THE PLOT THUS FAR
In 19th Century China amidst the corrupt Qing Dynasty, the people are suffering at the hands of greedy landlords, crooked officials and unwelcome invaders. To bring his people together, Chen Xiang opens a martial arts school combining teaching techniques from both the North and the South. When Chen refuses to join the armies of the Qing Prince, he seeks revenge on Chen’s school and family. To survive, Chen must rise up and fight to free his students and protect his home.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“The Master” is about a teacher’s attempt to save his students from government interference. It’s a lot like “Won’t Back Down”, but there is Kung-Fu and stuff instead of charter schools. Charter Schools would take over in America if your teacher could kick the shit out of their rivals. I bring this up, as the rest of the film is so blatantly average that you’ve seen it without seeing it. Well, if you’re a kid then you might not have seen it.
Chinese films seem to only come to the US if they’re period pieces or martial arts related films. I know that the great Red Empire has to be producing something else. The fight choreography is top notch and I love the way that the movie was shot. It’s just that after a time of being immersed in Asian period cinema, you expect more. I blame Zhang Yimou, but I blame that dude for a ton of stuff. So, I guess I’ll pin this one on a guy name Wang. Wang is always messing up my ability to enjoy these movies.
The DVD comes with a trailer gallery as the only special feature. The A/V Quality is pretty sharp for recent standard definition. The Dolby 5.1 track holds up for the English dub and original Mandalorian track. Still, I wish we would’ve received an HD release. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 02/24/2015