The Tai-Chi Master (1993)
Director - Yuen Wo Ping
DVD Released by : Universe
Player reviewed with : Sony S3000
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
Features:
Menu
Trailer
Cantonese and Mandarin Soundtracks
English and Chinese Subtitles
Dolby Digital 5.1 remix
Running Time : 98 mins
Jet Li stars in this long awaited re-release of THE TAI-CHI MASTER. The film is nonstop action and a lot of fun to watch. The story is of two orphans who grow up in the Shaolin Temple. Tianbao and Junbao (Jet Li) are thrown out of the Temple because of Tianbao's ferocity during a match. The boys go to town and split up. Junbao joins a group of rebels and Tianbao's hunger for power leads him to becoming a soldier. Tianbao betrays Junbao and several of the rebels are killed. Junbao feels great remorse and goes mad, until realizing that he must become one with nature and master Tai-Chi. The final showdown pits the two one-time best friends against each other in a fight to the death.

The overall picture quality is average. The first few minutes during the title sequence makes the movie look 40 years old. The picture gets a little better when the titles end. The subtitles are removable and are easy to read. The English translations are also good.

The soundtrack has both Cantonese and Mandarin tracks. I watched the movie with the Cantonese track. The sound is a re-mix and is mixed pretty evenly. The music and sound effects never overpower the dialogue.

The extras are some short bios of Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. There is a trailer as well as trailers for FONG SAI YUK I and II.

TAI-CHI MASTER will please fans of wire Kung-Fu. Jet li is great and Michelle Yeoh steals every scene she is in. If you are a fan of the movie, this is a must have if you don't have it already. If you already own this on another format, you may be a little disappointed in the picture quality.