The Legend of Drunken Master (2000)
		Genre: Action/Comedy Director: Lau Ka Leung Rating: R Running Time: 105 Minutes Release Date: October 20, 2000 Movie Trailer: View it now! Discuss and vote: Go to Forums	Cast: Jackie Chan Anita Mui Lung Ti Felix Wong

Pickup Line: Intoxicatingly Entertaining!

Quickie: A martial arts master's son, whose favourite pastime is drunken boxing, gets some drunken action when he fights against the British Embassy, which is smuggling precious Chinese national treasures.

The Long Review:

The Drunken Master series is rare in that it's the only one of its kind that claims one can fight better when under the influence of alcohol. Drunken boxing involves drinking an immense amount of alcohol so a fighter can be more limber and tolerant of pain. So instead of getting into fights because you're drunk, you get drunk because you're involved in a fight. What a concept!

It stars Jackie Chan as Wong Fei Hung, a martial arts master's son, whose specialty, against his father's wishes, is drunken boxing. While accompanying his father on a trip, he accidentally takes the Jade Seal, a Chinese national treasure, instead of a ginseng root, to take home with him. As a result, a patient of Fei Hong's dad gets poisoning from the bonsai root that Fei Hong gives in lieu of the ginseng he was supposed to bring home, and he has thugs working for the British Embassy after him. Why? Because the British Embassy is smuggling Chinese national treasure and Fei Hong has something that they want: The Jade Seal. Now arises the occasion for Fei Hong get drunk as a skunk and fight like a maniac.

And what does the audience get? A martial arts extravaganza. The fight sequences in this film are so intricate and well-executed, they leave you nothing short of breathless. Here's some fair warning: You may get some major gas because your mouth will be hanging open most of the time. It's that good. We're really beginning to wonder if Jackie Chan has any bones in his body. He sure moves like he ain't got none! Damn!

Aside from major action, you also get a fair amount of comedy, even a little drama. Watching Jackie Chan practice drunken boxing is a great cause for laughs and Anita Hui as Wong Fei Hong's understanding stepmom is hilarious! The costume and set design is pretty decent, too.

By the way, did we mention that this movie has some great action? Well, in case we didn't, we're gonna say it. This movie has some incredible martial arts action! As Roger Ebert says, "Jackie Chan's "The Legend of Drunken Master" is quite simply amazing. It involves some of the most intricate, difficult and joyfully executed action sequences I have ever seen." Hiya (with a karate chop) to that! So go see this movie! Who knows? You just may discover a new advantage to getting wasted!

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Did you know?

• Jackie Chan was 40 when he made this movie. 'Guess we all deal with mid-life crises differently. Some people get depressed, some people just well, kick ass!
• In the scene where Jackie Chan rolls around on burning coals, he's REALLY rolling around on burning coals. And this guy insisted they film the scene three times to get the prefect shot. Um…okay. Maybe he really was drunk.
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