WU DANG DVD (大武当之天地密码) (2012)
SYNOPSIS: In early Republican China, rumors were going around about the treasure in Wudang Mountain. An American conspirator (Vincent Zhao) took his well-trained kung fu daughter (Josie Xu) to Wudang by sponsoring a martial arts competition, to steal the treasure. Out of expectation, a disciple (Fan Sui Wong) represented Wudang to compete with other martial arts masters for the championship. During the competition, resentment incurred against different parties, the relationship became complicated, the American conspirator fell in love with the woman (Mini Yang) who is the key to the treasure. The secret of the treasure had been revealed. The treasure is the key of the magnetic field of Wudang, if it’s stolen, Wudang would be devastated. To protect Wudang, a group of young heroes rallied around to defeat grant masters. It’s the time the long-lost Wudang martial arts returned…
MOVIE REVIEW:
Director Patrick Leung has three martial-arts stars namely Vincent Zhao, Fan Siu Wong and Dennis To at his disposal for “Wu Dang” unfortunately the end product is a mediocre action flick touted as the first Wu Dang kung fu movie. But Leung is not solely to be blame, there’s also action choreographer Corey Yuen and screenwriter Chan Khan to share the responsibilities.
Chan Khan’s story is a mix of Indiana Jones meets martial arts with a touch of romance and fantasy. Sounds good on paper but Chan has problems concocting the various elements into one exciting movie. For a start, Vincent Zhao plays Prof Tang Yunlong who travels to Mt Wu Dang with his daughter, Ning (Xu Jiao from “CJ7”) in search of seven priceless treasures at the pretext of sponsoring a Wudang tournament. There isn’t much explanation to Tang’s background or motive, if you have seen enough movies, you can safely assume Tang is sort of an Oriental Indiana Jones who possess the wit and skills against baddies who are also after the treasures. Most importantly, he is a good guy. But why is he after the treasures?
Anyway, Tang meets a mysterious skilful young lady, Tianxin (Mini Yang from “Painted Skin II”) who is also after one of the hidden treasures which conveniently happened to be her family’s heirloom. The duo agrees to collaborate not knowing there’s a bigger conspiracy waiting for them. In the meantime, Ning meets a kind-hearted Wudang disciple Shui (Fan Siu Wong) and a blossoming romance awaits them. Wait a minute, romance? Fan is old enough to be Xu Jiao’s father and the casting director or whoever decides they should be a couple here. It’s the turn of the century but doesn’t mean it’s legally acceptable.
If the action is any good, at least you can forget about the creepy romance however Corey Yuen who worked with Zhao on the ridiculously good “Fong Sai Yuk” seems to be going through the motion with his constant use of wire-fu and repetitive kung fu moves. The action lacks the aggressiveness of Yuen’s past works and serviceable at best. Fan’s skill is wasted as he is given limited screentime to shine while Dennis To (“Ip Man: A Legend Is Born”) gets to work with some lacklustre visual effects opposite his fight against Tang in the finale. The fantasy element comes to play when Chan Khan throws in a laughable plot twist which explains when the seven treasures come together; it turns a mortal into a powerful holy spirit. On the other hand, Mini Yang impresses with her slick moves and agility together with Xu Jiao.
“Wu Dang” is an ambitious movie that tries to bring audience back to the heydays of Hong Kong martial-arts movies. Sadly, with the exception of breath-taking cinematography by Tony Cheung, there’s little to redeem in this flimsy material. It’s a stark reminder why movies such as “Tai Chi Master” and “Fong Sai Yuk” remain as classic.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Corey Yuen talks about the action choreography in the 4 minutes Making Of. There’s also a Trailer and Photo Gallery.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Detail is wonderful and the panoramic views of Mt Wudang are beautifully captured. With a choice of Mandarin or Cantonese soundtrack, the Dolby Digital 2.0 is clear and concise.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
