Tai Chi 2 (1996)



	Tai Chi 2		Return to Review Archive - T
	Year:	1996	Jacky Wu knows Tai Chi, too.
	Director:	Yuen Woo-Ping
	Cast:	Wu Jing (Ng King), Christy Chung Lai-Tai, Mark Cheng Ho-Nam, Sibelle Hu (Wu Wai-Jung), Billy Chow Bei-Lei, Lau Shun
	The Skinny:	Decent fighting highlights this otherwise unnecessary and uninteresting kung-fu flick from director Yuen Woo-Ping. Assembling a less interesting cast than this one would be a true achievement.
	Review by Kozo:	Billed as a sequel to the popular and superior Tai Chi Master, this Yuen Woo-Ping directed kung fu flick really only has Tai Chi in common with its predecessor. Instead of the former film's cast and blistering martial arts action, this film has so-so martial arts action and a cast that could make paint peel. Plot-wise, it's business as usual: Young Jacky Wu Jing knows Tai Chi and lusts after Rose (Christy Chung), a Chinese suffragette who's campaigning for democracy amidst the infamous Opium Wars. Jacky gets the opportunity to save her, much to the dismay of Imperial Officer boyfriend Mark Cheng, who also doubles as a lackey of the evil opium smugglers. Eventually Jacky get the opportunity to put away the bad guys with his tremendously wacky kung fu. He fights, he wins, he goes home with the girl. And hijinks ensue. Spoilers aside, you can't really expect much more from this somewhat tired collection of kung fu clichés. Yuen Woo-Ping is a great martial arts coordinator, but when the rest of the film is so charmless and pedestrian, it's really hard to say that the action redeems everything. While a decent martial artist, Young Jacky Wu doesn't possess much in the way of screen presence, and Christy Chung seems anachronistic in a period piece. Overall there's not much wrong with Tai Chi 2, except for the fact that it has the personality of a lump of clay. The film lacks the things HK cinema is renowned for: energy, emotion, and excitement. Fast forward or chapter search are your best friends for this movie. (Kozo 1996)
	Availability:	DVD Region 1 NTSC Tai Seng Home Video Widescreen Cantonese Language Tracks Removable English Subtitles

		image courtesy of Tai Seng Video Marketing
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