True Legend (2011)

62% of critics liked it
(37 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(3,494 ratings)

Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix trilogy, Kill Bill Volumes I and II, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero) brings you True Legend, a heart pounding epic about the timeless battle between good and evil. Su Can's (Vincent Zhao) respectable life is obliterated when his vengeful brother, Yuan (Andy On),… More Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix trilogy, Kill Bill Volumes I and II, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero) brings you True Legend, a heart pounding epic about the timeless battle between good and evil. Su Can's (Vincent Zhao) respectable life is obliterated when his vengeful brother, Yuan (Andy On), returns from war armed with the deadly Five Venom Fists. Weakened but not destroyed, Su Can learns a never-before-seen form of martial arts: the Drunken Fist. Armed with this new power, he returns home to honor his family through retribution by taking on his brother in a battle to become the ultimate warrior. Packed with distinct fighting styles-including MMA, knife combat and sweeping aerial stunts- and starring martial arts legends Michelle Yeoh, David Carradine and Jay Chou, True Legend has Phillip French of The Observer raving, "It opens with one of the best action sequences I've ever seen." --(c) Indomina Media

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Woo-ping Yuen
Written By: Chi-long To
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International

In Theaters: May 13, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Sep 13, 2011
Studio: Indomina Media

Critic Reviews

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter
Diverting but unmemorable martial arts feature unlikely to become a classic.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Somewhere between masterful and messy, Yuen Woo-ping offers lots of kinetic kicks, but his CGI work deserves a kick in the pants.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
A silly and yet often enjoyable action film, the movie isn't so much a winking homage to those late-'70s Hong Kong exports as another entry...
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Fans don't go to martial-arts movies for the story. They want action -- and Yuen doesn't disappoint.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Fans who've been waiting 15 years for the director of "Drunken Master" to helm a new movie definitely won't be disappointed.
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
A hodgepodge of styles, "True Legend" works best as a freewheeling showcase for Yuen's dazzling fight sequences above any sort of cogent storytelling.
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer
suffers from an erratic narrative pace, shoddy characters and an overuse of digital gimmickry, all of which create the impression of an ersatz epic spectacle
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
Serious to the point of silliness, True Legend offers nothing new, but it steals adroitly.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
Comes off less like the work of an old master and more like the mediocre imitation of one.
Frank Wilkins, Frank's Reel Reviews
This gnarly beast -- written by To Chi-long -- is epic in scope
Jesse Cataldo, Slant Magazine
Opting for craziness over coherence, True Legend at least expends its energy in the right place.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
The comedic touches humanize this ridiculously invincible warrior with self-destructive emotional flaws. Though Su's alcoholism that morphs into the triumphant martial arts moves Drunken Fist, like Depp's unbeatable inebriated pirate, are beyond silly.
Matt Singer, IFC.com
Yuen understands that martial arts sequences are more than bodies in motion, they are bodies telling stories in motion.
Brent Simon, Shockya.com
A bloated epic that never gets past the limits of a stilted set-up, and then damningly wears out its welcome with a plodding final act that offers none of the catharsis its makers seem to think it does.
Diva Velez, TheDivaReview.com
An exciting mix of the best of Old School kung fu cinema and new technology absolutely worth seeing on big screen. Pity that the film's terrible, tacked-on ending keeps True Legend from being truly legendary.
Vadim Rizov, Boxoffice Magazine
Bridged by rude comedy familiar to veteran viewers of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, True Legend is refreshingly unpretentious in comparison to the pompous nationalism of recent Chinese war spectacles like The Warring States.
John Esther, UR Chicago Magazine
From the opening credits to its predictable conclusion it becomes clear that 'True Legend' lays its intelligence at the level of a superhero comic strip (or saloon delirium).
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Indeed, there's a true legend at work here, but unfortunately, the phrase is not descriptive of the film itself but rather its maker Yuen Woo-ping, the brilliant martial arts choreographer.
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Warrior perfects a new form of martial arts after tragedy strikes his family in a film from the extraordinary action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It starts off spectacularly, with some of the finest, fastest and most graceful fight footage I've ever seen.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Steve K

Above average martial arts silliness elevated immensely by the amazing Woo-ping Yuen. As always, the choreography is beautiful to watch.
Dean M

What an absolutely superb story of an awesome hero, Su Chan (Man Cheuk Chiu), a leading authority of the touching thoughts and feelings in martial arts journey. The story line is actually very consuming once you become endeared by the characters, whom I might add are supremely… More
What an absolutely superb story of an awesome hero, Su Chan (Man Cheuk Chiu), a leading authority of the touching thoughts and feelings in martial arts journey. The story line is actually very consuming once you become endeared by the characters, whom I might add are supremely crafted. I mean how can you not think the 'God of Wushu' is not cool. It's been a long while since Yuen Woo Ping helmed a film as a director, and here he applied plenty of wire-fu liberally to craft a film that provided for some fantastical elements in its martial arts. Zhou Xun is a fine actress, and her presence here provided that well needed contrast of acting ability compensating for the lack thereof in Zhao's, starring as Su Chan's wife Ying, the pillar of strength, confidence and hope. Andy On played Yuan Lie with enough creepiness and ruthlessness that he may be one of the more memorable martial arts villains amongst recent kung fu films, adding to that his treading the extremely thin line of incest as well with Ying, in wanting to be together forever with her. I was surprised to see three special appearances I recognized in this martial arts epic film.
danny d

a film with a good although dishevled story, it really stands on the astonishing action sequences. the fighting is top shelf, and although the narrative could have been a lot stronger, it is well worth the time for those into kung fu films.
Ginny

