Page

The Final Master

Watch trailer

01:01

The Final Master

Save

Summary

A Wing Chun master has to defeat 8 martial arts schools to open his own school, yet he has become a chess piece to the local power dynamics

Ad

Powered By

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jamie Healy

Xu Haofeng is best known in the west for penning the script for Wong Kar-Wai's The Grandmaster, but this martial arts drama further establishes him as a film-making talent in his own right. As well as adapting his own novel, Xu also directs this story set in bustling 1930s Tianjin, where Liao Fan plans to open a new dojo in order to keep the legacy of his wing chun style alive. To earn that right, he finds and trains a young disciple (Song Yang) who must then defeat eight other schools in combat. Why Liao must pose as a peasant to carry out this scheme is not altogether clear, but it does bring added intrigue to a story already rich in duplicity and betrayal. Gratifyingly, Xu doesn't dwell on the usual master/student dynamic, preferring to explore Liao's relationship with the woman he takes as his bride (Song Jia), a lost soul reminiscent of Wong Kar-Wai's own haunted heroines. Boasting award-winning action choreography, the film acts as a fine showcase for various weapons styles, ranging from butterfly blades to battle axes, but it's Xu's control over character, mood and plotting that makes The Final Master a cut above the competition.

imdb-square

6.8/10

How to watch

Loading

Credits

Cast

rolenameChenLiao Fan Mrs ChenSong Jia Master ZouJiang Wenli ZhengKing Shih-Chieh GengSong Yang

Show more

Crew

rolenameDirectorXu Haofeng

Details

Languages

English | Chinese

Guidance

violence

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

Ad

Ad

Ad