As much as I enjoy Asian martial arts movies, then "Wushu" from 2008 failed to impress me. Sure the martial arts sequences were nice and well choreographed. But it just felt like watching a staged display of skills in the Wushu fighting style and the entire movie was permeated by a sense of it being made specifically to cater a young teenage audience.
The story in "Wushu" was straight forward, sure, but it was also so predictable to the core that it was embarrassing to witness. You knew exactly how the movie was going to pan out and how it would end right from the very beginning. And as such then director Antony Szeto was merely running on autopilot and sitting comfortably in his comfort zone. This made the movie suffer a devastating blow.
It should be noted that the martial arts performers and actors/actresses were doing good enough jobs with their limited options in terms of script and story. But they were most definitely delivering quite well in terms of technical aspects of their martial arts performances. But a movie with nothing but displays of martial arts skills can only go so far, and it was nowhere enough to support an hour and forty-four minutes.
Sammo Hung is used to lure in the viewers, as he is the most established and familiar of all the talents in the movie. However, it should be said that his role is merely a supportive role. He is not the lead actor by any means, and it was initially what lured me into buying the movie. So I was somewhat disappointed with that.
If you are a teenager and fascinated with the martial arts, then you will find much enjoyment in "Wushu". However, if you are more of a mature mind and prefer to watch martial arts movies that also come with a proper storyline, then "Wushu" is a weak choice of movies. There are far better Chinese martial arts movies available.
I am rating "Wushu" a mere four out of ten stars, solely because of the impressive martial arts and choreography there was in the movie. And Sammo Hung also did help to lift up the movie somewhat, despite having a supportive role only.
