Beggar Su is a folkloric kung fu hero, and "True Legend" is Su's story told in epic form, from esteemed general to madman to drunkard to hero. Vincent Zhao is the titular hero, who after rescuing a kidnapped prince, returns home to his wife Ying (Zhou Xun) and young son, rather than becoming a governor as the prince offers in reward for his service. Instead, he hands the governorship over to his foster brother Yuan (Andy On), thinking to share his good fortune with the man he thinks of as a brother and who is in fact Ying's actual brother. He doesn't realize that Yuan is full of hatred and vengeful feelings for Su's family, because Su's father had killed Yuan's real father many years earlier, to prevent that rampaging man from killing more innocent people. Five years later, Yuan has control of an army, and he is seeking vengeance....
That is only the opening section of this film, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who is best known in the West for choreographing the fight scenes in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." "True Legend" is full of fight scenes, some of the quite funny, some of them quite beautiful; and it is also full of cameos of kung fu superstars such as Gordon Liu, Michelle Yeoh and, in his last role, David Carradine. I find that a little kung fu fighting goes a long way, but if you're going to see a kung fu film, you couldn't find better than this.
That is only the opening section of this film, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who is best known in the West for choreographing the fight scenes in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." "True Legend" is full of fight scenes, some of the quite funny, some of them quite beautiful; and it is also full of cameos of kung fu superstars such as Gordon Liu, Michelle Yeoh and, in his last role, David Carradine. I find that a little kung fu fighting goes a long way, but if you're going to see a kung fu film, you couldn't find better than this.