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Man of Tai Chi

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Man of Tai Chi
Chinese theatrical release poster
Directed byKeanu Reeves
Written byMichael G. Cooney
Produced byLemore Syvan
Starring
CinematographyElliot Davis
Edited byDerek Hui
Music byChan Kwong-wing
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • China Film Group
    Wanda Media (China)
  • RADiUS-TWC (United States)
  • Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates
  • 5 July 2013 (2013-07-05) (China)
  • 1 November 2013 (2013-11-01) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes
Countries
  • China
  • United States
Languages
  • Mandarin
  • English
  • Cantonese[1]
BudgetUS$25 million[2]
Box officeUS$5.5 million[3]

Man of Tai Chi is a 2013 Chinese-American martial arts film directed by Keanu Reeves in his directorial debut. It also stars Reeves, Tiger Chen, Iko Uwais, Karen Mok and Simon Yam.[4][5][6] The film is multilingual, featuring dialogue in Mandarin, English and Cantonese. In the film, a young martial artist is pushed by the need of money to enter the world of underground fighting.

The film was released in China on 5 July 2013, and in the United States on 1 November 2013.

Despite the critics praising Reeves's direction and action sequences, the film bombed at the box office.[7]

Plot

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Hong Kong police officer Sun-Jing is investigating Donaka Mark, who is hosting an illegal fighting operation. Donaka attempts to recruit Tiger, a young working-class disciple of Tai Chi at a Wu Lin Wang Competition. Donaka offers large sums of money to fight for him but Tiger refuses, as fighting for money would compromise his honor.

Soon after, land inspectors declare Tiger's Tai Chi temple structurally unsafe, intending to demolish the temple. To preserve the temple, Tiger applies for historic protection status, arguing it is a place for cultivating peace and wellbeing; however, he requires a large sum of money to repair the temple and accepts Donaka's offer.

Donaka's fights take the form of modern gladiatorial combat enjoyed by wealthy individuals. Tiger earns enough money to repair the temple and improve his quality of life, but develops a more brutal style. In the Wu Lin Competition, Tiger viciously injures his opponent; the authorities reject his temple petition for historical protection, as his actions at the competition clearly do not represent peace and wellbeing. Tiger nearly kills his next opponent, but relents at the end. Realizing how much he has changed for the worse, Tiger declares his intention to stop fighting for Donaka and contacts officer Sun-Jing. They plan to track the location of the next fight and arrest Donaka.

Donaka prepares a fight to the death for Tiger. Donaka reveals how he engineered the temple's crisis to manipulate Tiger; he wished to transform him from innocent martial arts practitioner to ruthless killer. Tiger refuses to fight his assigned opponent and Sun-Jing's officers storm the compound, but Donaka escapes. Later, Donaka arrives at the temple and begins a fight with Tiger. Donaka initially has the upper hand, but Tiger re-embraces his Tai Chi training and manages to palm-strike Donaka despite getting stabbed. A dying Donaka expresses his pleasure for having pushed Tiger to become a killer.

In the aftermath, Sun-Jing is promoted to Superintendent and Tiger's temple petition succeeds. Tiger intends to open his own Tai Chi school in the city to continue the legacy of the Ling Kong Tai Chi.

Cast

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Production

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Pre-production began in 2008 with years-long script refinements. When the project eventually moved into the production phase, principal photography occurred on mainland China and Hong Kong.

Release

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The film received an R rating from the MPAA, although Reeves said it was shot with the intention of a PG-13 rating.[8][9][10]

The film premiered in 2013 with showings at the Beijing Film Festival[11] and Cannes Film Festival.[12] It was also scheduled to be shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[13] It became available for purchase on 27 September 2013, via the iTunes Store (VOD) video on demand, and had its theatrical release in the US on 1 November 2013.

Reception

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The film premiered at the 2013 Beijing International Film Festival, where it received praise from action film director John Woo.[14] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 71% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The site's consensus reads, "It may not be groundbreaking, but Man of Tai Chi represents an agreeably old-fashioned picture for martial arts fans – and a solid debut for first-time director Keanu Reeves."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 22 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16] Since its release, Man of Tai Chi has been regarded as one of the best films in Reeves's filmography.[17][18][19][20]

Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times called it "a movie streamlined to evoke the timeless zip of martial arts movies past" and praised the "refreshingly grounded and old-school kinetic" action.[21] Sheila O'Malley, writing at RogerEbert.com, also praised the "thrilling immediacy" of the fight scenes: "you realize you are actually seeing these guys actually do this, as opposed to watching something pieced together later in the editing room".[22] Dave McGinn of the Globe and Mail, in contrast, called the film "ambitious but generic" and filled with "stale conventions".[23]

Despite the favorable reviews, the movie was a box office bomb, having grossed US$5.5 million against a budget of US$25 million.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Weintraub, Steve 'Frosty' (23 August 2012). "Keanu Reeves Talks SIDE BY SIDE, 47 RONIN, His Directorial Debut MAN OF TAI CHI, BILL & TED 3, and POINT BREAK LIVE". collider.com. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Out in Theaters: MAN OF TAI CHI". Silverscreenriot.com. 30 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Man of Tai Chi (2013) – International Box Office Results – Box Office Mojo".
  4. ^ Shackleton, Liz (7 June 2012). "China's new global strategy". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  5. ^ Young, Al (19 December 2011). "Karen Mok Joins Keanu Reeves' MAN OF TAI CHI". Twitch. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  6. ^ Lower, Gavin (29 June 2012). "Village Roadshow Unit Puts IPO Plans on Hold". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  7. ^ "'Man of Tai Chi' Loses Fight for China Box-Office Crown". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Keanu Reeves Talks SIDE BY SIDE, 47 RONIN, His Directorial Debut MAN OF TAI CHI, BILL & TED 3, and POINT BREAK LIVE". Collider.
  9. ^ "Man of Tai Chi aims at a PG-13 rating". Movie-censorship.com.
  10. ^ "Man of Tai Chi With R-Rating After All". Movie-censorship.com.
  11. ^ Davidson, Mike (20 May 2013). "Keanu Reeves spent five years on his latest film: Why?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  12. ^ Davidson, Mike (20 May 2013). "Keanu Reeves makes director debut with Kung Fu film". Reuters. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Man of Tai Chi (2013) – Kung-fu Kingdom". Kung-fu Kingdom. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Man of Tai Chi (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Man of Tai Chi Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Keanu's Best Action Movies, Ranked From The Matrix To John Wick". Syfy Wire. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  18. ^ Timkang, Marijim Dy (24 March 2023). "Best Keanu Reeves Movies of All Time". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  19. ^ Mathews, Liam (20 March 2023). "9 best Keanu Reeves movies besides John Wick and The Matrix". Polygon. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  20. ^ Billson, Anne (5 September 2024). "Keanu Reeves at 60: from surfer dude to action hero, his 20 best films – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Review: Keanu Reeves, as director, gives 'Man of Tai Chi' zip". Los Angeles Times. 31 October 2013. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  22. ^ O'Malley, Sheila. "Man of Tai Chi Movie Review & Film Summary (2013) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  23. ^ "Review: Keanu Reeves, as director, gives 'Man of Tai Chi' zip". Los Angeles Times. 31 October 2013. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  24. ^ Dominguez, Noah (5 December 2022). "Keanu Reeves Would Love to Direct Again, But Needs a Man of Tai Chi Situation". CBR. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
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