REVIEW: DVD Release: Wushu

Film: Wushu
Year of production: 2008
Release date: 18th April 2011
Studio: MVM
Certificate: 12
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Antony Szeto
Starring: Sammo Hung, Wei Dong, Wu Dazhou, Lie Xin, Shi Yao
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Family/Martial Arts
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Mandarin

Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung are back together (although only Sammo appears on screen with Jackie taking on the role of executive producer) for this 2008 action film aimed squarely at the younger generation, but will their combined efforts elevate the film to the dizzying heights reached with their previous collaborations as part of the Three Dragons?

The portly, yet oddly sprightly Mr Li (Sammo Hung) is a father to two boys and a martial arts teacher who is determined to honour his late wife’s memory by bringing up his sons in a manner she would approve of. At the Wushu school of martial arts he heads up, his two young sons Yi and Er quickly make friends with fellow classmates Yauwu, Zhang and Fong (the only girl of the group) and form the Jing Wu Men.

The Jing Wu Men grow up together, and each one of them becomes an expert in a chosen martial arts discipline by the time they reach their teenage years. Soon, they are joined by Xiao Yi, a pretty girl and fellow martial artist who Zhang takes a shine to, and doesn’t particularly mind being kicked in the face by during an arranged ‘duel’. At the same time, a gang led by Le, a wayward former pupil of the Wushu school, begins kidnapping young children, and the Jing Wu Men set out to save the day.

Their efforts to defeat the gang intensify when two young twins from the school are kidnapped along with one of the Jing Wu Men and Nan, another former pupil who works as a film stuntman and fight choreographer. Mr Li, his son Yi and Yauwu are called into action to rescue the kidnap victims, but the evil Le proves to be a remarkably tough adversary. At least until he starts fighting dirty, and Mr Li starts throwing his weight around...


If you’re looking for a martial arts film with plenty of historical detail and narrative depth, Wushu is not the film to go for, but if flashy fun, cheesy music and gawky teenage romance are what you’re after, look no further. The kids start out cute and talented, and pretty much stay that way as teenagers. They have their problems, but Mr Li and his beautiful, ever supportive sidekick Miss Zhang are always on hand to help.

It would be easy to pick fault with Wushu, but it’s better just to enjoy the flaws as amusing oddities rather than labour over them. Early in the film, for example, the pint-sized Jing Wu Men basically steal, or ‘rescue’, a puppy from an old man they surmise might want to eat it, then pretty much abandon the puppy when it leads them to what will become their secret hideaway. Well, maybe they don’t abandon the puppy after all; it is possible that they hungrily devour it themselves off-camera, but we’re probably not meant to worry about that.

The main appeal of Wushu is the expertly filmed martial arts action. With the aid of split screens, slow motion and upbeat, relentlessly sugary music, the action sequences give the film an energetic, hyper-kinetic wow factor that kids and not-too-demanding martial arts fans will love. The main story and simple sub-plots do just enough to hold it all together, and the young cast are all perfectly likeable as the Jing Wu Men. It doesn’t always go smoothly for them, and they do have the odd setback to deal with, so you’re not left with the feeling of wanting to throttle them (much), but all ends well, as you would expect.

There is very little blood, though Nan very nearly does get his skull cracked open ‘like an egg’ with a sledgehammer by one of Le’s henchmen, and Mr Li gets a bloody lip in the climactic fight with Le. It could have been a lot worse for Mr Li, though, if Le had just been a bit quicker with that saw... And if you’re not in the mood for reading subtitles, there’s also a dubbed version with American accents.

Martial arts purists will probably turn their noses up at Wushu, and it’s certainly ripe for parody, but as a harmless bit of fun, it makes for entertaining enough viewing. But exactly what did happen to that cute little puppy?


Wushu won’t set the world of martial arts films alight, but it’s undemanding, well crafted fun, and there are worse things for kids to emulate than the irrepressible Jing Wu Men. JG