Legend of the Drunken Fist. As usual, Michelle Yeoh rocks.
Justin Y

After a break from the director's chair, Yuen Woo Ping jumps back into it with True Legend.This picture runs a few minutes under 2 hours and it passes by rather swiftly with it's simple plot. It is probably because there are 2 separate parts to… More
After a break from the director's chair, Yuen Woo Ping jumps back into it with True Legend.This picture runs a few minutes under 2 hours and it passes by rather swiftly with it's simple plot. It is probably because there are 2 separate parts to the movie. The first two-thirds are really straight forward. Good guy trains and bad guy trains. Good guy and bad guy fight. The final 3rd showcases the drunken fighting technique in a whole different setting from the first portion.Unsurprisingly, this film contains a ton of martial arts fighting. The camera work is more than adequate and the choreography is magnificent. Ping applies a bunch of so-so CGI effects in the fights, as well as other portions of the movie, which is only a small letdown in the grand scheme of things.Vincent Zhao plays the cardinal character and while it is a blast to see him in the fights, it is the supporting cast that outshine him in the acting department. Zhou Xun, Andy On, and Jay Chou pull out the more memorable characters. Michelle Yeoh, Gordon Liu, and David Carradine, also have special appearances; although they do stay away from the action.When all the wine jugs have been emptied, True Legend is a pleasing watch with regards to the martial arts.
Donnie D

Yuen Woo Ping, quite possibly the greatest choreographer who ever live bringing us so many memorable action sequences. True Legend retains the fantastic choreography Yuen Woo Ping is know for, unfortunately the story is not at the same level. True Legend is about a wealthy man, Su… More
Yuen Woo Ping, quite possibly the greatest choreographer who ever live bringing us so many memorable action sequences. True Legend retains the fantastic choreography Yuen Woo Ping is know for, unfortunately the story is not at the same level. True Legend is about a wealthy man, Su Qi-Er, living during the Qing Dynasty who loses his fortune and reputation as a result of his brother vengeance. After being forced out onto the streets, Su dedicates his life to martial arts and embarks on a path that would make him a legend. Now the story is not well put together as it's divided into two parts, one being longer than the other. Now I will add that I did feel the first story being did end abruptly and it left a unsatisfying feeling. The story as a whole has it moments, though it's pretty clear that story-telling took a back seat to the action. It's average story-telling having some great moments, but ultimately the writing really doesn't give you anything memorable when telling a story. Now since this movie was directed by Yuen Woo Ping, the choreography is at the highest standard he know for. Even if the story doesn't keep your attention, the well choreograph action sequences that Yuen Woo Ping filmed will, he makes every battle more engaging despite the story to make it more satisfying. One thing you should note, the CGI in this movie made it look cartoonish at points and you won't really care much for the characters when they're not fighting. Yuen Woo Ping is great when directing action, unfortunately the story aspects is not as impressive. True Legend is good Martial Art movie with great action that suffers from the story to make it more engaging. If you just want good Martial Art action watch this, but if you're looking for an engaging story to with it look elsewhere.
Kevin "

I'll admit I was a little excited before seeing this movie. The trailer looked almost as a homage to the 70's Kung-Fu movies before it. Sadly, I was letdown in the end. The plot was a standard affair, but the movie seemed to climax to early and the second part seemed out of… More
I'll admit I was a little excited before seeing this movie. The trailer looked almost as a homage to the 70's Kung-Fu movies before it. Sadly, I was letdown in the end. The plot was a standard affair, but the movie seemed to climax to early and the second part seemed out of place, making the movie feel it was dragging itself out for no real reason. The movie does have a lot of action and martial arts, but maybe the grounded fights in movies like Killzone and Flash Point have spoiled me, The wire fighting, while done really well, just seems to look the same anymore. Maybe that is another main problem, True Legend seems like the ultimate mash-up that is doesn't do one thing really well. Crouching Tiger presented wire movements more elegant. Hero used wire work, but the color presentation and cinematography was outstanding, etc... One thing I really enjoyed were the cameos, especially Gordon Liu as Old Sage; I think he has mastered that role! The movie as a whole is entertaining, but nothing I feel fans of the genre should get to hyped for. Down the line I'll probably buy the movie, but nothing I'll insist my friends to watch and I'll probably only watch it on occasion, which is a shame, because this True Legend had the potential to be just that. 6 (venom fists) /10
Remi L

It felt very reminiscent of "Hero" just with only one familiar star (Michelle Yeoh and David Carradine) and minus the color that partly responsible for making it so enjoyable. This film felt like a play in 3 acts about a great warrior named Su with a jealous step-brother… More
It felt very reminiscent of "Hero" just with only one familiar star (Michelle Yeoh and David Carradine) and minus the color that partly responsible for making it so enjoyable. This film felt like a play in 3 acts about a great warrior named Su with a jealous step-brother always living in his shadow, Yuan. It felt like Hamlet, except it quickly switched with the second segment which became about revenge and hallucinations and loneliness and family. The third segment was about sorrow, loss and rising from the ashes, so to speak. It was a nice way to kill nearly two hours. The fighting was great, especially the drunken style fighting in the third segment which looked like a cross between crumping and break dancing. If you're into Asian martial arts cinema, give it a look-see.