So my job’s really been kicking my butt for the last few months and as a result, my Insidepulse/Popcorn Junkies/DVD Lounge output hasn’t really been what I’ve wanted it to be. I’ve got a tech support job where I basically listen to people complain all day, and when I get home I don’t really feel like doing anything; so a lot of times I just don’t. I’m really lucky when I actually do get time to go to the movies, but it seems like it has to be this special effort, like when I was a kid and had to arrange a ride a month in advance with my parents.
I’ve got to say, even with not getting to go to the movies the way I’d like to, I’m still having a blast this summer. Iron Man and Indiana Jones were both awesome, Speed Racer was highly under-rated and a few weeks ago when all the women in America were flocking to see Sex and the City, I checked out The Strangers, which was at times both frustrating and then completely awesome, and Tarsem‘s new film, The Fall, which is one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. Getting to see The Hulk kick some major ass was also a big plus, and I hope Marvel doesn’t completely screw up their awesome streak. So its been kind of a grab bag of stuff out there, but most of it has been really good, and I’ve got no major complaints so far.
One of the flicks I have yet to check out yet is Kung Fu Panda though, I’ve heard its up my alley. Thinking about it, I recalled the reaction of apathy I initially had for the project, but the word is that the movie actually does a good job of recalling the old school Kung Fu flicks that I cherish; films about students finding their inner warrior and being able to fight evil and begin to believe in themselves. It’s a theme to absolutely adore and one that always has been able to speak to me. Let’s face it, everyone loves an underdog, and these movies always give it to us, and then we get to watch them beat the crap out of the bad guys.
Also, kind of along the same lines is the release this coming weekend of Wanted which sees James McAvoy’s student assassin train under the tutelage of Morgan Freeman’s teacher. While I’m a fan of Mark Millar’s original twisted graphic novel, what really excites me is getting to see the American debut of Director Timur Bekmambetov, whose Nightwatch films are both pretty kick-ass. From the redband trailer, Morgan Freeman also drops the F-Bomb, which may be worth the price of admission.
So in celebration, I bring to you my favorite “Master/Apprentice Training Sequence Movies.
10: Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins – Now in this age of “bullet time” and super complicated choreography, the fight scenes and the effects of Remo Williams don’t exactly appear up to snuff. Also, the movie’s stars, Fred Ward and Joel Grey, aren’t exactly household names, and the Caucasian Grey appears as the movie’s Korean Martial Arts master, which is a move that would be totally shunned today unless it was in an Eddie Murphy film. Still, Remo Williams, is always good fun and packs loads of charm. Ward makes an awesome everyman, and even under all the makeup, Grey has a ton of screen presence.
Based on the pulp series, The Destroyer (which is completely awesome, by the way), Ward stars as the title character, a cop who’s death is faked so he can be recruited as a deadly assassin. Only, the proceedings are much more tongue in cheek and fun than that sounds, as the byplay between Ward and Grey is really infectious as the goofiness of the movie keeps rising and rising. Directed by Goldfinger’s Guy Hamilton, this is 80’s B-Movie heaven, and makes me wish that Remo’s adventures had continued.
9:Bloodsport – Oh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, you used to be so passable as an Action star. Pound for pound, this may be the best JCVD has ever been on screen, and considering this is his debut, that’s not 100% a good thing. Still, there’s no denying the fun of watching Jean-Claude get ready for the Kumite, with his master teaching him to fight blind. If only Van Damme could have kept making flicks this fun, he wouldn’t be in “Straight to DVD” Hell right now.
8:Five Element Ninja – Chinese and Japanese schools are embroiled in a war for Martial Arts supremacy, and when the Japanese employ dirty ninjitsu tricks in order to wipe out the Chinese warriors, the remainder of Chinese students must learn to fight fire with fire, and gold, and earth and wood, and water. This is old school Shaw Bros. mayhem, with the last remaining Shaolin fighters having to beat the Ninja on their own turf; in bloody, limb ripping battles. First though, they’ve got to learn the ways of the Ninja, leading to ridiculous weapons and blindfolded battles that remind you just why you loved this stuff in the first place.
7: Kill Bill Vol. 2 – Movie-wise, this second half of Quentin Tarantino’s magnum opus is one of the best of this bunch, but on terms of the training sequences alone, this movie could have used twice as many scenes. It speaks a lot, though, about just how much fun the training sequences in this film really are, even if the sequence feels a little truncated. The truth is, I wish the rest of the movie was just Kill Bill Volume 3 and the Pai Mei training sequence went on for another hour and a half.
