![]() ![]() There’s nothing particularly awful about the fighting in “Wu Dang” then again there’s nothing particularly inspired about it either. ![]() With “Wu Dang,” we’re a long ways from Corey Yuen’s “So Close” and an even longer way from “ Righting Wrongs.” And to director Patrick Leung’s credit, he secured one of the best talents in the industry by assigning Corey Yuen to choreograph the action in “Wu Dang.” Sadly, he must have caught Yuen on an off day. It’s hard to sell your movie as light, inconsequential fluff when the central relationships are going to make most viewers a tad uncomfortable.Īll might be forgiven if “Wu Dang” succeeded where we expect most Chinese-language action pictures to excel: the fight scenes. Meanwhile, the screenplay seems to suggest a 40 year-old Zhao will end up shacking up with the 20-something Yang Mi. These days Fan is pushing 39, which wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that Xu Jiao isn’t even legal yet. In the story, Vincent Zhao’s daughter shares some innocent-minded flirtation with a Buddhist monk portrayed by Louis Fan of “ Ricki-Oh” fame. The plot is built around the mystery of the Wu Dang temple’s artifacts, but when the characters aren’t fighting over them the movie’s runtime is devoted to two playful romances with ridiculous age gaps. ![]() Since the audience is kept in the dark about Vincent Zhao’s motivations for most of the movie, his character comes across as more of a grave robber than a hero we can actually root for. Unfortunately, the filmmakers feel like they’re on autopilot for what should have been a spirited journey. In a display of questionable parenting skills, Zhao tows his plucky daughter, portrayed by Xu Jiao (who played a boy in Stephen Chow’s “ CJ7“), along for the ride while he contends with a rival hunter in the form of pop music and TV sensation Yang Mi. His latest adventure sends him to a combat tournament in the middle of the Wu Dang mountains. Vincent Zhao, who recently made headlines by dropping out of Donnie Yen’s action movie “Special Identity,” stars in the lead role of a studied professor and treasure hunter. ‘Vincent Zhao and the Treasure of the Wu Dang Mountains’ – I guess that title is a bit of a mouthful, but it would have likely given viewers a better idea of what to expect from this movie than “Wu Dang.” This 2012 Chinese-language picture is a light, breezy martial arts fantasy with a bit of an Indiana Jones flavor. ![]() Cast: Yang Mi, Vincent Chiu Man Chuk, Fan Siu Wong, Xu Jiao, Dennis To Yue Hong, Nina Pau Hei Ching ![]()
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December 2022
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