Review of Tai Chi Hero (2012) by Justin R — 11 May 2013

While I love a good martial arts movie and creative jaunts into the science fiction and fantasy realms, 'Tai Chi Hero' breaks new grounds in the unbelievable instead. The protagonist Lu Chan is a brilliant engineer in ancient times, making a flying machine, bombs, and a suit of armor that gives him super fighting powers.

The problem occurs when his martial arts teacher and the people of the town outright reject him and his inventions, outraged that he was believed to be a true master when he was only as good as his then undisclosed technological aids.

If you were living in a farming village that considered a watermill to be the best thing around, and the local kung-fu hero turns out to be a guy who not only knows martial arts, but has a mechanized armor suit and the means to fly, do you really think you'd say, "hey, that guy's a total chump, we thought he was good, but turns out he's just a thousand years ahead in technological advancements.

Sure, he can fly and make things explode and block swords, but can he do a horse stance for an hour without the mechanical suit?".