Legend of the Drunken Master (2000)

Drunken Master

I am not that much of a Jackie Chan fan but in this movie he is awesome.
I love the whole drunken master wire fu action movie stuff. And Jackie Chan does a wonderful job at it. Great movie for the whole family to watch. December 24, 2008

Spectacular

Jackie Chan truly delivers a spectacular performance. In the final battle scene Jackie takes it to the extreme.

This movie will surely become a classic in the martial art genre, in the pure tradition of the Bruce Lee style. September 29, 2008

5-star movie, best version for casual action fans. . .

I know it's sacrilege to suggest that a cut-down, dubbed DVD is superior in any way to the original. But in this case it does have its advantages. This film (originally titled Drunken Master 2) is JC's best Kung Fu choreography you'll find. This version is shorter than the Hong Kong version, has only dubbing, and replaces the original score. But being as this is such a fantastic fighting film, the watered-down format makes it more palatable to the casual viewer. You'll have no subtitles to read (and at least Jackie dubs his own voice), all the action is preserved (you only lose some bits of the story), and you get the cleanest picture available. For any die-hard fans I, of course, recommend getting the uncut original. Now, onto the movie itself.

Jackie Chan has a pretty broad spectrum to his work. Some films are all about the big stunts, some are about the action sequences, some are funny. This film is all about the fight sequences.

Hands down this is Jackie's best kung fu choreography. It was done by Ming-Sing Wong (aka Sam Wong), who also choreographed Jackie's other fighting masterpiece "Who Am I?". While WAI does boast some impressive fights with some huge stunts, DM2 is pure fighting. The Drunken Boxing style really allows Jackie to show his skill and creativity inside of the kung fu arena. This film really lets you see just how good Jackie is. Here, he shows he can hold his own against his contemporaries like Jet and Donnie (back in the day that is, at least).

The story is a little silly: things get set in motion because of some missing ginseng getting mixed up with a royal seal and some British imperialists. Same kind of thing as "Once Upon a Time in China" (since Jackie and Jet are playing the same character of Wong Fei Hong, it's not surprising). Only here, it's a bit more comedic than the Tsui Hark fare. But it doesn't matter. The interplay between Jackie and the late, great Anita Mui as his mother is priceless. The comedic element to this film really does add some depth, so you're not just sitting by watching the clock until someone starts punching someone else in the face.

You really could spend a semester studying why this movie is simply one of the greatest action films of all time. Even those who don't want to read subtitles and prefer their action with lots of explosions and CG will love this. Look, if you haven't seen it, stop reading and just click the button to add this to your shopping cart, select the fastest shipping you can afford, and just sit back and watch in amazement. August 29, 2008

More beer & kung fu

Jackie Chan returns in top form with his drunken art. Without a doubt the highlight of this film is seeing Jackie in action. But I found the film stale in some areas. Most notably with the characters. Outside of Jackie, I really didn't care for any of them.

The action scenes are very good and they're plenty. But this time around the characters were very uninteresting to me. The lead villian in this one could never match Thunderfoot from the original. If only more screen time was given to the lead villian. I would appreciate this movie more.

In anycase, this is a good film to check out if you're a fan of Jackie. But personally I watch this one the least and I haven't seen it for years until today. I would give it a 3.5. July 28, 2008

OMFG Dubs ONLY!

This movie is one of the few I showcase to friends when they talk about how much they love Jackie Chan. I often follow that statement up with, "Well, have you seen this.." I do love this movie and for every Jackie Chan fan, its one of the movies you need to watch. When my VHS version 'died', I got a copy of this version to find... f***in A, they dubbed it, and dubbed it horribly I might add. I really don't understand why you would want to lobotomize a film like this, or any film for that matter with D-list vocal talent... So my rating is for this dvd release of Drunken Master II, a 5 star movie otherwise destroyed by the stupid dubs. And though that won't matter to most of you, for some it will mean enough to keep many from even thinking about purchasing this release, and that is who this review is for. July 11, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...