28-04-2005, 01:57
Long before Jackie Chan began shilling trash bags on TV, the clown prince of kung-fu flicks was a force to be reckoned with. And while the film that first put him on the map, "The Drunken Master" (1978), is an excellent example of Chan's ability to synthesize athletic dexterity with slapstick stumblebum bits, it's that movie's sequel that truly deserves a place in the pantheon. The star repeats the dangerous-when-inebriated act of the original film. But this time, director Lau Kar-Leung goes all out on the action, choreographing set pieces like the showdown between Chan and Liu himself under a train car, and a fight between Felix Wong and 50 axe-wielding thugs in a teahouse (guess who wins?). Best of all is the jaw-dropping climactic battle where our soused hero fights while being hit with hammers, spitting out flaming hooch and skidding across red-hot coals. It's the type of adrenaline-rush spectacle designed to leave audience members pleasantly intoxicated as well.
There's no stoppin' what can't be stopped, no killin' what can't be killed. You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'...