Saturday, 13 September 2014

The Grandmaster



Dir: Wrong Car Way
Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Xiyi

Narry B together with flight ace Smaltzy Baby once watched Wong Kar Wai's masterpiece "In the Mood for Love" over a cheese fondue.

Since then, Kar Wai has gone a bit wrong. 2046 was an overwrought sequel to the above... My Blueberry Nights was a needless entry into the mainstream... and then we have The Grandmaster.

The Grandmaster is, at heart, a martial arts film, although it quite nicely tells the story of the Japanese occupation of China, the history or Martial Arts, and the formation of Hong Kong. Also, as a WKW film, it looks stunning - and I'm not just talking about Narry B's ex-missus, the statuesque Zhang Ziyi.

With some nice editing, artistic fight scenes, and top drawer acting, The Grandmaster seems to build up to something special... But it all goes a bit wrong at the end. The film becomes rather pointless and bleak. There's also a lack of focus, with the unnecessary introduction of "The Razor", for example.

Hopefully, WKW will get his mojo back soon, cos The Grandmaster ain't his best work.

Rating: Good

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