Review of True Legend (2010) by Raymond C — 13 Feb 2010

Yuen Woo Ping's return to the director's seat after a hiatus of more than a decade marks the second time he is recreating the story of Beggar Su for the big screen. Instead of Donnie Yen as Su Can, Vincent Zhao takes over the role and lands in a forceful and moving performance as the dissipated and often inebriated master of drunken fists.

Zhao channels the requisite impassioned vigour and fierce righteousness as the lucid Su Can who retires from the military in hopes of leaving out a peaceful life with his family, and also succeeds in emoting the banked sorrows of a broken man after the tragic demise of his beloved wife.

The tender and poignant love story between the couple complements the narrative and the eventual heartbreak melancholic. The plot is thin and formulaic, with barely enough substantial subplots to fill in the bulk of the feature length, but the excellent action choreography compensates for the flaw and it is refreshing and commendable for Yuen Woo Ping to leave his comfort zone to try his hand at directing an action film which plays out like a lugubrious song of lost love.