I remembered watching Tai Chi Master when it first came out on VCD, the quality sucked big time but I still enjoyed the film’s timeless action-scenes. Next to Fist of Legend, Tai Chi Master is one of my favorite Jet Li films.
Jet Li plays a happy-go-lucky monk that ends up being kicked out of the temple due to misbehavior. Along with his best friend, they both ventured into the city, where an evil emperor took advantage of the poor. To make the story short, his greedy friend decides to join the bad guys; and is forced to fight Jet Li, the Tai Chi Master.
Video – This isn’t the best transfer out there, but it’s good. The colors are natural, and the details more visible. Occasionally, I noticed scratches and dirt on the picture, but that can be blamed on the source, not the transfer itself. There are also occasional blurs in some scenes, but it did not distract from my enjoyment of the film.
Video: B-
Audio – The audio is very lackluster. The 5.1 Cantonese is actually worse than the mono. It sounded muffled, and unnatural. So, I opted to listen to the original Mono source. Mono sounded flat, but it’s far less distracting than the 5.1 Cantonese. With what they had to work with, it’s understandable that there is no real “surround” audio for this film. But, I’m still disappointed.
Audio: C-
Extras – N/A
Overall – Even though this release isn’t perfect, it is still a solid release. Maybe, they can do better next time, but it’s very hard considering the source material isn’t great to begin with. I enjoyed the film once again, and the little details that I missed before made me like the film even more. I recommend a buy for the Jet Li fans out there, but a rent for the casual viewers.
Overall: B-
Release Date: Aug. 10, 2010
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