Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen is directed by cinematographer/producer/director Andrew Lau. It is one of the finest martial arts movies ever produced. It covers a broad spectrum of emotions stemming from Chinese nationalist undercurrents. Donnie Yen (Chen Zhen) has become something more than a modern Bruce Lee because he is not only as gifted as the most famous martial artist of all time, he is also blessed with the benefit of all that modern cinematography has to offer. Legend of the Fist is scintillating in maximum Blu-ray high definition. Portraying 1920s China has never appeared to be so effortless. Yen has become a symbol for modern China. His films are a relic from the past that contain something modern America lacks in this day and age of class warfare and economic paralysis: national pride.

Seven years prior to the commencement of the film (1918), a group of 150,000 Chinese soldiers helped France push back the German onslaught during World War One. Despite being largely unrewarded and unheralded as a nation, Chen Zhen and his fierce group of warriors survived to cherish their experiences. Only one of their brothers died (the man Chen Zhen impersonates) on account of machine gun fire from a German pillbox/turret (a protected fortification utilized for arming and firing a weapon). Chen Zhen was presumed dead after returning home safely from the war.

Legend of the Fist is the continuation of Jet Li's sensational film Fist of Legend filmed back in 1994. Guarded for the time being under the presumption that he is dead, Chen Zhen is able to disguise himself as a local businessman from Shanghai. In reality he is a member of the Chinese intelligentsia that is resisting Japan's encroachment on mainland China. In order to conceal his identity and to gain the upper hand against the Japanese invaders, Chen Zhen befriends Master Liu (Anthony Wong Chou-sang), an affluent Chinese businessman, to become connected with the major players in Shanghai. He is so trustworthy and well liked that Master Liu appoints him club manager at the luxurious Casablanca (a wonderful throwback to Humphrey Bogart's renown night establishment). Being trampled on by international powers, the club is ripe with British, Japanese, French and other national styles of entertainment. This allows the club to become a hotbed for Japanese spies to infiltrate the upper echelons of Chinese society. Chen Zhen's nemesis is also his best friend, the delectable Japanese (disguised as a Chinese local nicknamed Kiki) singer (portrayed by actress Qi Shu).

In the previous storlyine, Chen Zhen defeated and killed the current Japanese commander's father (Ryu Kohata as Colonel Chikaraishi). From the beginning Colonel Chikaraishi suspects the club manager is more than he seems. His intuition and intelligence agents around the club confirm his suspicions. Not only is Chen Zhen involved in the upper echelons of China's resistance, he is also in love with a Japanese spy and being pursued by the Colonel. As if his life and responsibilities were not already complicated enough, Chen Zhen has been challenged by Colonel Chikairashi to save as many of the resistance intellectuals as possible before they are openly hung, slaughtered, shot, or covertly assassinated. All of the Colonel's actions are out in the open as the ultimate symbol of intimidation.

Meanwhile, China's two premier generals charged with defending the mainland and safeguarding her people are at loggerheads. Generals Zhou and Zhen are ready to demolish one another and this causes an unbridgeable rift that leads to China's demise in military stature and leadership. Locally in Shanghai, Chen Zhen and his friends are somewhat protected by the local police force, but even their influence is limited without their own extensive arsenal. Eventually, Chen Zhen is surrounded, captured and tortured. His sister is brutally raped by the colonel, and his military brothers are hung and their throats are slit. Even though he is rescued, so many have died and so much destruction has been wrought.

Legend of the Fist is one of the most patriotic movies I have even seen. The final scenes are a contrast between the spirit of the oppressed and the savageness of the oppressors. Chen Zhen is not a superhero in the supernatural sense, but he is a superman by virtue of his indomitable spirit. Donnie Yen emulates Bruce Lee so well I could hardly discern between one or the other. The final battle perfectly showcases shotokan against vet kundo. If there were a single conservative director with clout left in Hollywood we would be treated to these types of inspiring movies. Instead we are constantly taught that America is a rotten nation full of brutes, slave owners, racists, homophobes and barbarians. No wonder China is the fastest growing nation on the planet and the U.S. has no jobs, manufacturing industry or money in its treasury. All politics aside, Donnie Yen is a superstar in Asia, and if people in America are paying attention, he should be just as popular here too.