Jared Bratt has reviewed Man of Tai Chi for Pretty Clever Films. In addition to being a contributor to Pretty Clever Films, Jared Bratt is also an actor, writer, and director. As such, he brings an unique perspective to his reviews. Some money quotes from his review include:
…Man of Tai Chi is impressively superior to the vast sum of action films being released nowadays. The film features some of the most viscerally choreographed and shot action that I’ve enjoyed since seeing movies like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Haywire, or The Raid. Simply put, Man of Tai Chi is a tournament film.
…what you basically end up with is action as dance. Just as John Woo makes shootouts look like stage-ballet, Reeves shoots fighting almost lyrically with this form of grace that really makes the action more of a subjective experience.
…Action is great and it’s always entertaining, but I think meticulously well-crafted action that is tightly tied to character emotional-stakes (like Man of Tai Chi is) this is where carnage becomes cerebral… when we start to witness the skill behind the mayhem.
The entire review can be read here.