The career of martial arts superstar Donnie Yen is
a true example of hard work, perseverance, and progression. He began his
career in such chop-sockey flicks as DRUNKEN TAI-CHI before graduating
to Hong Kong New Wave while his fellow old-schoolers couldn’t land any
more movie jobs (except as action choreographers). Yen hit his peak with
such Kung Fu cable-fests as IRON MONKEY, HERO AMONG HEROES, and NEW
DRAGON GATE INN. In 1997, he bridged the gap between performer and
producer with his directorial debut, LEGEND OF THE WOLF, which became a
success at the Hong Kong Box Office. Subsequently, he went on to direct
other acclaimed films such as BALLISTIC KISS, SHANGHAI AFFAIRS, and CITY
OF DARKNESS. For LEGEND OF THE WOLF, Donny Yen also has the lead role,
though he shares the screen with the likes of the gorgeous Carmen (THE
FINAL OPTION) Lee, Chi Wah (FROM ZERO TO HERO) Wong, and Hong Kong film
veteran Ben (HOLY VIRGIN VS. THE EVIL DEAD) Lam. These days directing
may be Donnie’s future since he’s not the young and flexible
performer he was during the Hong Kong New Wave. Media Blasters has
renamed LEGEND OF THE WOLF to the more exploitable THE NEW BIG BOSS to
cash in on the Bruce Lee classic. But this DVD is a sequel in name only.
Ben Chan (Edmund Leung) is an ambitious rising
tough guy who seeks the eradication of one of his rivals. He attempts to
establish contact with an elder assassin, Man-hin Fung (Donnie Yen),
whose assistant, Wai (Chi Wah Wong) escorts Ben back to Fung’s
headquarters. Once there, Wai recites the tale of how he and his
friend/employer Fung met. He spins a tale of when they were both young
and cast together by fate. Wai met Fung as he was searching for a
certain temple, and offered to guide him there safely for a fee. But en
route to the temple they were attacked by bandits. Though they were
terribly outnumbered, Fung used his sword and slaughtered all those who
attacked him. It was then that Wai realized Fung was no normal soldier.
Fung had other problems problem, though—mainly amnesia. Fung and Wai
formed a bond while staving off the attacks of the jungle bandits. Wei
attempted to reunite Fung with his wife Wai Yee (Carmen Lee) hoping that
it might puncture the mental barriers he was struggling with. Fung could
not remember her, but slowly they began to fall in love anyway. Their
budding relationship is cut short by the appearance of the bandit leader
(Ben Lam), who abducts Wai Yee. Though Fung has no recollection of the
event, in his previous life he killed the brother of the bandit leader.
Now this Kung Fu warrior seeks the death of Wai Yee to show Fung the
meaning of loss. Fung must destroy the attacking bandit horde to save
the life of his wife!
When a story is written by the same individuals
who are responsible for the action choreography, you know the script is
going to be an incoherent mess. And what a mess this script is. It’s
got all the major clichés ever written (including the ‘amnesiac hero’
one) and is told in a flashback-within-a-flashback framework. That’s
not to say that there aren’t some interesting themes here, such as the
Zen philosophies preached by the protagonists. But there is no logic to
the story, and character motives are undefined. Donnie Yen’s character
fights like a superhero, yet there is no explanation for how he gained
his abilities. When the conclusion fails to explain the mysteries
described in the narrative, it makes for an unsatisfying viewing
experience. The fight choreography is way too over the top and
cartoonish. I have a real problem with this ultra-hyper, overcranked
fight choreography. First of all, Yen is a talented martial artist, but
all his skills are hidden under a whirlwind of super-human movements. I
understand his character is not an immortal or a super hero, so why does
he move faster than light and take out legions of opponents so fast that
you just see them fall over without being hit. I mean, everyone from
little kids to senior citizens can tell when a film is sped up. So who
do they think they are kidding? When Donnie does fight a couple guys who
are nearly his equal, it’s like watching a MORTAL KOMBAT videogame. He
jabs his opposition repeatedly and they keep coming as if his blows don’t
have any power. The actual usage of wires is not as prominent here as in
other Hong Kong films, but the camera techniques are so EVIL DEADish
that they quickly lose their impact. On a positive note, Yen does manage
to pull off the love story element of this flawed script, complete with
delicate music churning in the background. Yen also incorporates some
attractive cinematography and color schemes you only see in Hong Kong
movies. There is also a tremendous amount of violence and bloodshed in
the film to make things interesting.
This is one of Media Blaster’s weaker DVD
efforts. The original 1.85.1 aspect ratio is jettisoned in favor of a
murky, full frame print. The opening credits is widescreen, but the
feature is not (go figure). The colors look faded, and the detail level
barely registers. This resembles a print from an old Kung Fu movie from
the 1980’s and perhaps that explains the market segment Media Blasters
had in mind. But let’s not forget this is a fairly recent film (1997)
with decent production values and cinematography, yet you’d never
guess it from watching Media Blaster’s version of THE NEW BIG BOSS.
Donnie Yen employs lots of green, blue, and yellow lighting to achieve a
desired look and tone, but it only serves to add to the murkiness of the
print. The soundtrack is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 and here too, a major
injustice is performed. This is the first Tokyo Shock title that does
not offer the original language soundtrack. This version contains the
English dubbed soundtrack only. The dub is serviceable enough, but the
mono sound doesn’t hold up to the stereo mix of the import HK DVD. The
action scenes are insanely over the top, as are the foley effects that
accompany them. There are no extras on this disc, except for English
language widescreen trailers for these Tokyo Shock titles: THE NEW BIG
BOSS, ZEIRAM 2, BIOZOMBIE, REBORN FROM HELL 2, and RICKY-OH: STORY OF
RICKY.
THE NEW BIG BOSS is a disappointing movie and a
disappointing DVD. Usually you can depend on Tokyo Shock titles to
include the original language version with removable English subtitles
to go along with the English dub. And usually all the movies are shown
in widescreen. This is the first Tokyo Shock title to come with a
full-frame English version only. Hopefully, it is the last. If Media
Blasters expects to compete with the lower-priced Hong Kong DVDs, they
must deliver the same content. If you are a fan of this film and have
this movie on import DVD (as LEGEND OF THE WOLF), there is no reason to
upgrade. As for the movie itself, Donnie Yen has potential as a good
director, but he shows his inexperience here. If you are a fan of Donnie
Yen the actor and martial artist, you are better off with IRON MONKEY or
HEROES AMONG HEROES.
NEW
BIG BOSS is available at DVDEmpire
