Gong shou dao (2017) Reviews

• Really?...

  taufiqr-404812018-04-06

  Seriously... what is the point of this so called movie?

• Vanity project starring some martial arts greats

  Leofwine_draca2017-11-19

  ON THAT NIGHT... WHILE WE DREAM is presented as a martial arts showcase from China, starring the billionaire businessman Jack Ma as a Tai Chi expert who challenges and battles a number of martial arts masters in a bid for supremacy. It comes across as a vanity project, if I'm honest, and there's nothing likable about the smug Ma at all. However, this 20 minute effort is still worth a look for the fans. The fight themselves have good choreography, which you'd expect when Yuen Woo-ping and Sammo Hung are doing them. Secondly, a series of genuine greats including Tony Jaa, Wu Jing, Donnie Yen, and an ailing Jet Li all show up, and I'm happy to see them on screen whatever they're appearing in.

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• Potential wasted

  susamoy_blood2017-12-26

  So many big names, but in the end it's just a martial arts fan business magnet's wet dream. No wonder the martial arts former & new gen stars gathered here for hefty paycheck. Story is written by a 7years old in a school project & he got an C+. Fight sequences are choppy & heavily edited to hide the flaws of Mr. Ma. Neither an action nor a comedy, this is a close to a hot mess. Only redeeming thing is the legends. It's fun to see so many great actors & fighters came together to work in one movie. I wish, Mr. Ma would spend some of the budget to hire a writer. Maybe then this garbage wouldn't look like a Self obsessed & deluded rich martial arts fan's dump. Specially when he goes to a brothel or something & all the girls saying to each other how handsome he is! That part is cringe worthy. Maybe I'd make a movie with all these stars if I had the money, but my movie would have a story or massage & definitely wouldn't be so shamelessly self promoting. Mr. Ma, you have to start paying the people to write good reviews for your movie. (knock me with your offer to change mine ;) haha)

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• The usual formula, but still comes off as empty and shallow

  Horst_In_Translation2017-12-05

  "Gong shou dao" or "Guardians of Martial Arts" is a new Chinese Mandarin-language movie from this year (2017) that is not even a month old. It runs for 23 minutes only and was written and directed by prolific actor Zhang Wen. The main character is played by Jack Ma, but the fact that he is called Master Ma says a lot about the film already. It is definitely on the pretentious side and not just a bit. Those who don't know: Ma is a super rich investor from China and no surprise that with all his money he got several big names to show up in here, such as Jet Li, Manny Pacquiao and some others that may sound more familiar to people with a bigger interest in martial arts (films) than myself. Some more successful athletes in here except Manny it seems. No surprise Ma managed to get them in as he could virtually pay every price they'd ask for. Anyway, we have Ma here in the center of the story showing us his skills and beating up the bad guys most of the time. I read that Ma really has an affiliation with martial arts, so it is even more disappointing how weak this one turned out and it will encourage the critics saying that the world of film (at least as an actor) is nothing for the financial genius. They may be right. This one here gets a thumbs-down from me and I suggest you skip it.

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• The point of this movie is to show that Jack Ma also do Martial Arts not Just Business.

  tabatubulme2018-05-25

  If you have so much money, this is what you do, make yourself look good, inflate your ego, make everybody a yes man. Jack Ma came a long way, he said that many years ago he couldn't get any job because he was very poor and very ugly. Now that he made it. It's time to show it to the world. Everybody is arrogant is some way. Some people is just wiser, cunning and subtle in expressing it. But make no mistake about it, this movie is all about his Jack Ma's ego.

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