Tai Chi Zero (2012)

What do you get when you cross a martial arts movie with steam punk, computer graphics, pop-ups, a comic book, and a video game? Tai Chi Zero.

The Freak was a martial artist born with a small horn on his forehead foretelling greatness. After his mother died, he was taken in by a master (Fung Hak On) and ended up on the wrong side of a battle against the ailing Qing army. He escaped to the famed Chen Village where he hoped to learn kung fu techniques that would heal the wounds caused by his many battles causing him to be near death. Problem was, outsiders were not allowed to learn any of the techniques. He ended up fighting most of the village and the Chief Master's daughter, Angelababy (more often than not), as he tried to convince them to teach him.

Jayden Yuan, a real life wushu champion, played The Freak. Martial artists like Fung Hak On and Bruce Leung also gave the movie martials arts cred. All of which came crashing down when Angelababy's character was supposed to be a martial artist. In fairness, Jayden in only one of his two movie credits, wasn't a very strong actor so the movie needed people around him like Tony Leung Ka Fai who could act. Even Angelababy looked Oscar caliber in comparison to Jayden, though he was far more convincing in fight scenes.

I won't get into the story, because honestly, it's convoluted. Fortunately, it was fun and funny, never taking itself too seriously even when the big life or death battle began at the end. This movie is not for everyone, and it is far, far from perfect, but if you can check your brain at the door, it's diverting enough to be entertaining.

Spoiler/Not Spoiler Alert (the sequel is listed in the credits above)! There is a part three/finale.

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