One of the most underrated martial artists in the west, Donnie yen is in my opinion "The New Master". I mean this in no disrespect of course to Bruce Lee's legacy. The reason I say this isn't because Donnie Yen is a brilliant fighter (which he is), but because of everything else that makes him great in addition.
Yen is a great film director. He has worked with every great martial arts movie director in Hong Kong, from Tsui Hark to Yuen Wo Ping. He learned from the best. Where Donnie really shines though, is in his genious martial arts choreography. Again, much of what he knows of choreography, he has learned from Yuen Wo Ping, the best in the business. Yen grew up woring with Yuen, who also gave him his first big break.
Most Americans who aren't really into importing movies from Hong Kong don't know about Yen. However, he has been in a few key films here in the states. Playing bad guys in both "Highlander: Endgame" and "Blade 2", he also choreographed for the two films. He also played the villain in "Shanghai Knights". A few of his fine Hong Kong performances have made it here to theaters. The "Iron Monkey", one of the best martial arts films of all time, and the absolutely superb "Hero". Most people also don't know that he choreographed the action scenes in Capcom's "Onimusha 3: Demon Seige".
Donnie is every bit as good a fighter as Jet Li, and when they go toe to toe in films you see two geniouses at work. One of Donnie's most memorable scenes was against Jet Li in the film "Once Upon A Time In China 2". The choreography was brilliantly done by Yuen Wo Ping, who had actually trained both fighters throughout most of their careers. Donnie really proved that he could keep up with the man some feel is the best martial artist alive.
One of his newest masterpieces is "Sha Po Lang (SPL)", in which he both choreographed and starred. Sammo Hung played the roll of his career in this film. His acting alone deserved an award. Wu Jing, one of the brightest new stars, and another genious fighter, plays an awesome villain. Donnie Yen has like a 20 minute UNCUT fight with Wu Jing that will absolutely blow your mind. Donnie shows in this film exactly why I call him "The New Master". His blending of Brazilian shoot fighting, Kung Fu, and even a little Muy Thai into one flowing style is exactly what Master Lee was looking to accomplish with Jeet Kun Do. To not have one style, but all styles. This film is to this day one of the best fight films of all time. There is still buzz about this film almost 3 years later. You have to see this film.
Donnie is getting more and more exposure stateside, so expect to see a lot more of him in the coming years. "SPL" and the masterpiece "Seven Swords" are both coming stateside, and Donnie plans to bring his newest film, "Dragon Tiger Gate" stateside as well. For everything he has done, we here at Rated-M give him our highest recommendation.
http://www.donnieyen.com
