The failed martial arts action movie you didn’t realize Keanu Reeves directed

Keanu Reeves may be one of the most beloved movie stars currently working, beloved more for his down-to-earth personality and well-documented generosity than for his range as an actor. Reeves has a knack for playing taciturn action heroes and comedic characters, but he tends to flounder when asked to play grittier, more developed characters. Compare his hilarious turn in Always Be My Maybe, or his impressive physical performance in the John Wick films, for example, to Bram Stoker’s Dracula where he struggles to maintain his British accent.

Reeves seems more likable than his portrayal of being an unfathomably decent human being. He runs his own blood cancer charity. When he caught people trespassing on his property, he invited them out for drinks. He is known to give expensive gifts to his colleagues in many of his films. Like the Rolex watches of the “John Wick” crew.Or motorcycles for stunt actors who worked on “The Matrix Reloaded.” He often goes out of his way to interact with fans and sign autographs. He was once quoted as saying that he had enough money and was happy to donate most of his film salaries to charity. More rich people could learn from Keanu.

Of all the films, documentaries, cartoons and television shows that Reeves has appeared in, he has only directed once. In 2013, Reeves directed the somewhat obscure martial arts film “Man of Tai Chi,” in which he also played a villain. Tai Chi Man was well-received by critics (it has a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but it didn’t generate much enthusiasm. / wrote the film for its trailer In the past, however, the “Tai Chi Man” was rarely talked about. Let’s take a moment to think about it.

Tai Chi Man was, according to critics, a throwback film, trying to recreate the story and tone of Chinese martial arts films of the 1970s. Tiger Chen plays a version of himself, a tai chi student who uses martial arts as a form of meditation and exercise. Reeves plays Donaka Mark, the head of a shady underground fighting tournament. Mark tries to recruit Chen into the Brutal Fight Club, but Chen initially refuses. When Chen discovered that his Tai Chi temple needed a structural upgrade, he agreed to participate in the tournament, hoping to win a cash prize large enough to repair it.

However, over the course of Chen’s fights, he finds himself becoming increasingly violent, and must become increasingly brutal to win. Of course, Chen is horrified by his actions, but it appears that Mark orchestrated them. It was Mark who summoned the building inspectors to the Qin Temple to entice him to participate in the tournament. It seemed he wanted to act A moral experiment similar to the Joker To find out if a noble, calm and moral Tai Chi master can be forced by circumstances to greed and violence. The Final Moral Reckoning: Can Mark force Chen to kill?

But few were interested in finding the answer. With a modest budget of $25 million, “Man of Tai Chi” grossed just $5 million at the international box office. Only about $100,000 of that came from US ticket sales. Its low numbers may be the result of a strange release pattern: “Man of Tai Chi” was made available for download on September 27, 2013, but then received a very small theatrical release on November 1. Any Keanu fans who were interested in seeing “Man of Tai Chi” should probably buy it at home as soon as possible before it opens in theaters. $4.28 million of the film’s gross revenue came from Chinese ticket sales.

It’s easy to see why Reeves wanted to direct Man of Tai Chi. Tiger Chen was a key member of Yuen Wu-ping’s fight choreography team for 1999’s The Matrix, and Reeves has worked with Chen extensively. The two became fast friends, and he went on to work with Reeves again on The Matrix Reloaded, in which he had a small role. Chen also had small roles in films starring Keanu Reeves “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” and “The Matrix Resurrection.” This was in addition to his work as the fight choreographer on “Charlie’s Angels” and “Kill Bill.” Chen has also appeared in several films released in his native China, as well as in the international film “Triple Threat” starring Chen, Eko Uwais and Tony Jaa.

“Man of Tai Chi” was clearly a pet project for Chen and Reeves, giving them the opportunity to work together again and giving Chen a more prominent leadership role. It’s a shame the film didn’t fare better in the US, where Chen could easily have become a legitimate on-screen force in Hollywood, at least in action and fight films. Instead, he will have to comfort himself with a respectable Chinese film career, and the numerous awards he has won for his martial arts skills; Chen is a national karate champion.

“Man of Tai Chi” also starred other major international stars such as Karen Mok and Ye Qing. Uwais also has a small role in the film, which a closer look might reveal A cameo from Yuen Woo-ping himself. Fans of martial arts movies would do well to give “Man of Tai Chi” another go. Ultimately, if enough people rent it, the film might eventually break even.