Rating: 3.5/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 15/52 | Chuck Norris
In this world of guns and knives, Tang Lung is respected wherever he goes.
Tang Lung stands in a Roman airport. All the white people gawk at him. His stomach rumbles. He steps away and sits down in a restaurant. Unfortunately, the menu is all in English. He asks for 雞蛋 (eggs, which are on the menu), but the waitress doesn’t understand him. So, he points to a random item and hopes for the best. It turns out to be a soup dinner for six. He tries to act like it was intentional and eats all of them. Finally, he finds the person who brought him here, Chen Ching-hua. He doesn’t know exactly what she needs help with, but he assures her that he can help. She isn’t confident.
On the drive, Chen explains how her father died, leaving her a restaurant. Her uncle, Wang, and others have helped her keep things going. That is, until a crime syndicate boss makes an unrefusable offer to buy the restaurant property. So, when Chen refuses, the boss puts men outside the restaurant to stand there all day and scare away customers. Meanwhile, Tang continues to have to go to the bathroom.
The film follows Chen and Tang as Chen attempts to assist Tang in navigating Rome, while Tang helps Chen with her gangster-related issues.
The humor isn’t uproarious, but it is cute. Lee doesn’t quite have the onscreen charisma of, say, Jackie Chan. But once Lee fights, the charisma comes out. Also, he’s a delight to watch as he negotiates the cultural differences of Rome.
The fight scenes are pretty bare-bones, but by focusing on authentic martial arts, the choreography is excellent, conveying a great deal of storytelling through movement, composition, and character beats. The kick sound effects are probably the best I’ve heard. I love the mix of hard-hitting effects and cartoonish boings.
This movie would rip on the big screen, especially that final fight with Chuck Norris.
I’m sure I’ve seen this restaurant in another martial arts movie, but it could just be a template used for fight scenes.