Has
American entertainment gone too far!?
| "but
it took me a while to accept the fact that Keanu
Reeves was attempting to mimic Jet Li's Wong Fei
Hung stance…" |
Ever
since "The Matrix," there has been a huge
trend towards Hong Kong choreography in American movies
and entertainment in general. Several films that have
been released since this demand in Asian oriented
action have already parodied "The Matrix's"
special effects like "Charlie's Angels,"
"Scary Movie," and even "Shrek."
Do not get me wrong, though, I loved "The Matrix"
overall, but it took me a while to accept the fact
that Keanu Reeves was attempting to mimic Jet Li's
Wong Fei Hung stance of raising his leg above his
head or from any of the numerous Chinese films that
were released before "The Matrix."
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"Another
problem with a great film like "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is that all movies
that look like or even resemble the movie will
be compared to it in the same manner…"
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With
the release of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,"
it basically broke the barrier for all Hong Kong and
Asian related films to come to America. "Iron
Monkey" followed suit and was really old to begin
with, but what pissed me off was that they marketed
it using "The Matrix" and Yuen Woo Ping
and not Donnie Yen who not only starred in the film,
but the single character that made the movie enjoyable.
I think it is sad that it takes Hollywood this long
to recognize that this type of filmmaking because
they never really experimented by releasing a Hong
Kong film of a Tsui Hark or Woo Ping until now. Even
with Jackie Chan movies, it took them a while to release
them and even the ones they released were edited.
Another problem with a great film like "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is that all movies that
look like or even resemble the movie will be compared
to it in the same manner wire-fu movies were compared
to "The Matrix." When I heard that Tsui
Hark's "Legend of Zu" was going to be released
here in America, I got a little skeptical about it
because I know they were going to compare it to "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and they are totally different
movies. For example, just look how they sold the DVD's
on ebay.
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"what
pissed me off was that they marketed it using
"The Matrix" and Yuen Woo Ping and
not Donnie Yen…"
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These
days we have crap like Li and Gibson's "Invincible,"
which has American actors executing kung fu sequences
without any background in martial arts whatsoever.
This makes just about anyone who appreciates China's
grand tradition of beautifully choreographed martial
arts sick to their stomach. There are some things
they just do not have to touch. This trend may play
out this style of choreography here in America and
moviegoers will get tired of watching the same effects
over and over again which in turn, may affect Hong
Kong movies being released here. Movies that we see
get announced at Kung Fu Cult Cinema or any other
Asian Film news source may not make it to our shores
because of the fact that the producers do not want
to bring the films here due to lower demands. If it
is not Jet Li or Woo Ping or from the makers of "The
Matrix" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,"
then their chances are less because of reasons of
marketable credibility.
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"This
American trend also has affected Jet Li's quality
in his movies."
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This
American trend also has affected Jet Li's quality
in his movies. The films he has made since his arrival
to the States were below average. The only ones I
found somewhat entertaining were "Lethal Weapon
4" and "Romeo Must Die." As for the
others, "The One" was garbage and "Kiss
of the Dragon" made no sense in terms of story,
but the fight sequences were pretty good.
I
think American producers should better lay off this
"Our movie will be awesome if we have Hong Kong
choreography" attitude and just stick to the
basics and standards to what made their films so popular.
It is understandable if Hollywood wants to make a
star out of Jet Li, Jackie Chan and even Donnie Yen,
but it is impossible to create Hong Kong style action
and martial arts films with American actors who lack
the knowledge and physical prowess in order to perform
what is needed. They are more than capable of giving
us Hong Kong movie fans at least a good effort of
what we want.
Dan
Luna
01/23/2002