A masterstroke was QT actually casting Gordon Liu to play Pai Mei in the first place. Liu, a Hong Kong film veteran on the very highest level, has starred in so many of these films as the student, that its wonderful to see him get his due as the cruel master teaching the ways of the assassin to Uma Thurman’s Bride. Thurman, for her part is also incredible in this sequence, displaying a girlish naiveté that is not really present in the rest of the film. I find it funny now that Tarantino’s original aim was to dub Gordon Liu in this sequence, as it would have taken away from the masterful turn by Liu. One of the best sequences in an absolute masterpiece, Kill Bill’s triumph was showing just how awesome these sequences have always been and how they can still be.
6:Magnificent Butcher – For fans of Sammo Hung, Magnificent Butcher is the standard when talking about the Action star’s old school Chop Socky work. As it is with most of these films, Sammo starts out as a lovable schlub, who must learn to protect himself when he’s wrongfully accused of murder. Hung plays Butcher Wing, a disciple of the famous Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung, and may actually have the best performance of his career in this film. Wing’s Kung Fu training is a scream, employing a drunken beggar (Mui Sang Fan) as his teacher in order to face down the movie’s villains, and the fights are furious and hard hitting. Though Hung’s more comically-centered films (My Lucky Stars, Winners and Sinners) might have made him an international star, its this film that catapults Sammo up into the ranks with Jackie Chan and the other stars of his age.
5:Rocky – Does any film embody the American spirit better than this one? The ultimate cinematic underdog pulls at your heartstrings throughout, as Stallone’s Rocky Balboa has to overcome his own demons and doubts about himself before he can even think about trying to overcome Apollo Creed in the ring. Your heart has to be made of stone not to like Rocky, as he runs through the streets of Philadelphia, with Burgess Meredith’s Mickey acting as his aging master, passing his gifts on so Rocky can not only win the World Title, but our hearts as well.
4: Drunken Master – The role that made Jackie Chan a star. For the first time in his career, Drunken Master allowed Jackie Chan the ability to not only trade fisticuffs with the bad guys, but keep you laughing while he did it. This was the first glimmer of Jackie’s amazing comedic assaults, especially as he gets to learn the many facets of drunken boxing. Actually employing a lot of the same formula of Magnificent Butcher, which was co-directed by Drunken Master’s helmer Yuen Woo-Ping, We get a very similar story, but in this, much like Rocky, we get to experience a special type of wonderment that happens when watching a star being born. Without Drunken Master, we wouldn’t have had Drunken Master II, and that my friends, is not a world I want to live in.
3: The Karate Kid – You’re the best! Around! Nothing’s ever gonna keep you down… It’s amazing how much this film was able to really get across this type of story about believing in yourself and putting your fate in the teachings of an old master. I wonder how many kids went out and took Karate lessons because of this movie. This film masterfully embodies the formulas of old school Martial Arts movies, but put it in a framework that us 80’s kids could really believe in, and still do. Directed by Rocky’s John G. Avildsen, The Karate Kid made you care for Ralph Macchio’s Daniel and the immortal Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi, and that’s the power that comes from this movie, not in its fists of fury.
2: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin – Here it is, the first film to really take advantage of this formula and turn it into a masterpiece. There’s a reason that The 36th Chamber is considered to be on the highest level of Kung Fu cinema; quite simply perfect direction by its creator, Lau Kar-leung and the best performance ever by its star, the legendary Gordon Liu. The story is a simple one, a young man who is trying to fight injustice has to hide in a Shaolin temple in order to escape the tyranny of local government fiends. While hiding in the temple he learns Kung Fu and becomes the hero he needs to be to defeat evil.
Never before though, had the training of a Martial Artist been such a joy to watch. Here was a film that dedicated nearly its entire running time to showing this man develop as a warrior, but more importantly as a person. This is where this formula really takes its shape, and very rarely has this theme had more resonance or emotional depth, except for perhaps the #1 film on this list.
1:The Empire Strikes Back – If you know me or read this column at all, this shouldn’t have really been a surprise. Empire isn’t just the best film in this category, its one of the best films ever produced period. This is epic moviemaking on its highest scale, with giants battles and raucous chases, but at the very heart of this movie, and at the very heart of this entire series, is Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker learning the ways of the Force and becoming the warrior that will save the universe. Though that sounds gigantic, it is the personal touch of this film and these sequences that make this picture stand out so much in people’s minds.
I know it’s fashionable to bash George Lucas’ series and Mark Hamill’s acting. While many may be done with Star Wars, the original trilogy will never stop being the yardstick by which I measure all other escapist films. As far as Mark Hamill’s acting goes, the man spends most of this picture surrounded by puppets, but absolutely makes you believe what’s going on onscreen. Luke’s journey is the ultimate young man’s fantasy; an ordinary boy has the power within him to save the universe. Empire is the reason we really get behind that quest.
