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Why doesn't he return to hard-hitting MMA action???

posted 15 years ago by big_heat
9 replies | jump to latest

Donnie's S.P.L and Flashpoint have garnered accolades from martial arts enthusiasts for the movies' showcase of bone crunching MMA-style fights. The movies have also elicited many discussions in martial arts/movie forums. I am sure by now Donnie should be aware of the popularity of MMA depictions in movies due to similar successes with Undisputed II starring Scott Adkins and mainstream Hollywood movies like Never Back Down and Fighting.

The burning question is, why hasn't Donnie continued with the trailblazing MMA action he nearly perfected in Flashpoint, and in a contemporary setting no less? What is his obsession with cranking out historical flick after historical flick?

I constantly scour the net for his next contemporary actioner, but could not find any news on his upcoming plans for this genre, save for the rumoured Tony Jaa collaboration. Neither could I find the reason behind his prolific output of period epics.

Can someone shed some light on this. Thank you :-)

[–] dont_b_so_BBC 15 years ago

Of course, there is also the issue of age catching up with him and the occupational hazard of incurring injuries. Therefore, that is the reason I hoped he can have one last hurrah with a balls-out contemporary action film before he transitions to other forms of less intense styles like he did with Wing Chun and turning his attention to method acting and directing/choreographing/producing.
LOL, Wing Chun IS intense-- you've just confirmed my impressions that you just have a preference for MMA and contemporary action movies, not to mention a misunderstanding that Wing Chun is not hard-hitting...

But the "balls out contemporary action film" you're talking about is probably "The Legend/Return of Chen Zhen"-- unless you want to see Donnie Yen in YET another HK "cop/crime movie"? I mean, even the cast/crew of "Flashpoint" admitted that it failed (as a film) because of its tired, old cop/crime movie ideas that were hammered together hapzardly...

Sorry if I misunderstand, but too many people use the term "hard-hitting MMA" to describe the VISUAL FLAIR of widely flailing arms and legs-- because that's the only thing Wing Chun lacks (widely flailing arms and legs)... and of course the lack of gore, because Wing Chun causes mostly internal injuries. No offence to MMA fans, but it always looked like silly dancing to me (always taking the "long" way round to attack)-- thought that is exactly what many MMA fans think Chinese martial arts look like, so there's no accounting for taste....

Anyway, Donnie has already worn out all the ligaments in his right shoulder and can no longer his right arm above his shoulder-- and when the ligaments in his right knee wear out, he won't be kicking above the waist either. Which is why doing the "Ip Man" movies was a great way for Donnie Yen to have "one last hurrah" and pace himself towards retirement...

I mean, when martial arts actors decide to "give up" their on-screen personas (like going on a women's talk show to give cooking tips) and showcase more "wu-de" (martial ethics) than mindless action in their movies, you know they are about to "graduate"... even if they lose generic action fans at the price of connecting with their real fans.

"I don't go to movies to escape reality: I go to experience life in a raw, intense way"-- S. Copley