Réalisation:
Keanu ReevesScénario:
Michael G. CooneyPhotographie:
Elliot DavisMusique:
Kwong-Wing ChanActeurs·trices:
Tiger Chen Hu, Keanu Reeves, Hai Yu, Julia Ye, Karen Mok, Simon Yam, Iko Uwais, Steve Yoo, Man-chun Wong, Kok-git Lam, Brahim Achabbakhe (plus)VOD (3)
Résumés(1)
Dans la cité effervescente de Pékin, le jeune et ambitieux "Tiger" Chen Lin-Hu (Tiger Hu Chen) travaille comme simple livreur, mais sa journée terminée, il se transforme en jeune champion des arts martiaux, gravissant un à un les échelons dans la tradition du Ling Kong Tai Chi, une forme ancienne qui s'apparente plus à un art du combat qu'à la discipline paisible à laquelle beaucoup associent le Tai Chi. Perfectionnant sa technique, Tiger commence à se faire un nom dans le prestigieux championnat d'arts martiaux de Wulin Wang. À Hong Kong, l'inspectrice Suen Jing-Si (Karen Mok), membre de l'OCTB, l'unité de police luttant contre le crime organisé, manque de preuves pour inculper le puissant homme d'affaires Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves) qui organise illégalement des combats sans merci filmés et diffusés à de riches clients. En mal d'une nouvelle "star", Donaka tente de convaincre Tiger de rejoindre ses rangs en lui faisant miroiter de grosses sommes facilement gagnées. Tiger résiste par intégrité et dévouement pour son art, mais quand le temple de son maître est menacé par un projet immobilier, le jeune champion cède afin de préserver l'héritage du Ling Kong Tai Chi. Il devient rapidement un phénomène en défiant des adversaires de réputations internationales. Mais le style plus sombre et agressif de Tiger transparaît dans ses combats publics, attirant l'attention et déshonorant son vieux maître (Yu Hai). Réprimant difficilement les sombres pulsions qui sommeillent en lui, Tiger accepte néanmoins de collaborer avec Suen Jing-Si pour démanteler les combats privés très lucratifs qu'organise Donaka. Alors que chaque combat est déterminant pour sa vie, Tiger parviendra-t-il à rester intègre et à maîtriser les plus terribles coups que son art recèle ? (Universal International FR)
(plus)Critiques (2)
Keanu Reeves played a variety of roles in his career. Good, evil and also neutral. He also directed this movie and I would say it was surprisingly good directing. Surprisingly, because it was his debut and when an actor is debuting as a director, I never know what to expect. Keanu did good. The movie is about fighting, which is quite ironical as Tai-chi as such has not much in common with fighting. However, the fights in this movie are flawless. There is quite a lot of them and the tripod is holding the camera in a way that the tape won’t fall out of it that easily. In case Keanu wasn’t shooting it on a digital. That would hardly have any tape. But it could shake some memory card out of it. Nevertheless, the movie is about fights and that is the most fundamental it has to offer. Everything else is just a bunch of stuff we’ve already seen a thousand times.
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Keanu Reeves remembered his Matrix days and filmed a movie in China where he played a dark version of Neo without abilities that were quite as cool. Surprisingly, he can't fly and probably can't stop a bullet. The film is rather dark, but it's not that much of a horror. Blood spurting in water jets... probably not everyone's cup of tea. But bones are already breaking in the first scene, and there are quite a few action-packed sequences throughout. The screenplay doesn't offer any surprises; it's a classic Lee-style setup where a group of fighters finds themselves in life-and-death battles led by a madman who revels in death. White and black, good and bad. What more do you want? It’s stylized, though not overly so, and the fights aren't particularly innovative, but considering it's the directorial debut of a well-known actor, it's passable.
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