Drunken Master 1 to 2 Reveiw

                In 1978 Jackie Chan was a fairly unknown actor in the world of Hong Kong cinema when he was cast to play Wong Fei-hung the protagonist of Drunken Master.  A decade and a half later, after becoming better known he revisits his old role in the Drunken Master II.  The connection between the two is tenuous and is generally not explored by the sequel choosing to present the movie as a standalone with only the unique fighting technique used in the first movie really showing continuity.  What I specifically want to explore is how the certainty of Jackie Chan’s role in cinema is reflected in how his story is told in comparison to the original and in so many ways stronger.

                The first noticeable difference between the sequel and the original is that, well time has passed and now Wong no longer looks quite the rebellious son that he did in the original being better dressed and portrayed by an older Jackie.  The personality though is something that they managed to preserve fairly well from the original.  In the first movie Wong is childish looking to pick fights where ever at the drop of a hat and causing trouble (especially for his father). 

The film chooses to include a bit more dialog and antics at first rather than the first ones approach of taking us straight into fight scenes or scenes that directly set up fights.  In the sequel it does not feel quite like a fight is inevitable but rather that he falls into it or just takes a situation to far.  Although the new Wong is still a belligerent guy he does not go looking for fights all the time but once they find him he makes a commitment to fighting them all the way through.  Of course being a kung-fu movie fights break out in almost every other scene even if it is only a quick skirmish but they are better spaced with the odd antics of Chan’s character. 

             There are several parallels that can be drawn between the stories of the sequel and the original especially in relation to how Jackie’s characters are portrayed, that is as a sort of bumbling hero who trips and falls but will get back up stronger than ever.  In the first one he is humiliated by Thunder-legs by his lack of power to fight back and thus must seek training to make up for his failure and overcome that weakness.  In the sequel it is a different story as he has already mastered the skills he needs it is just he lacks a certain level of personal control.  It is because of this lack of self-control that he enters a hero’s fall and runs away from home not unlike his running from his master in the first one.  It is then that his lack of control much like his lack of skill gets him humiliated and beaten.  Just as before the main martial villain he must face later stands immaculate over Chan’s character as he must stay battered on the ground.

   

He is forced to accept his weakness and then becomes repentant and seeks to devote himself to bettering who he is.  It is a classic hero’s tale formula and is not unexpected in a very normative genre but is carried out in entirely two different ways.  It works to much greater effect to see a training montage though to show learning and growth to overcome weakness it is entirely a different thing to try and show personal growth and repentance towards his reckless ways.  He does follow through and appear to take responsibility for his actions but that is soon pushed aside for what is clearly more desirable, a big fight scene.  Just as before the climax of the film is at the very end and is finished with a fight just as most kung-fu movies.

                There are also commonalities found in the roles filled by the supporting cast while at the same time getting a better look at those characters.   For instance in the original it was an important point that the hand of mercy sparing Wong from his father’s wrath was his aunt one of the few feminine influences in the film.  With the original we find his aunt tries to spare him from the full brunt of his father’s wrath upon hearing that he picked another fight and thus gave him a fighting chance.  In the sequel this role is fulfilled by Wong’s step-mother.  Yet filling the role does not do justice to her character as she plays a pivotal role in moving the story forward and can even be said to have one of the most central positions in the cast.  She is not only the hand of mercy helping Wong out of tight situations but acting as an accomplice and someone who is willing to stick their neck out for him for the sake of protecting him.  She is a stark contrast to the typical step-mother, showing a wry affection and general concern for the well-being of her step-son.  In addition she goes above and beyond helping him going so far as to stem further troubles for Wong rather than stopping the trouble in front of her.  She can almost be seen as fulfilling the role that the master filled in the original. She takes on the task of keeping an eye on the childish Wong while being in only slightly more mature, in addition to giving him booze for his fights.  She is always ready to fight to help Wong out and yet will change tactics to insure a level of control over the situation and to prevent it from getting out of control. 

               

             The movie has many things that it does that can remind one of Chan’s older work that still very much carries through the passage of time.  His fighting style is very similar to the old films with the two cup stance being preserved yet there is not a great deal of explanation for it and it is simply accepted.  I find it in some ways a bit of a letdown that it seems everyone is aware that Chan’s character knows drunken boxing and sees it as a kind of spectator sport rather then it being a legitimate style (which is entirely true) making it feel as though it is a cheap trick a dog does to amuse the crowd though perhaps that is the intention. 

Other thing like Chan’s prop fighting make it in with him using the environment to his advantage and taking on impossible odds in strange ways.  There is an instance that is particularly strange where in the midst of a mob of gangsters he hides under a table.  This in the original was a sign that he was weak and afraid, here it is just another chance for him to do something crazy in the midst of the fray like using the table as a spinning shield. 

Wong looking out at the horde.

Wong as he attacks the ax gang with a table.

     Although this particular film was a squeal to the original it does things differently while still feeling like the same movie just set later in the future.  Many of the usual stunts Chan pulls are still there and in some ways amplified and capitalized upon now that he is more recognizable as a stuntman turned star.  He pulls off his role with a childish glee that sets him apart from other kung-fu and action stars, taking things as they come putting on a serious face when necessary but general taking in things with a grin.  As stories go it is a pretty straightforward affair with nationalistic undertones that speak of a growing awareness the Hong Kong’s neighbor China.  Still it does an admiral job adding more to the formula then simply random fights breaking out and giving us a taste of the simple things even if they do have a tendency to spiral into an all out brawl.  The style and depth of the story is not just a typical kung-fu and that is what makes it fun to watch and yet we can to a degree lose ourselves in the silliness and forget that we will soon be falling into yet another fight.  The over all change is for the best and we can find ourselves watching in wonder at the polished gem that Drunken Master has become much like Jackie Chan.