The
Best of Donnie Yen
Following
the announcement that Kung Fu legend Donnie Yen was taking his latest
film, KUNG FU KILLER,
to last year’s London Film Festival, martial arts fans are keenly
anticipating the wider release of the martial arts saga which land at
cinemas on February 20th and home entertainment platforms on February
23rd. This feature takes a look at Donnie’s best performances to
date, and will go some way to showing why he is one of the most
revered martial artists in the world.
KUNG
FU KILLER (2015)
In
KUNG FU KILLER,
Yen stars as Hahou, a former martial arts instructor imprisoned after
accidentally killing an opponent. When a vicious killer (Wang
Baoqiang, A Touch Of Sin)
starts targeting martial arts masters, though, Hahou offers to help
the police capture him in return for his freedom. Also starring
Michelle Bai and Charlie Young, KUNG
FU KILLER is directed by Teddy
Chan (star of Infernal Affairs
2) but notably also features
key action scenes directed by the legendary Yen - a real draw to
martial arts fans and a contributing element to one of the kung fu
blockbusters of the year.
Ip
Man (2008)
Ip
Man is a Hong Kong based semi
biographical martial arts film based on the life of Yip Man, the man
considered to be the Grandmaster of Wing Chun Kung Fu and the teacher
of Bruce Lee. Ip, played by Yen, has an amazing wife, plenty of
money, the most beautiful house in town, and a blossoming martial
arts academy. But when the Japanese occupy his hometown of Foshan
during the Sino-Japan war (1937), Ip is forced into hard labor and
brutal sparring matches for the enemy's amusement. Ip decides to take
matters into his own hands, challenging the Japanese general to a
grueling public fight. This is arguably the most impressive
performance of Yen’s career.
Flash
Point (2007)
Flash
Point, the second of Yen’s
many collaborations with director Wilson Yip, is a raucous thriller
about a loose-cannon cop on the trail of three drug-dealing brothers.
Archer (Lui Leung Wai), Tony (Collin Chou), and Tiger (Xing Yu) are
three drug dealers who supply the product for much of the local drug
trade, and Jun (Yen) is determined to take them down at all costs,
using his undercover partner Wilson (Louis Koo), a seasoned veteran
capable of infiltrating the gang and gaining their trust.
Special
ID (2013)
In
Special ID,
Yen plays Zilong "Dragon" Chen, an undercover cop deep
inside China's most ruthless crime syndicate. The boss, Xiong (Collin
Chou) swears to find and kill every government infiltrator without
mercy. Fearing he will be the next to be weeded out and desperate to
protect his family, Chen risks everything to take down the
organisation and reclaim his identity.
Blade
II (2002)
Four
years after scoring a box-office gold with Blade
(1998), Wesley Snipes returned to portray the Marvel Comics character
again in this sequel that teamed him with Mexican horror director
Guillermo del Toro. A half-vampire, half-human hybrid, Blade (Snipes)
is a merciless vampire hunter bent on destroying the bloodsuckers
that feed on humanity. Donnie Yen features as ‘Snowman’, the
quiet swords specialist of the Bloodpack, alongside co-stars Ron
Perlman, Leonor Varela and Matt Schulze.
Shanghai
Knights (2003)
East
and West team up to take on bad guys in the British Empire in this
sequel to the action comedy hit Shanghai
Noon. Chon Wang (Jackie Chan),
once an Imperial Guard in China, is now the Sheriff of Carson City,
Nevada, while his onetime cohort, former train robber Roy O'Bannon
(Owen Wilson), scrapes together a living writing dime novels based on
his adventures and waiting tables in New York City. However, when
Wang learns that his father was killed by bandits who broke into the
Emperor's palace and stole the Imperial Seal, he's determined to
bring the criminals to justice. Donnie Yen plays Wu Chan, the bastard
son of the Chinese Emperor's father, who needs the Imperial Seal as
part of his plan to win control of the nation.
Ip
Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster
(2010)
Martial
arts power-duo Yip and Yen combine yet again when Ip Man returned to
the big screen in 2010. International star Donnie Yen reprised his
iconic role as the real-life kung fu grandmaster Ip Man in this
martial arts spectacular. After escaping the Japanese occupation of
his hometown of Foshan in China, Ip Man and his family have arrived
in Hong Kong, which is under the iron fist of British colonial rule.
Ip wants to support his family by opening up a martial arts academy
to teach his unique Wing Chun style. But a corrupt cabal of Hong Kong
martial arts masters, led by Hung Chun-nam (Sammo Hung), refuses to
allow Ip to teach until he proves himself - and prove himself he
does. In an intense series of fights against the masters a dazzling
variety of martial arts styles are displayed, culminating in a final
battle between Ip and Hung atop a rickety table.
***
KUNG
FU KILLER comes to cinemas from February 20th,
2015 and arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms on February
23rd,
2015, courtesy of Signature Entertainment