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Legend of Drunken Master, The

EMAILPRINTDimension Films

Legend of Drunken Master, The reviews
74
7.9 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Written by: King-Sang Tseng
Kai-Chi Yun

Directed by: Chia-Liang Liu

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 20, 2000
DVD: March 13, 2001

Running Time: 102 minutes, Color

Origin: Hong Kong

Language(s): Cantonese (dubbed in English)

Summary

RATING: R for violent content

Starring Jackie Chan, Chi-Kwong Cheung, Wing-Fong Ho, and Mark Houghton

When Chan mixes up his luggage during a train trip, he finds himself at odds with evil foreigners trying to steal sacred imperial treasures. Never before have such elaborate, acrobatic fight sequences been captured on film. (Dimension Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90

TNT RoughCut Andy Klein

May well stand as his (Chan) final word on true martial arts cinema.

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90

Dallas Observer Andy Klein

A six-year-old masterpiece, never-before widely seen in the U.S., is still a masterpiece.

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90

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Has enough going on to make it a classic. You'll want to own it.

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88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Simply amazing.

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88

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A pleasure, chock full of creatively choreographed fight scenes.

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86

Mr. Showbiz Larry Terenzi

Massively entertaining.

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83

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

May be the most kick ass demonstration yet, for the majority of American moviegoers, of what the fuss is all about.

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83

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a film with a silly story, and it's been dubbed laughably into English. Yet it's a transporting bit of fluff, full of zest, miraculous physicality and cheeky humor.

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80

Film.com Gemma Files

Chan's glorious madness.

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80

Variety Joe Leydon

Well positioned to slake the thirst of action fans for world-class, slam-bang rough stuff.

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80

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

You have to see this to believe it.

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80

TV Guide Frank Lovece

If you've never seen a martial arts movie, this is a great place to start.

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80

Film.com Sean Means

Undiluted Jackie Chan, not the watered-down stuff he's been doing stateside.

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78

Austin Chronicle Joey O'Bryan

The film delivers some of the most spectacular and intricately choreographed martial arts fighting ever seen on film.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

He (Lee) combines the daredeviltry of Buster Keaton with the devil-may-care of Errol Flynn.

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75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Chan at his high-kicking best. Some sequences are simply amazing.

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75

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Intoxicating fun.

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75

Chicago Tribune Marc Caro

Enjoy this rare chance to catch Chan on the big screen at his near-peak mastery.

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75

Miami Herald Curtis Morgan

A mix of slapstick, melodrama and jaw-dropping stunts.

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70

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Has a great deal of the unapologetically broad and silly comedy.

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70

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

A fleet, enjoyable Jackie Chan romp.

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63

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

After so much frenetic kicking and grunting, you may feel like you're in a stupor, too.

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63

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Goes down easily enough.

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63

Baltimore Sun Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Vintage Chan, with amazingly well-choreographed fight scenes.

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60

Village Voice Jessica Winter

The uncertain plot somehow concerns ginseng and stolen objets d'art; the main thrust is acrobatic slapstick with a decided antipatriarchal twist.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Among Chan devotees, it achieved cult status.

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50

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

A half-baked classic.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Help U gave it a7:
Wait.... I thought this was Drunken Master... Not the Drunken Master 2 released in America as The Legend of the Drunken Master. Well they certainly made everything less mysterious and more childish. Honestly, if you think this is the best kung fu movie ever made, your brain will explode if you watch Drunken Master the original and there are a lot better kung fu movies than that, that don't constantly resort to slapstick without a moment of seriousness.

Amit R. gave it a 10:
This is the greatest martial art movie ever made, according to me.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
Absolutely brilliant!

The Perfect Soldier gave it a 10:
Simply put, this is tied (with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) for the greatest martial arts movie ever. It has a great mix of comedy (Jackie's step-mom is hilarious) and action (The fight scenes in this movie went unparalleld until Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I can't decide which o them is better). Jackie's kung fu is as closer to perfect than any mere mortal could achieve, and his "Eight Drunken Fairies" Drunken Boxing style is breathtaking. It even has a touch of drama and sadness to some parts of it, but it is in no way a tearjerker. Jackie's fight at the end with Hwang Jang Lee is one of the greatest he has ever done, surpassed only by his legendary bout with undefeated kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, what has been called the greatest fight scene ever by a Martial Arts Magazine. This movie is a must see, as is "Wheels On Meals" (The movie with his fight against Benny Urquidez" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Martin M. gave it a 1:
If you're actually hoping for a story ... to go with the martial arts ... don't bother watching this mindless excuse for a movie.

J. K. gave it a 8:
As a DVD and after it was translated into English, the movie is only pretty good. The translation is horrible, the subtitles in the Chinese version are much funnier. And they didn't include the Chinese language version with its subtitles in the DVD. The ending is different from the original, too. Pick up the subtitled version if you can.

Shishquibo H. gave it a 10:
I love de movie.

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