Legend of the Drunken Master Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

 Title: Legend of the Drunken Master
Year: 1994
Director: Chia-Liang L-u\
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese

While Snake in the Eagle's Shadow made Jackie Chan a star in his home country and Drunken Master made the actor/director/producer/stuntman known on an international level, it would be a while before he could break into the US Market. Jackie played a minor role in the commercially successful film Cannonball Run, but was overshadowed by established American actors. In 1985 he attempted to star in The Protector, but it failed to make an impact. It wouldn't be until the mid-late 90's until we would see our kung-fu hero grab foothold in the North American film industry.  

In the sequel to Drunken Master, a young martial artist (Jackie Chan) is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts. 

One reason for why Jackie Chan took nearly 20 years to achieve fame in Hollywood is because he refused to be typecast or stereotyped due to his Hong Kong heritage. Throughout Hollywood history Asians have been portrayed as villains to their Caucasian counterpart, which is why Jackie refused to take Wesley Snipes place in Demolition Man. His hesitancy proved to be the correct decision, as Jackie became the comedic kung-fu hero for a new generation of filmgoers. Despite being 40 years old when making the film, Legend of the Drunken Master showcases Jackie perform astounding acts of physical agility which must have taken hundreds (if not, thousands) of hours to practice. 

The plot isn't, and shouldn't be, the main focus of this film. Jackie Chan's films are best viewed as mindless action, even though the cinematography, choreography and sound mixing is quite complex. The pleasure of the fight sequences is not seeing the antagonists brutally beaten, but rather in watching physical coordination and precise choreography of our hero. Every moment makes us wonder "how does he do it?"

While there are many edits, camera angles and special effects in this film, we must not discredit Jackie. There is a scene in which he falls into a pit of burning coals in this movie, that is really Jackie Chan, and the coals are really burning. He insisted doing several takes of this scene as well. Say what you will, but the man is dedicated to his near masterpiece of a film.