AllMovie

China's last remaining tai chi student gets lured into the deadly world of underground fighting in this martial arts film that marks the feature directorial debut of Keanu Reeves, who also co-stars. An apparent relic in the world of martial arts, Tiger Chen (played by the actor of the same name) is the last living student of tai chi. Despite the obvious mastery on display as he quickly defeats his hulking rival in Beijing's Wu Lin Wing Championships, he seems to have a particularly difficult time harnessing his chi, and that lack of control serves him well when he decides to earn some extra money fighting for the mysterious Donaka Mark (Reeves) in a lucrative underground fighting tournament. Chen needs the cash to support his parents and to save his temple from being demolished by an eager squad of real-estate developers. At first the money comes easy: Even the larger opponents are no match for Chen, whose formidable fighting style seems to evolve with each successive match. Later, when he discovers that his efforts to save the temple may have been in vain, his uncontrollable rage plunges him deeper into the dangerous competition than ever before. Meanwhile, the elusive Mark has already slipped away from Hong Kong police inspector Suen Jing-Si (Karen Mok) once, and she'll do whatever it takes to ensure that it doesn't happen again.