Review of Man of Tai Chi (2013) by Irina P — 21 Aug 2015

Overall this was a very good directorial debut, a very good martial arts movie. The skill displayed, the choreography of the fights, the camera work, the score and even the sets work together really well to give the viewer an entertaining experience.

We get a bit of an education about Tai Chi and Tiger Chen delivers pretty well for a fighter. My only criticism is about Donaka Mark. I didn't feel he came to life as a villain until towards the end of the movie.

I loved Keanu Reeves as the bad guy Donnie Barksdale, so I was expecting the same kind of stellar performance. I was quite disappointed and I think it's mostly due to the writing of the character.

He appeared as cold throughout the movie, especially towards Tiger; and I feel the character would have had a lot more flavour to it, if he was portrayed as cunning and manipulative, befriending Tiger, making him think he truly had his best interest at heart.

It would have explained the shock and horror on the fighter's face at the beginning of the movie, when Donaka finishes the other fighter off. There are also a couple of shots of Donaka, that are from behind; I also feel that Keanu Reeves, as a director, could have added flavour to Donaka if the camera looked at him from the side, thus allowing us to see his expression.

Other than that, I have really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to any martial arts fan.