True Legend (蘇乞兒) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, and Jay Chou. The supporting cast include Cung Le, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On, Guo Xiaodong, and David Carradine. The movie was directed by Yuen Woo-Ping.
The movie starts with a rescue mission of a prince of the Qing Dynasty. Vincent Zhao as Su Qi Er is the head of the mission and seemingly sacrifices himself so the others can take the prince to safety. Back at the camp now, the prince is confident the Su is still alive. Andy On plays Yuan, Su's adapted brother. Su is also married to Yuan's younger sister, Ying, played by Zhou Xun. However, Su's father killed Yuan and Ying's father 15 years earlier and adapted them into his household. Yuan still holds a grudge. Ying has moved on and is now a devoted wife and mother. Yuan is given a governor position in the Hubei region and goes back to Su's hometown for revenge. Yuan gets his revenge and kills Su's father and succeeds in eliminating Su's household. Su and Yuan fight for an extended period of time. But Yuan's five vemon technique is too much for Su. Su is thrown into a running river and Ying follows to save him. Yuan captures Su's son, Feng. Ying rescue's Su and takes him to Beido mountain, where they meet Yu, played by Michelle Yeoh. Yu is a expert doctor and cures Su of his wounds from the five venoms. Su's right arm is severely injured, but nurses it back to health. Su also starts to go a little mad and practices with a Wushun, a God of martial arts. After 3 years, he is fully recovered and goes back to save Feng from Yuan. But due to his madness, Ying goes ahead to save Feng. Yuan buries Ying when Su arrives. Su and Yuan battle again. This time, Su wins, but Ying suffocates from being buried. Su goes mad again and becomes a beggar. Feng and Su now travel from town to town looking for food as beggars. Su is drawn into a fight with the foreigners and wins.
Yuen Woo-ping directs his first film in more than 10 years. And its a doozy. The film has 3 main story arcs that cover Su's life. The calm, the suffering, and how he became a legend. In each arc, it feels very familiar. LIke comfort food. But it also throws in very modern elements. Like the drunken fist being half break dancing.
Jay Chou was blamed for this movie not doing well at the box office. Jay's character is barely in the movie and is part of Su's imagination.
If you're a fan of old skool and like the new skool martial art movies, True Legend gives you both and the fighting is quite entertaining. The movie is long due to the 3 storyarcs.
