Tsui Hark working with Jet Li has almost always been a recipe for success. But then came The (other) Master. This is another one of those movies that have that “American” gimmick. They have Chinese actors go to America (usually either New York or California) and they star alongside terrible American actors. This has worked before though in movies like Chinatown Capers, but it’s failed so many more times. Films like Gun of Dragon, Once Upon a Time in China and America, and The Protector are all crap. For some reason, studios thought this was a good idea, but these movies were all box office flops. But with such an influential director like Tsui Hark tackling the genre, wouldn’t he be able to turn every film he touches into gold? Nope, and this movie’s proof.
The Master takes place in my homeland, Los Angeles. A crazed martial artist, Johnny (Jerry Trimble), heads to a few martial art schools in the area and beats their masters in fights in order to promote his own school. Master Tak (Yuen Wah) is defeated and the school becomes vacated. Meanwhile, Kit (Jet Li) visits Los Angeles to see Master Tak and is unable to adapt with the culture. He meets many other characters along the way, but when he finds out what happened to his master, he sets out to fight Johnny and his henchmen.
The Master takes place in my homeland, Los Angeles. A crazed martial artist, Johnny (Jerry Trimble), heads to a few martial art schools in the area and beats their masters in fights in order to promote his own school. Master Tak (Yuen Wah) is defeated and the school becomes vacated. Meanwhile, Kit (Jet Li) visits Los Angeles to see Master Tak and is unable to adapt with the culture. He meets many other characters along the way, but when he finds out what happened to his master, he sets out to fight Johnny and his henchmen.
The story in this movie is kinda similar to Way of the Dragon, except instead of taking place in Spain, this movie takes place in Los Angeles. And instead of being a classic film, this movie’s one of the worst that I can think of. Within the first minute of the film, I thought “Oh, it’s one of these kind of movies,” and my brain turned off. Terrible characters, terrible story, and even worse acting. If you’re looking for a movie with anything notable besides the action, this is not the movie for you.
The Master displays none of the talent that Tsui Hark and Jet Li both have. Jet Li has his moments both as an actor and as a martial artist, but he’s certainly done better. As for Tsui Hark, this is very likely his worst movie. This movie’s so bad that it’s hard to imagine how this film got greenlit.
The Master displays none of the talent that Tsui Hark and Jet Li both have. Jet Li has his moments both as an actor and as a martial artist, but he’s certainly done better. As for Tsui Hark, this is very likely his worst movie. This movie’s so bad that it’s hard to imagine how this film got greenlit.
I feel like when Jet Li was filming Dragon Fight, Tsui Hark decided to film something in a month. He grabbed the first people he could find, asked them to make up some dialogue, and he filmed it. Notice how I called them people and not actors because these guys...definitely aren’t actors. The acting is atrocious in this movie. It sometimes seems like the American actors didn’t even know English themselves (“We have to get this man arrested in the act of fighting”).
But still, is the action anything worth mentioning? Well, I guess. The fights choreographed by Yuen Wah are pretty good, but they’re not good enough that they can save this movie. The end fight in noteworthy for two reasons though. (1) The fight scene between Jet Li and Jerry Trimble admittedly looks really good. (2) The mistakes made in this scene are almost unforgivable. There are visible dolly tracks and stunt mattresses throughout. It looks like the filmmakers put no effort into hiding any camera tricks.
But still, is the action anything worth mentioning? Well, I guess. The fights choreographed by Yuen Wah are pretty good, but they’re not good enough that they can save this movie. The end fight in noteworthy for two reasons though. (1) The fight scene between Jet Li and Jerry Trimble admittedly looks really good. (2) The mistakes made in this scene are almost unforgivable. There are visible dolly tracks and stunt mattresses throughout. It looks like the filmmakers put no effort into hiding any camera tricks.
The action is decent, but the characters, story, and acting are all horrendous. There are people who really like this movie because they can see it as one of those “so bad it’s good” movies. But they still gotta admit that this is a bad movie. Those looking for quality cinema will be disappointed (and appalled). But still, I must say that if Tsui Hark had cut out all of the unnecessary scenes, The Master could’ve made a terrific short film. But as is, it’s crap.
*Upon completion in 1989, this movie was shelved (and with good reason), but once Once Upon a Time in China came out, this film was released and given a Chinese title which translates to Wong Fei Hung '92.
Images from HKMDb and HK Cinemagic
*Upon completion in 1989, this movie was shelved (and with good reason), but once Once Upon a Time in China came out, this film was released and given a Chinese title which translates to Wong Fei Hung '92.
Images from HKMDb and HK Cinemagic