Starring
Liao Fan, Jiang Wenli, Chin Shi-Chief, Song Jia, Song Yang, Huang
Jue. Directed by Xu Haofeng. (2015, 110 min).
It's
a damn good thing the action and performances in The Final Master
are good, because the story is as confounding as any I've seen in
recent memory.
Liao
Fan is Chen, the last remaining master of the
martial art known as Wing Chun. He wants to open a school in the city
of Tianjin in order to pass his skills along. But it's not as simple
as that. Tradition dictates that he must first challenge and defeat
the other 8 schools (which later turns into 19). But it ain't that simple either. Since he's not
from Tianjin, he's not allowed to fight himself; he must select and
train someone from town. But that's also too simple. He takes a wife,
Zhao (Song Jia), and poses as a local peasant to find a suitable
apprentice, almost immediately deciding on Geng. Then he spends a few
years training the young man to prepare for the challenge.
But,
alas, more complications present themselves, mostly from masters of
other houses who make it damn near impossible for Chen to achieve his
dream. Much of this plot becomes so confusing that I more-or-less
gave up trying to keep track of who is screwing over who and why. But
in a nutshell, victory for Chen & Geng pretty much becomes a
damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't scenario.
 |
| East Side Story. |
The
behaviors and actions of most secondary characters are almost
maddeningly ambiguous, and even when they explain themselves, it's
difficult to understand why everyone is going to all this trouble
just to keep another martial arts school from opening. Fortunately,
The Final Master has enough fighting and action to compensate
for its convoluted tale, enhanced by terrific fight scenes, great
editing and what might be the most oddball music score I've ever heard (though it fits perfectly).
As
Master Chen, Fan has a lot of interesting and dangerous toys at his
disposal, including a staff adorned with several long, machete-like
blades. The climax, which has Chen fighting dozens of foes as he
makes his way down a narrow alley, is wildly choreographed and very
exciting (though the outcome is never really in doubt).
So
forget the plot - you probably will anyway - sit back and enjoy
the action, all of which looks like it was done without any tethers or
wires. The Final Master is visually impressive enough to
please martial arts fans.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES:
"The Weapons"; Director Interview
TRAILER
DVD
COPY
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
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