Keanu Reeves directorial debut, MAN OF TAI CHI, looks to take all of the great elements from martial arts films and compile them into a two hour homage to a bygone genre (see our review here!). We rarely get martial arts movies of high quality these days unless you count THE MATRIX films. MAN OF TAI CHI has been in development for five years during which time Reeves worked to develop an entirely new method for filming fight sequences that was unfortunately not able to make it into the film. Instead, Reeves and his friend, stuntman Tiger Chen, have created the next best thing.
MAN OF TAI CHI is a rarity in movies these days as you can actually see what is going on in the fight sequences. Shot with handheld cameras, the battles take on a very intense quality as exhibited in this exclusive clip from the film. Partially seen in the trailer, this clip has Chen being tested in an empty room with an unseen attacker prompting him to fight. The results are quick, fluid, and pretty cool.
Keanu Reeves stars as the wealthy owner of a Beijing underground fight club who recruits a humble Tai Chi student (Tiger Chen) to his closed-circuit battles. But, when the young man is seduced by money and power, it triggers a war between the Hong Kong police, the world's deadliest combatants, and a peaceful spiritual discipline turned lethal new fighting style.
MAN OF TAI CHI may not be the box office hit that Keanu Reeves generally appears in, but it looks like a pretty fun time at the movies. Reeves put his career on hold to develop this movie and starred in only a series of smaller independents in the meantime. While I look forward to seeing him back in big budget movies again, I am also intrigued to see him step behind the camera again after this film.
MAN OF TAI CHI hits Blu-ray/DVD and VOD on December 10th. Preorder here!
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed