In THE YOUNG DRAGON, superstar Jackie Chan was essentially playing gung fu star Jackie Chan. His antics herein were nothing new (though he would go on to add- quite substantially- to his ouvre over the next two decades) and some of the alleged humor is merely alleged, but it's the fifteen or twenty minute pounding he takes from Master Sik at the end of the movie that makes it absolutely must-see film-making. Chan, it could be argued, is cinema's great martial arts masochist- and his protracted punishment, dished out with a sadist's delight, it seems, has to be seen to be believed. Chan has always been willing to go that extra yard, and his willingness to absorb punishment for the sake of his art is taxed to the limit here. It's brutal, no two ways about it, but it's also vintage Jackie Chan.
Review of The Young Master
