Master Z: Ip Man Legacy

Originally, the whole point of the various Ip Man movies was to be one degree removed from Bruce Lee. Now, the franchise is spinning off characters with only brief associations with Lee’s great Wing Chun master. Nevertheless, the action is worthy of a place in the Ip Man world. We only see producer Donnie Yen in brief, stylized flashbacks, but some of the brightest motion picture martial artists face off during Yuen Woo-ping’s Master Z: Ip Man Legacy, which opens this Friday in New York.

Cheung Tin-chi fought hard against Master Ip Man, but that made it all the more humbling when he lost his challenge. Resolving to lead a quiet life, Cheung tries to become a modest shopkeeper in Hong Kong. Yet, despite his retirement, Cheung is pulled back into the martial arts life when he saves two young women, Julia and Nana, from a drug-dealing gang led by Tso Sai Kit—at least he likes to fancy himself the leader. The truth is, the Tso syndicate is overseen by his older sister, Tso Ngan-kwan, who intends to take the organization completely legit. She is therefore not amused when her brother tries to kill Cheung and his young son as payback.

Having been burned out of their shop and flat, Cheung finds work and digs with Julia’s brother, Fu, a bar-owner catering to western customers. He knows a fair amount of martial arts too, which will make him a worthy partner for the younger Tso starts pushing hard stuff like heroin in the bar district. Unfortunately, there is an even worse offender than Tso—who also happens to be much more dangerous.

The storyline of Master Z could have been lifted from any middling Golden Harvest release from the 1970s. It almost looks like Yuen was pulling scenes out of a hat at random. Yet, that hardly matters, because of the fight scenes and the star power. Star-in-the-making Max Zhang really comes into his own as Cheung. He is quiet, but he has real presence, not unlike Yen himself. This time around, he gets to face-off versus some of the best in the business, including human tree-trunk Dave Bautista, Tony Jaa (who is almost unrecognizable as the stealthy assassin), and the legendary Michelle Yeoh, who is commandingly regal as Tso Ngan-kwan. Plus, Xing Yu (the former Shaolin monk) does some of his best work yet as the rakish but deeply principled Fu. Frankly, he shows just as much breakout star potential as Zhang.

To summarize the important points: Zhang takes on Yeoh, Bautista, and Jaa—and also teams up with Xing Yu against dozens of thugs. The action is terrific, but the father-son story also has some heart (although not as much as Ip Man’s relationships with his wife and son). It also confirms Yeoh is something like the Hong Kong female version of Clint Eastwood, because her star wattage just continues to grow in brightness over time. Very highly recommended for all martial arts fans, Master Z: Ip Man Legacy opens this Friday (4/12) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

NYAFF ’18: The Brink

Gangsters and fish just seem to go together. It is a connection that goes way back, like when the mob used to control the Fulton Fish Market, until Rudy Giuliani cleaned it out. Over in Hong Kong, scores of supposed fishermen are really part of a gold smuggling operation. Shing is a former trawler who has adapted to crime so well, he usurps the entire operation, but that means he will have to contend with the wildest cop on the Hong Kong force in Jonathan Li’s The Brink (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 New York Asian Film Festival.

A suspect dies while Sai Gui is bringing him in, but he is eventually cleared of criminal responsibility, in the most legalistic sense possible. Of course, nobody wants anything to do with him, including Chan, his strictly by-the-book captain and his partner, A-de, who is literally due to retire tomorrow, so do not get too emotionally attached to him.

For some reason, Sai Gui gets a bee in his bonnet over the gold-smuggling ring Shing runs for the ingrate Shui, who rather arrogantly assumes he can turn over the operation to his entitled son with no consequences. Instead, Shing turns the tables on Shui and son. If Kui, the Triad pulling the strings from his casino cruise ship will except Shing as his new guy, he will be a much more dangerous target for Sai Gui to take down, but the chaotic transition also represents an opportunity for the cop to expose the operation.

So, game on. The Brink is intended to be Max Zhang Jin’s big debut as an action leading man, after he stole the show in Kill Zone (SPL) 2, but it is hard to recognize him with the bleach blond surfer coif he sports this time around. Regardless, he has massive chops. Whenever he goes toe-to-toe with a bad guy, the film is on rock solid ground (even when the action takes place on typhoon-swept fishing boats).

Shawn Yue is nearly as durable and moody as Shing. Frankly, their antagonism might have played better with more personality contrast. Yet, Yue develops some intriguing chemistry with Janice Man (showing some nice chops of her own), as the unnamed protégé Shing’s takes an uncharacteristically protective interest in.

Of course, Yasuaki Kurata struts through the film with authority as the all-business Kui and Gordon Lam adds an element of humanity as the long-suffering Chan. However, the whole point of the film is to showcase Zhang, by letting his fists do the talking. The Brink has its ragged edges, but frankly that is part of its throwback, throw-down charm. Recommended as a watery thrill ride, with absolutely no pretensions, The Brink screens Wednesday night (like Fourth of July fireworks) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYAFF.