Tai Chi Master [DVD] [1993]

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Jet Li teams up with Michelle Yeoh in Twin Warriors, a period martial-arts tale of revenge and retribution filmed in 1993. Directed by Yuen Woo Ping (who also directed Jackie Chan's popular Drunken Master and Yeoh's Wing Chun), it matches over-the-top melodrama with fantastical fight scenes. Li and Chin Sui Hou play Junbao and Tienbao, two misfit monks who have been getting into trouble at their Shaolin temple since childhood. Tienbao's volatile temper and ego get them banished from the monastery, and the pair try to make a new life for themselves in a nearby village. From here they take decidedly different paths. Tienbao joins the military regime of a ruthless eunuch ruler while Junbao joins a group of political rebels that includes Yeoh. Tienbao's violent quest for power erases his friendship with Junbao, his betrayal causing Junbao to go temporarily insane. During this period Junbao discovers tai chi, which prepares him for a final confrontation with Tienbao. The action scenes include a memorable match-up of Li and Chin against the entire monastery, where in the non-stop action Junbao escapes attack by riding one of his foes like a snowboard out of the fray. Yeoh's fight scenes include a complicated orchestration involving tables and chairs; her scenes are so impressive that it's a shame she wasn't given more screen time. --Shannon Gee, Amazon.com