Rethinking the Legend of Drunken Master

I originally saw The Legend of Drunken Master (Drunken Master II) in high school, and it may have even been the first time I saw a first run movie in the theatres. I had heard for years how amazing it was, the pinnacle of Chan's career. Naturally, when it finally made it's American debut, it was with rapt anticipation that I forked over the dough for an over priced movie ticket just to see it.

I was a little let down. I had seen so many Chan flicks by that time and heard so much praised being lavished on the film from other JC afficionados that I approached the movie with such a reverence that I think the only result could have been disappointed. I enjoyed it well enough, but in my mind it was just another halfway decent kung fu flick.

Having recently watched it in it's entirety in the first time in years, I'm much more impressed this time around. With a mind freed from all the hype and a little less expectant, I found I thoroughly enjoyed the flick, enough so that it may have climbed drastically up my list of favorite Jackie movie.

The Legend of Drunken Master is something of an homage to early kung fu entries, which I hadn't appreciated the first time around. While newer martial arts entries tend to be over the top special effects fests that almost seem to deviate or even shun what originally made the genre (including "tributes" like Kill Bill), Chan's tribute reveles in it's source material. The plot, the sets, and the music all adds to the feel of a vintage chop socky movie, with Jackie showing just how much you can do within the confines of the genre.

There's some wiring used for the occassional spectacular fall, but the actual fighting is vintage Chan: impressive, real deal physical feats combined with that light-hearted humor that Drunken Master's 1970s ancestors were so fond of. In that regard, this may indeed be Chan at his best, at least in terms of amazing, traditional kung-fu action.