Review of Old Master, The

Introduction

An old kung fu master comes to the aid of a local kung fu school when it`s threatened by closure by its gambling boss. He`s being setup to fight all the local hotshots but unbeknownst to the old guy, the friend he`s helping is placing large bets on the outcome of all these fights in a bid to win back money he owes the mob.

Video

Presented with what looks like a 2.35:1 letterbox video transfer, The Old Master looks old. The aspect ratio for starters doesn`t seem right since there are key people chopped off at the very edges of the frame which is either down to poor composition, or an incorrect video transfer. Either way, the quality is average. Colours are a little muted and appear washed out in some places. Detailing isn`t bad and I couldn`t spot anything in the way of digital artefacts. It`s watchable.

Audio

English Dolby Digital 2.0 is all we get and it`s a very flat sounding track. I don`t expect remasterd 5.1 sound but I would expect some effort to prevent the sound from being totally bland. The sound effects are what I expected with lots of the usual slaps and kicks poorly edited in.

Features

Easy to navigate menu with a very annoying looped ditty. Thankfully there aren`t much in the way of extras here so you don`t have to drive yourself completely mental with the Jennifer Lopez riff. Shocking.

• Original Hong Kong Cinema Trailer (3:55) - A trailer so long that it may as well be the film. Lots of spoilers here and it does a great job is thoroughly turning one off the film.

Conclusion

Where do I even start writing about this atrocity to the martial arts genre? Let`s start with the quality of the fighting, or rather lack of it. The fighting choreography isn`t at all creative and has been done literally millions of times before in lesser films. Couple this with the poor editing and it adds up to a poor show indeed. For the most part we don`t get to see the face of supposed star Yu Jim Yuen while fighting so I remain somewhat sceptical about his ability. Even when we are faced with his fighting skill, it`s somewhat lacking and leaves a lot to be desired. I`m not wowed in any shape or form. Surely this can`t be what they mean with the "Old Skool Kung Fu" legend on the box? I`m unimpressed. What`s wrong with the kung fu in films like, Drunken Master or Snake in the Eagles Shadow? That seems old skool to me and still remains thrilling.

Apart from the fighting, you have to weave in a story. The basic concept for The Old Master isn`t bad as concepts go. It`s just poorly written and executed. Even the comedic elements are derisory and I`m sure I`m not supposed to be laughing at the English dubbing alone.

I don`t know who the audience for this film is. If you like Jackie Chan or Jet Li and want to try something new, then stick to Mr Chan and Mr Li, and don`t experiment with "Old Skool Kung Fu". Don`t be fooled with "Jackie Chan`s real life kung fu master`s big screen debut" emblazoned on the front cover either. To sum up, poor fighting, poor editing, poor story, poor sound and poor English dubbing add up to a poor DVD. Steer clear.