past and present. The final showdown at the factory has lots of wonderful action, it's enough to make any action junkie's mouth water. Jackie Chan is not alone in this movie. The supporting cast turn in some very enthralling performances as well. Wong's parents Ling (Anita Mui) and Wong Kei Ying (Ti Lung) are exciting to watch because they are very contrary to one another. Ti Lung is loving and caring father who wants best for Wong, but still believes he must inflict tough love on him. Meanwhile Ling is the more spontaneous step-mother who has good sense of humour, while still protects her son from getting into trouble with his father. The polar opposites between each other balance the movie quite substantially. The fight scenes are some of the most intense I have scene in martial arts action films in cinematic history. One of the most memorable fighting scenes in this movie is when Wong and an associate take down every member of a large gang of hoodlums known as "The Ax Gang". I could elaborate further with this scene, but it's the exciting climax at the factory that really cranks up the heat as Wong takes down an army of bad guys before taking down the main kingpin. Jon/John is played by Ken Lo. This guy is equally talented of a fighter as Chan and was great formidable opponent for Wong. His kicking ability is enough to put his own arms out of commission. Most of the fight Lo is kicking Chan's can all over the place. At one point his kicks lands Chan into some flaming coals and like every time Chan succeeds in keeping it real.That scene along will likely make your jaw drop. Then like when Popeye eat spinach, Jackie consumes some industrial beverage and regains his composure and manages to finish off his evil adversary which makes you wonder if fighting dunk has a better advantage than when you are sober. The final scenes are just truly amazing and exciting. I guess the drunken fighting is to take your opponent off his mark but are at par with the drinker. Chan pulls this stunt off without a hitch. The fight scenes were beautifully crisp and well choreographed so much that you only wished those scenes lasted for days. If you like martial arts action movies and you have never seen this one, what the hell are you waiting for? This is a high-ranking action film up there with other action movies of this calibre like "Enter the Dragon" and "Iron Monkey". Lots of well orchestrated stunts and fight sequences, this movie will keep you entertained the whole way through.

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