The Legend of Drunken Master

We college students often believe that imbibing prodigous amounts of alcohol turns us from sputtering social incompetents to confident avatars of wittiness and charm. Unfortunately, it ain't so. It would only be true if the concepts of wittiness and vomit weren't so mutually exclusive. But "The Legend of Drunken Master," the latest Jackie Chan theatrical redub, asks a related question: What if there were a martial artist whose fighting abilities, already impressive, reach a new level of skill and power when he is completely plastered?

The answer to that question is that you'd get a bruising, hilarious, exhilirating classic of martial arts cinema. "The Legend of Drunken Master" was released in this country without much promotion in 1994, and due to its anonymity it is possible that even dedicated kung-fu watchers missed it. Now we have a redubbed version that we can see on the big screen, and the results will thrill fans of both Jackie Chan and Jack Daniels.

"The Legend of Drunken Master" does have a plot, and if you are interested in that sort of thing you can even follow it all the way through the film. It has something to do with evil British people, with the help of complicit Chinese people, stealing antiquities to put in the British Museum. As lamentable as this practice is, and as many stirring speeches as it allows Chan to deliver, what we're really yearning for are scenes where Chan shows the British why stealing antiquities will be hazardous to their health. And Jackie Chan is on top form throughout "Drunken Master."

There is no more thrilling sight in cinema today than Jackie Chan in combat. Some claim that Chan has slowed down in recent years. It is true that he is older than he once was, and as we age, we slow down. And perhaps Chan, who famously does every single one of his own stunts, cannot engage in the same amount of death defiance that marked his earlier work, in which he would do things like jump off of 200-foot dams for his art. But you wouldn't know it from watching "Drunken Master."

Especially when he's been hitting the bottle, Chan hits from horizontal positions and impossible angles, and he hits hard. Chan's use of the space and obstacles around him is unparalleled; the area of the fight is always as much a part of the battle as the two combatants, with gasp-inducing results. And the flow of it all, the completely convincing illusion that these highly scripted fights are unfolding as creative bursts of inspiration by everyone involved, is conveyed by Jackie Chan as no other onscreen martial artist ever has. When Chan, aided by one brave compatriot, takes on about a hundred ax-wielding maniacs, you know he'll triumph, even though the evil guy claims "No one escapes the ax brigade." But getting to their defeat is all the fun.

And Chan does not deny us the fun of watching him get hurt for our pleasure, either. How do uncountable beanings with furniture sound to you? Numerous falls from heights that would scare anyone sane? Getting set on fire at least half a dozen times? Chan is the living embodiment of dedication to one's audience.

Yet Chan is not only the premier extant martial artist and celebrity stunt person in cinema, he is one of the best comedians before us in any language. "Drunken Master" has a highly comic premise , of course, and Chan takes advantage of it with the vigor and perspicacious timing we have come to expect of him. Chan is a much wittier guy when pretending to be hammered than most real drunks (including college students) are; his ability to portray complete drunkenness while sober and fighting may be the most amazing thing about this film. Anita Mui, who plays Chan's mother, deserves to be mentioned as well for her ability to move immediately from bright smile to pout with no intermediate facial expressions. During one joyous romp of a fight, Chan breaks the tops off two liquor bottles and drinks their contents down like Gatorade. Some of his mother's friends are a bit worried about this. "Don't worry," says Mui, smiling. Then, pouting again, "It gives him powers."

Chan must face a worthy opponent in the film's long, stirring final bout: his own bodyguard, Ken Lo, who has a left foot that seemingly cannot be stopped. How Chan manages to stop him is not a fit subject for a movie review; suffice it to say that the events of the final scene recapitulate and magnify all of this film's manifest virtues. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the finest Jackie Chan film to be released in American theaters. If that doesn't divert you from yet another evening of alcohol-fueled partying to view some alcohol-fueled mayhem, then you will forever remain a mere apprentice to the "Legend of Drunken Master."

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