Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen
Synopsis
In 1925, the Japanese occupied the city of Shanghai. They have the city divided into several settlements. They are preparing a full-scale invasion of China. The Chinese are not only being bullied by the Japanese, they are also harassed by the Westerners who have come with their influence and getting rich from their business.
Chen Zhen (Donnie Yen), a former soldier during World War I, has reappeared as Qi Tianyuan, a businessman in the city of Shanghai. He frequently hangs out at the Casablanca nightclub where a beautiful singer, Fang Qing (Shu Qi), also known as Kiki, works.
Qi Tianyuan’s best friend, Liu Yu-Tian (Anthony Wong), is the owner of the nightclub. Together they plan to lead a resistance against their Japanese oppressors. It is discovered that the ambitious Japanese military is plotting the assassination of General Zeng (Shawn Yue), the son of a northern Chinese army commander, by resistance fighters.
They see an opportunity in that to cause internal conflicts among the Chinese people. The Japanese will then blame a rival military leader, General Zhuo (Yue Ma). When the Japanese kill Zeng, a civil war will ensue between the two rival military leaders and facilitate the conquest of China.
Qi Tianyuan foils the plot when he disguises himself as a masked superhero in a black suit. Colonel Takeshi Chikaraishi (Ryu Kohata) is the sadistic leader of the Japanese military faction in Shanghai. He begins killing anti-Japanese resistance people on a list sent by his superiors in Tokyo.
Colonel Takeshi also starts putting two and two together to discover that Qi Tianyuan is actually Chen Zhen, the masked hero. Elsewhere, Qi Tianyuan/Chen Zhen is falling in love with Fang Qing. He soon finds out that Fang calls himself Yumi Yamaguchi, a spy for the Japanese army.
Colonel Takeshi Chikaraishi, in an act of testing Fang/Yamaguchi’s loyalty, orders him to kill General Zeng’s girlfriend, Vivian (Siyan Huo), a friend of his. Angry General Zeng sides with the Japanese and attacks General Zhuo, who is blamed for the murder of his girlfriend. Chen Zhen is taken captive shortly after being cornered by the Japanese.
Chikaraishi Takeshi brutally tortures Chen. Shortly after, his friends attack and destroy the building in which he is being held. The Japanese decide to release a badly wounded Chen. Eventually, Chen awakens from his coma to face the sadistic Takeshi and 100 of his men in a brutal battle to the death in his Japanese Karate Dojo. Dojo Chen Zhen himself killed the Colonel’s father 10 years ago.
The Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen: Review
Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen is an expensive action/martial arts production from Hong Kong. The plot of this movie has been done before in several Hong Kong movies. Several Hong Kong films have a similar aesthetic, such as the Jet Li Movies: Once Upon a Time in China (1991), Fist of Legend (1994), Fearless (2006), and the Donnie Yen film: IP Man (2008).
The movies listed are similar in terms of the themes of oppression shown. The Superhero costume worn by Donnie Yen in Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen is very similar to Kato’s Green Hornet costume design. Jet Li wore a variation of the costume for his 1996 film Black Mask. The fantasy-style action scenes for Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen also closely resemble the film Black Mask. The actors of Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen do a good job. The beautiful and sexy Shu Qi shines in this movie.
She was great with her energetic performance as Casablanca nightclub singer Fang Qing, also known as Kiki. She is often drunk throughout the entire movie. Fang Qing shows that she has heart in the final scenes of her as the spy, Ms. Yamaguchi, which unfortunately leads to her sad demise.
I have seen several of Donnie Yen’s films from his earliest days to his last. He keeps getting better. His martial arts skills are more impressive now. His charismatic presence has even more star power now. Of his most recent work, Flash Point was the one I enjoyed the best. SPL was also very good.
Donnie Yen is in top form, as his body is even more chiseled than before in his career. In terms of realism, Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen has many fantasy elements and inconsistencies. When Donnie Yen is dressed as a superhero, he has superhuman strength, speed, and agility.
Donnie Yen’s fighting skills are enhanced by wire work and the special effects applied to them. Not that he needs such upgrades since Mr. Yen is pretty fast and badass by his count. He often does an excellent job of choreographing the fights in his movies.
Without any explanation, when he is not disguised, like in the final fight, he is normal and can be pushed to the limit. Or when he is cornered by Colonel Takeshi and his goons and severely beaten. That just didn’t make sense to me in the movie The Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen.
The film’s fight scenes were choreographed by Donnie Yen. He incorporated many mixed martial arts (MMA) elements into the film, along with the use of Wing Chun. The movie is something of a tribute to Bruce Lee. Donnie Yen added Mr. Lee’s trademark yell at the Dojo battle at the end. He also makes use of Nunchaku just like Bruce Lee did in Fists of Fury.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I first saw Donnie’s attempts to do the “Wachoooo”, while kicking butt in the Dojo fight. It was a little cheesy and awkward looking, but it’s all so much fun. Highly gifted actor, Anthony Wong always does a job with his performances as a good guy or a villain. He often plays the role of a psychotic bad guy like Wong Chi Hang (The Untold Story 1993), Johnny Wong (Hard Boiled 1993), the wicked and sadistic King Kau (Black Mask 1996), and as Sergeant Tung in Beast Cops (1998).
Japanese actor Ryu Kohata also does a great job. The sadistic main villain, Colonel Takeshi Chikaraishi, is a really nasty guy who you won’t like. Ryu Kohata plays the creep to perfection. The visuals and cinematography of Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen are impressive. Shanghai, China, from the 1920s looks striking and beautiful.
The best directed action sequence in the film was the opening World War I battle scene that will get your adrenaline pumping. The spectacular battle sequence erupts upon you with the unstoppable and impressive Donnie Yen as a one-man soldier. He just makes quick work of the German forces with his graceful fighting skills.
It’s unfortunate that there were few action scenes that stood out after the opening in Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen. Most of the film was made up of somewhat confusing dramatic scenes. Character development is often told through flashbacks. I found the lack of explanation of Chen Zhen’s character escaping the death of the Japanese 10 years ago, after finding out who was responsible for the murder of his teacher as misspelled.
The music and instrumental score of Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen are well done. Taiwanese-born actress Shu Qi herself sings the songs she performs at the Casablanca nightclub. Shu Qi is not a natural singer, but she is cute in her interpretation of catchy songs.
There is some graphic content in the film, such as a lot of blood during the violent scenes and a half-naked Donnie Yen being tortured. The film has some derogatory terms used during some heated scenes of arguments between the intimidated Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans residing in Shanghai.
The Chinese are called racial epitaphs well known to both Japanese and Westerners in a couple of scenes. Europeans also receive insults. The Japanese say some things about women. A Japanese soldier refers to them as just sex objects.
The nationalistic themes in Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen have been greatly exaggerated in Hong Kong cinema.
The Japanese on display also look pretty bad in this one. The intense final fight was well choreographed by Donnie Yen and is not short. He shows off his best Bruce Lee impression and how amazing he is in the finale. They knock him down and he comes back as the Super Hero that he is.
Overall, The Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen is an entertaining movie. It could have been better if there were more impressive action scenes showcasing Donnie Yen’s fighting talents. The Blu-ray I have of this movie is a special edition version that comes with a special features disc.
The bonus disc has six behind-the-scenes documentaries. Some interviews with cast members Shu Qi, Anthony Wong, Ryu Kohata, and Donnie Yen.
Each of the actors/actresses discuss their characters and experiences working on the film. Donnie Yen discusses the fight choreography for Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen. Also added is an interview with director Andrew Lau, who talks a lot about the film.