Writer: Chow Ee-Tan

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Watch this if you liked: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Fearless”, “Iron Monkey”

This is THE movie to watch if you are a martial arts fanatic!

In the latest martial arts epic by Yuen Woo-ping, "True Legend" chronicles the extraordinary life journey of Su Can, played by real-life martial-artist Vincent Zhao, from his earlier days of being a brave warrior of Qing Dynasty to finally becoming a legendary martial-arts maestro who is synonymous with the famous `Drunken Fist' he created.

"True Legend" is no doubt a feast for lovers of martial arts movies, with fierce and fast fighting scenes and some most fascinating and mind-boggling choreographies that would have you at the edge of your seats. There are also some touching scenes, particularly involving Su's family. The young actor who plays Su's kid is simply brilliant and the way he cries for his father would easily bring tears in your eyes.

The pivotal person in Su's life is his loving wife Yuan Ying who has stuck with him through thick and thin. The award-winning actress Zhou Xun once again puts up a class act for her role. Meanwhile, the draw of the film is in the many big names and guest stars such as Jay Chou as the God of Wushu and Datuk Michelle Yeoh as Sister Yu. However, they don't make much of an impact due to their undeveloped characters and short screen time. Andy Onn, on the other hand, makes quite an impression playing the chilling-looking villain with his expressions.

"True Legend" has out-of-this-world action choreography and some breath-taking cinematography, however the drawback is its rather cliche plot that at most time is predictable. Also, one wonders if "True Legend" tries too hard at bringing in many elements and art forms. Director Yuen, a martial-arts maestro who has choreographed many brilliant action sequences in Chinese and Hollywood movies like the "Kill Bill" and "The Matrix" films, has for this movie a blurred distinction between wuxia (think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "Hero"), and kungfu movies (think "Fearless" or "Ip Man"). It's neither here nor there.

But overall, one would come out of the cinema quite satisfied - it is after all an inspiring story of one man's sheer determination to defy the odds and emerge as a true legend at the end.

Cinema Online, 10 February 2010