Director: Stephen Fung
Screenplay: Cheng Hsiao-Tse, Zhang Jialu
Starring: Jayden Yuan, Fung Hak-On, Stephen Fung, Shu Qi, Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, AngelaBaby, Eddie Peng Yu-Yan, Dillon Wu Di
Country: China
Running Time: 98 min
Year: 2012
Tai Chi Zero (a.k.a. Tai ji 1: Cong ling kai shi), which is being released on Blu-ray by Imprint Asia, is an exuberant martial arts caper directed by Stephen Fung. It tells the fictional story of how the Chen style of the martial art of tai chi was taught to the first outsider.
It stars real-life wushu champion Jayden Yuan as Lu Chan (a.k.a. The Freak), a young man who has a strange growth on his head that, when hit, makes him incredibly powerful. He also has a remarkable affinity for being able to copy martial arts moves that he sees.
He heads to the legendary Chen village, so that he can learn Chen-style Tai Chi and perhaps use this to control his powers. You see, if he harnesses the abilities of his growth too often, he will die.
However, it is forbidden for outsiders to be taught Chen-style Tai Chi by anyone in the village. Undeterred, Lu Chan continues to attempt to persuade the local master to train him, despite being continually beaten by those attempting to protect their martial art secrets.
Meanwhile, Fang Zi Jing (Eddie Peng Yu-Yan) returns to the village after spending time abroad. He’s keen to prove his worth and modernise the area by bringing a trainline to the region.
The villagers aren’t too keen, but Fang Zi Jing’s faithful girlfriend, Chen Yu Niang (AngelaBaby), convinces him to persevere. However, when things go wrong and Jing pushes his modernisation plans too far, the village faces grave danger. Perhaps Lu Chan can help.
Tai Chi Zero plays out a bit like an East Asian wuxia spin on Scott Pilgrim. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a sugar rush, with a high energy maintained throughout, along with a ‘throw it and see if it sticks’ mentality. It’s all very postmodern, too, with name captions for all the lead roles that describe the actors’ backgrounds.
This wildly playful style is quite endearing to begin with. I loved the silent movie pastiche of the flashback near the start of the film. I also liked how the opening credits played out over a stylised animated sequence. Animated inserts like this appear elsewhere, too.
However, it all got a little much after a while. Some of the effects didn’t add anything either, such as a sequence where areas of the village are highlighted with captions for no discernible reason.
I was happy to see that a lot of the action was still done for real, though, albeit enhanced by wirework. There’s some impressive use of fire and explosions, which might involve some compositing but definitely include real elements.
The fight choreography comes courtesy of the great Sammo Hung. The high-energy style of the film means the editing can be a little quicker than I’d like, but it’s not frantic enough to turn into the confusing mess you see in some modern action movies. There’s a lot of slow motion used too, helping better appreciate the acrobatics on-screen.
The production design is impressive throughout, too. It blends traditional wuxia-style period dress and sets with steampunk, when Fang Zi Jing brings his gadgets into the film.
Unfortunately, the story falls a little flat, though. This is partly due to the fact that Tai Chi Zero is only the first part of a longer saga. There is, in fact, a sequel called Tai Chi Hero. I’m surprised Imprint didn’t package the two together, as this first film leaves you hanging, wanting more of the strands to be tied up. There is a separate arc here, but it’s not entirely satisfying.
So, overall, Tai Chi Zero is an enjoyable romp, but the drama never quite takes flight and, whilst the visual flourishes can be fun, they’re a little overused. The film has energy and charm, though, so those who like their martial arts movies with a short attention span should have fun with it.
Film: 
Tai Chi Zero is out now on Blu-Ray, released by ViaVision as part of their Imprint Asia series. The transfer is pretty impressive, with a sharp picture and rich colours. I did notice some unusual warping around the edges of people and objects on screen, in places, but this is likely an issue with the original source material. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give you an idea of how it looks, though these have been compressed. There’s a choice of 5.1 or 2.0 Mandarin audio. I opted for the former and thought it sounded great. I was disappointed to discover that the subtitles were burnt in, though, and they looked a touch soft. I found the subtitles very fast in places, too. They could have been held a fraction longer.
Special Features & Technical Specs
– 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
– Behind The Zenes – featurette
– Audio: Mandarin DTS-HD 5.1 Surround + LPCM 2.0 Stereo
– Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
– Optional English Subtitles
The only special feature of note is a very short behind-the-scenes piece. The cast and crew talk about how they wanted to update the martial arts movie and cast Tai-Chi in a new light.
So, Imprint’s release of Tai Chi Zero is rather light on extras, but it has a decent transfer, and fans of this style of ADHD action will enjoy it.
Disc/Package:
