Liu Chia-Liang, once the best and most careful of 'fu film directors, apparently made this film as a way of getting back at Jackie Chan for kicking him off the Drunken Master II (aka Legend of) project. I therefore expected DMIII to be the film that Liu intended to make with DMII that Chan would not allow him to complete.
Instead, what I get is a wildly unfocused post-modern parody of contemporary martial arts films, from Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China to the commonplace crime thrillers that flooded Hong Kong screens after the success of A Better Tomorrow.
What in heaven's name is going on here? I have a high tolerance for post-modern experimentation in cinema, and for parody as well. What I lack is the willingness to surrender good taste to either of these.
It is quite clear that Liu holds much of the Hong Kong New Wave in contempt; but this era in Hong Kong would certainly have allowed him to make a more traditional exploration of the cultural problems presented in DMIII, especially since he had never lost the respect of either the older or the newer generations of filmmakers and film audiences. In other words, he could have done anything he wanted to with this film. It wholly inconceivable that he would throw away this opportunity in order to whine about Hong Kong cinema growing too corrupt to make a better film. But that's all this film amounts to.
Some good fight scenes; but even some of these are unnecessarily confusing.
Instead, what I get is a wildly unfocused post-modern parody of contemporary martial arts films, from Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China to the commonplace crime thrillers that flooded Hong Kong screens after the success of A Better Tomorrow.
What in heaven's name is going on here? I have a high tolerance for post-modern experimentation in cinema, and for parody as well. What I lack is the willingness to surrender good taste to either of these.
It is quite clear that Liu holds much of the Hong Kong New Wave in contempt; but this era in Hong Kong would certainly have allowed him to make a more traditional exploration of the cultural problems presented in DMIII, especially since he had never lost the respect of either the older or the newer generations of filmmakers and film audiences. In other words, he could have done anything he wanted to with this film. It wholly inconceivable that he would throw away this opportunity in order to whine about Hong Kong cinema growing too corrupt to make a better film. But that's all this film amounts to.
Some good fight scenes; but even some of these are unnecessarily confusing.