Review of Drunken Master (1978) by Starshade L — 25 Nov 2008

Jackie is pretty impressive. His physical comedy works well when heâ??s fighting with Simon Yuen, but when he meets Hwang Kang Lee (at least the first time) it really doesnâ??t. Lee plays a kick ass bad guy, nothing comedic about him at all. His fu is rapid-fire fast, aggressive and brutal â?? Jackieâ??s while meant to be less impressive in his first meeting with Lee, is slower, more deliberate and oft comedic. These two styles simply do not work well together on screen, although it does tend to amplify the â??baddieâ?? nature of Lee and the superior nature of his characters skills at that point in the movie â?? which may have been a deliberate move by Wo Ping (?).

Training sequences with Simon Yuen are quite entertaining even if Jackieâ??s constant whining (supposedly for comedic value) is trying on the nerves. Jackieâ??s comedy is an acquired taste to say the least! Having said this the training sequences certainly show off Jackieâ??s impressive physicality.