Wing Chun (1994)
Reviewed by: Chungking_Cash on 2008-12-17
Instead of adapting the life of noteworthy 17th Century [female] master Ng Mei whose patented brand of aggressive, close-rang gung fu heavily influenced Bruce Lee; Yuen Wo-ping opts for a tedious satire of her top student Yim Wing Chun for whom the style was named after.

This worked for Yuen's own "Drunken Master" a comedic spin on Wong Fei-hung for two reasons: (1) the trials and tribulations of China's most cinematically accessible national had been thoroughly exhausted by 1978 when the film premiered (2) "Drunken Master" was amusing. "Wing Chun" is not.

Michelle Yeoh, in a fine performance, stars as the motherless cross-dressing title character that runs a bean curd stand with her fugitive-from-the-law father. Though her accomplished martial arts are no secret in their mountain village Yim reserves them almost exclusively for punch lines until bandits from a near-by fortress begin to harass her fellow villagers.

"Wing Chun" is fairly disarming when it should have been thoroughly engaging. The film goes to great lengths to bore the audience and then suddenly springs to life just when your threshold for tolerance is about to snap.

Yuen Wo-ping finally relaxes during the final act -- the choreography tightens as a direct result -- and the film's misguided sense of humor begins to fade but just when things really get cooking and Michelle Yeoh and co-star Donnie Yen are allowed to shine its way too late.

Cheng Pei Pei appears in a tongue-in-cheek torch passing cameo as Ng Mei.
Reviewer Score: 6