MovieChat Forums > Man of Tai Chi (2013) Discussion > I really enjoyed this film, but it fell ...

I really enjoyed this film, but it fell flat when.. (spoilers, obviously

posted 10 years ago by whatsyourboggle
4 replies | jump to latest

I really, really liked this film, I was gushing about it to friends for ages before I got to see it, then did a bit more. Until I got to the end.

Keanu pulled off the whole masked-shadow-man thing well enough, but right at the very end when he fights properly... after the pace of the other fights in the film (especially Tiger's "audition") Keanu was just really slow, didn't seem powerful at all, and then to have him beat the crap out of someone who up until then had been an absolute tornado of badassery, who then gets out of it by a freaking cheap God-mod super secret no touch chi attack KO?

And so Tiger kills the guy. The whole movie the entire story has been Keanu trying to turn Tiger into a killer, and Tiger holding back. Then right at the end Tiger makes the entire effing thing pointless by giving in and killing the guy.

I loved the movie but man, that ending was so weak, it ruined the entire thing for me.

Kung fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene...

[–] fliphop 10 years ago

I agree except for during the last fight, he allowed Keanu to knife him in the belly. At that point, it was self defense. If he could have gotten away without killing he would have.

And, as well, we don't know if Pushing Hands is always fatal. Tiger did not die when his Master did it to him, so it was not necessarily going to be fatal to /

[–] whatsyourboggle 10 years ago

I see what you mean, but his master had mastered the skill and could control it, he used it on Tiger to show him he wasn't as untouchable as he thought. I can only assume Tiger using it against Keanu was a fluke of intention since there's nothing in the rest of the film that shows him trying to develop it. It's not like Kill Bill 2 where the Bride trains up the one inch punch before having to use it. Maybe there are deleted scenes or something.

Kung fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene...

[–] CodeVeronicaXXX 9 years ago

Dang, didn't seem powerful at all? He seemed super powered to me. You didn't see how he didn't get hurt by all those blows from tiger? He just kept coming with huge powerhouse kicks and blows. He seemed unstoppable. It was a very good fight. Probably the second best? Maybe.

I could be wrong but wasn't it after he killed him there was a black spot in a white screen. Making the yang in the yin (or whichever one). The darkness in the light to make him whole? Seems like a nice way to end it.

[–] cobes11 9 years ago

I was thinking the exact same thing when watching this. Tiger beat some pretty impressive fighters, but the fight with Keanu was horrible. It may have been the combat boots, tight jeans, and leather jacket that reeves was wearing or it could have been that he just should have trained more before the fight. In the end, Reeves's motions were as slow and blocky as Frankenstein's monster.