Wushu (2008)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Antony Szeto

Writers:

Dennis Chan (screenplay)
Ho Leung Lau (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 2008 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Family

Tagline:

The art of combat has a new generation.

Plot Keywords:

Rat | Train | Wu Shu | One Word Title | Coach

Cast

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Li Hui
Fengchao Liu	...	Yang Yauwu
Wenjie Wang	...	Li Yi
Pheobe Wang	...	Fong Fong (as Fei Wang)
Yongchen Liu	...	Xiao Zhang
Yachao Wang	...	Li Er
Junjie Mao	...	Xiao Yi
Dong Wei	...	Young Li Yi
Zhicheng Liang	...	Young Yang Yauwu
Xin Liu	...	Young Fang Fang
Yao Shi	...	Young Xiao Zhang
Dezhou Wu	...	Young Li Er
Jin Zhang	...	Guo Nan
Nan Tie	...	Ke Le
Jing He	...	Zhang Ting

Also Known As:

Jackie Chan Presents: Wushu (USA)
Mow suet tsi siu leen hung (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Wushu (International: English title)
Wushu zhi shaonian xing (China: Mandarin title) (censored version)
Wushu: The Young Generation (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #45670) | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Beijing Dadi Century Limited

Trivia:

During the period that they were shooting Sammo Hung Kam-Bo's fight scene a hoax Internet report went out that he had died suddenly. The following day, 9 December 2007 (which happened to be the director's birthday), Sammo's two mobile phones kept ringing constantly as he answered calls from friends, family and the press, confirming that he's alive and well.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wushu Cannes 2008 (2008) (TV)

This is Entertainment!

There's been a lot of hype about this film, and as a fan of kung fu films I've been looking forward to seeing it. The other thing that made me interested is the director, Antony Szeto, cause I saw his first film Dragon Blade in the theaters. Dragon Blade was a kid's computer animated film but the martial arts action in it is far more superior to the jumping around camera shots used for the fights in Kung Fu Panda. And Dragon Blade had a well thought out story to it, unlike the run of the mill production-line senseless stories that have been coming out of Hong Kong over the last ten/fifteen years. In Wushu, the director again gives us something unexpected, and again a well thought out story. As a family film it has something for everyone and I enjoyed myself throughout it. The story of the kids growing up in a poor single parent family is both touching and current, and I thought the way wushu as a sport was presented was very smart. Sammo Hung's performance as the father and teacher was surprisingly good... he should have got an award for it! Though the fight scenes in it don't number enough to satisfy the die hard action over all else fans, the main fight scene where Sammo comes up against the main bad guy is fantastic edge of the seat stuff. All in all, I laughed at the fun parts, was touched by the father-son relationship, was excited by the action, and amazed by the skills. This film was all out good entertainment... and in the end isn't that what we all pay to watch a film for?