The Grandmaster

In martial arts movies, I love it when two opponents have a rational discussion about their Kung fu styles. “I understand you are a master of cannon fist! I am a master of pumpkin palm! You should challenge me!” The Grandmaster is the quintessential example of that. But with all of the talk about fighting styles, there’s very little character development. Although the battles are choreographed beautifully, one often forgets WHAT the characters were fighting about in the first place. It’s a nice escapist dream, but unfortunately it’s an unemotional one.