Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)

The movie opens during WW I with some Chinese men running ammunition for the British forces.  During the fight we see one of the men is killed and that another goes off on the attacking Germans, taking out a whole nest of them.  Then the action moves to Shanghai where the same man, Chen Zhen, starts to work against the Japanese who are trying to take over.  The Japanese are trying to kill anyone who opposes them before they formally invade China, but Chen Zhen and his comrades try to stop them. 

Let me be honest about this movie.  The plot really isn’t that important or interesting.  See this is one of those movies where you have a group of bad guys (in this case the Japanese) who do many bad things.  And then you have our hero who is pushed into fighting back in spectacular ways.  The movie really is that simple so don’t expect too much else from it.  But you know I dig Kung Fu movies and this is a good one.  The story is easy to follow and they sprinkle enough action in that it never gets old.  The good guys are good and the bad guys are well bad.  Sure the plot of Legend of the Fist is easy to predict and you know that certain characters are doomed, but that is part of the fun with a movie like this one.  You can turn your brain on and watch some creeps get their butts kicked!

This leads me to talk some about the fights and how they are choreographed.  Star Donnie Yen tears up the screen as Chen Zhen.  The guy is an amazing performer when it comes to the physical requirements of a movie like this.  Not only does he do a wonderful job in the fights and he really does look like someone that could kick some ass.  This only helps the movie.  Though I was kind of disappointed in his performance.  He comes off kind of flat and almost seems to be walking thru this role.  He was much better in IP Man 2 in my opinion (which itself is a pretty cool movie) where he has much more charisma on screen.  But again he delivers the goods when it comes to the action, which is the strength of Legend of the Fist. 

The fights in Legend of the Fist are very exciting.  From the opening set on a WW I battlefield, to the big showdown at the end in a Japanese Dojo we get all kinds of fun.  Along the way there are more then enough broken necks, smashed throats, gunshots, and assignations to keep even the pickiest of action movie fans satisfied.  For me this constant action more then made up for what was sort of a weak plot. 

In the end I have to say that I really enjoyed Legend of the Fist for what it is.  Again that is a simple and exciting action movie.  If you like martial arts flicks then I think you will have fun with this one.  Not one of Yen’s better efforts, but still worth a look.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer