okay folks here’s my essay on kung fu movies; wrote it but didnt submit it for my University of Chicago application… but now ironically this might put food on the table for moi.
Kung Fu Movies
If there’s one genre of movie that you’d ask me out to which I’d practically leap out of my seat to watch on any day, whatever the mood I’m in, it’d have to be a kung fu flick. Nothing – nothing – lifts my mood and gets me going better than a healthy dose of gorgeously choreographed, suspend-all-grey-matter kung fu action.
Like every Asian child, I was interested in martial arts; so Bruce Lee was, by default, my idol and role model. Bruce Lee’s Way of The Dragon was the movie that got me hopelessly hooked to, well, artistic violence.
Who can forget the now-classic gladiatorial fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in the middle of the Coliseum in Rome? Arguably the most sophisticated fighting scene in history, two worlds collided in this fight scene in more than one way: more than the obvious clash of East versus West, the fight also exhibited the stark contrast between Lee’s patented Jeet-Kune-Do and Chuck Norris’ modern karate style. I still remember watching the fight scene over and over again as a kid, in a vain attempt to learn a thing or two from the martial arts masters to use in my next Taekwondo lesson.
A more recent chop-sock obsession of mine would have to be The Matrix trilogy; three movies, which have, over the past few years – for better or worse – revolutionized the kung fu sequence. The first Matrix movie was especially groundbreaking in its blend of panoramic gunfights, spectacular kung fu and slow-motion special effects. The now oft-used term “bullet-time” was thus coined from Keannu Reeves’ then never-seen-before slow motion bullet dodging sequences.
The Matrix was more than a mere kung fu flick; brimming with enigmatic, philosophical quotes, it was also a bold satirical allegory on autocratic society and a stern warning against our increasing technological dependence. But I paid absolutely no attention whatsoever to any of this when I watched the movie for the first time – the action was just too mind-blowing amazing for any coherent philosophical thought to form.
I now look back at the first Matrix movie with a bittersweet sense of nostalgia: back when it was made, its special-effects-enhanced fighting sequences were exhilarating and revolutionary. Unfortunately, the unforeseeable success of The Matrix has so raised the bar for fight sequences in movies, it launched an entire line of pretenders who have tried, largely in vain, to emulate The Matrix’s success.
In recent years, moviegoers have been reduced to being subjected to an insistent gauntlet of the shallow, special-effect-heavy action sequences which try much too hard to emulate The Matrix’s groundbreakingly spectacular battle scenes. The Matrix’s two sequels themselves are, sadly, guilty of this very crime; both movies bludgeoned audiences with flashy special effects in pale attempts to distract us from convoluted, contrived storylines and nonexistent acting masquerading as summer blockbusters.
However, the advent of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies have restored my faith in the future of kung fu movies, foregoing blatant use of special effects for poetically understated but highly entertaining cinematic violence and a succinct plot structure. The result? A cinematic monument par excellence. Tarantino is himself arguably the world’s biggest fan of the action genre, and in both movies pays tribute to every kung fu movie ever made, from classic Bruce Lee style yellow jumpsuits to katana wielding yakuzas, stylish Japanese anime to mountain dwelling reclusive sifus. Kill Bill is more than Tarantino’s testament to the rich history of the genre; a throwback to the golden age of the kung fu flick, Kill Bill truly stands out as a martial arts masterpiece in this era of glitzy dazzle-fests and substandard action flicks .
I remain a hard-core kung fu fanatic, however, despite the genre’s general recent decline and increasing dependence on special effects. I watch movies to unwind and relax, to enjoy the escape from the reality’s complexities; I do not watch movies to feel suicidal when the credits of a depressing Nicole Kidman movie begin to run. Watching Jacky Chan leap from rooftop to rooftop brings a smile to my face more than any cutesy Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts feel-good romantic comedy could ever hope to achieve. To me, kung fu movies lift my spirits and entertain me to no end, and that’s all I ask for when I fork out my eight-fifty at the ticket booth.
