|
Review
by Kozo: |
Tsui
Hark produced this action drama, which utlizes a cast of
unknowns and a rather non-photogenic Shenzen setting to
tell a familiar genre tale. Sang Wei-Lin is Qiang, a champion
wushu fighter from the country who decides to leave his
small town roots and head for the big city. Eventually Qiang
becomes a contestant in the fighting ring, where the big
thing is Xanda. A relatively new martial art similar to
Thai Kickboxing, Xanda is hip among the teeming Shenzen
urbanites. Qiang originally doesn't intend to become a Xanda
fighter, but a run-in with Xanda champ Zhao (Teng Jun) lands
Qiang's buddy in the hospital. Qiang needs money to pay
the medical bills, and Xanda pays well. The decision seems
to be a total no-brainer.
Sadly, the road to Xanda champion
status is not as easy as Qiang would hope. Since he's already
a rural wushu champ, Qiang has the not-unplausible notion
that he should do okay. Sadly, Coach Tieh (Zhang Hong-Jun)
of the local Xanda academy has no such faith in Qiang, and
gives him menial, frustrating tasks instead of ass-kicking
instruction. The meaning of all this seems somewhat Karate
Kid-like, i.e. learn to pull weeds and soon you'll be
owning in the ring. However, Qiang initially lacks that
patience and Tieh lacks any of Pat Morita's cuddly disposition.
Qiang eventually charges into competition instead of Tieh's
son Lung (Zhao Zi-Long), which proves disastrous. Meanwhile,
Qiang spars with a tough wannabe singer/barmaid named Ning
(Li Jing-Yang), and somewhere underneath this generic exposition
there's supposed to be some actual characters.
Surprisingly, Xanda
does seem to possess actual characters. While given to typical
situations and types, the characters do appear to walk,
talk, and interact like human beings would in the big, bad
world. Everyone chases their dreams, but at the same time
fears the committments that life requires. Among these potential
committments are the obligatory relationships (Ning and
Qiang fall in love but waver up until the final reel) and
that pesky thing called perserverance of will. Qiang never
competed in any championships since winning at wushu, and
doesn't intend to sully his personal record. It's only because
he needs the money that he jumps back into the ring, but
what then? Will he continue to learn Xanda, challenge the
champion, and prove that he's not afraid to lose? Hell,
this is a sports movie—what do you think happens?
When Xanda finally
hits its final twenty minutes, we get genre clichés
by the dozen. There's a training montage, an obligatory
"going after the girl vs. going to the fight"
conflict, and more obvious plot devices than can be easily
explained. This shift is usually enough to kill most sports
movies, and Xanda falls into that trap by bypassing
many established conflicts for a quick montage of Qiang
racing to the ring. Qiang and Tieh's personal issues seem
to disappear, and Qiang apparently masters the mysteries
of Xanda in virtually no time at all. Given the generous
amount of attention paid to Qiang's initial foray into the
world of Xanda, and his deepening relationship with Ning,
the quick-fix montage can only seem too convenient.
Still, Xanda possesses
enough minor positives to make it potentially worthwhile.
Besides the decent character development, the low-budget
feel is refreshing, and even helps compensate for the overdone
genre clichés. The actors (three of whom are actual
Xanda professionals) are neither impressive nor embarrassing,
and at the very least don't stop the film cold with their
obvious acting inexperience. Plus, this type of Rocky
story has undeniable built-in appeal. Who doesn't want to
see someone rise up and take on the hunky champion? The
fights can be a little over-edited, but they're staged with
dramatic flair and good impact. Director and ace editor
Marco Mak moves the film along efficiently, such that the
unavoidable platitudes (Tsui Hark, who co-wrote the script,
has never been incredibly subtle) and leaps of logic don't
really register. Xanda is not a film for popstar
chasers or those looking for the next Iron Monkey,
but for what it is—a low budget Rocky clone
with complete unknowns—it's really not that bad. (Kozo
2004)
|
|
