Man of Tai Chi

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Keanu Reeves directs. Elliot Davis behind the camera. Comfort Chan scores. Derek Hui Wang-Yu cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in China, Hong Kong, United States of America. Dialogue in Cantonese, English, Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 8% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 2Released 13 years ago.
• 3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cantonese, English, Mandarin.
• 4International production across 3 countries: China, Hong Kong, United States of America.
• 5Directed by Keanu Reeves, shot by Elliot Davis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Comfort Chan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Derek Hui Wang-Yu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Tiger Chen Hu and Keanu Reeves and Karen Mok Man-Wai carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "No Rules. No Mercy. Pure Fighting.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt2016940 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Elliot Davis

Original score

Comfort Chan

Editing

Derek Hui Wang-Yu

Production design

Yohei Taneda

Costume design

Joseph A. Porro

Runtime

105 min · 1h 45m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$25,000,000

Box office

$2,054,941

Return

8% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Man of Tai Chi (2013) ↗

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official US Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official UK Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Andres Gomez2015-08-10
  ★ 5/10

  The movie is not completely bad, but we have seen this trip a thousand times and it is not adding anything new. Reeve's direction is decent but it is not as good his villain acting.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Universal Pictures

  US

• DA

  Dalian Wanda Group

• CO

  Company Films

  US

• 

  Village Roadshow Pictures Asia

  HK

• 

  China Film Group Corporation

  CN

Key crew

• StuntsBrahim Achabbakhe
• Executive ProducerHan Sanping
• Executive ProducerLing Hong
• Production ExecutiveMingyu Peng
• Production ExecutiveLu Changchun
• Executive ProducerMiao Xiaotian
• Line ProducerSharon Miller
• Executive ProducerDaxing Zhang
• Executive ProducerFang Zhao
• Action DirectorYuen Woo-ping
• Executive ProducerEllen Eliasoph
• Executive ProducerKan Xiaoze
• Technical SupervisorChen Fei
• Martial Arts ChoreographerChad Stahelski
• First Assistant DirectorWong Fei-Fei
• StuntsChan Chiu
• StuntsNi Haifeng
• Costume DesignJoseph A. Porro
• ProducerLemore Syvan
• ProducerNoah Weinzweig
• CastingPoPing AuYeung
• EditorDerek Hui Wang-Yu
• Art DirectionMiyuki Kitagawa
• Production DesignYohei Taneda

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• martial arts
• china
• extortion
• tai chi
• illegal matches
• مبارز تای چی

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2013-09-21· Austin Fantastic Fest
• Theatrical (limited)2013-11-01R

Also known as

International titles

• Majstor tai chiaBA
• Le maître du Tai-ChiCA
• O mahitis tou Tai ChiGR
• 太極俠HK
• 맨 오브 타이치KR
• مبارز تای چیIR