Xanda
2004; directed by Marco Mak

Based on the martial art of the same name, Marco Mak's 2004 picture Xanda might hold some appeal to those who are really into full contact sports like MMA and kickboxing. But, for most other people, this trip down a cliche-ridden road probably won't offer much, if anything, of interest, as it ends up being an extremely pedestrian production all around, despite having Tsui Hark's name attached to it as a co-writer and producer.

Xanda (which is also called Sanda or San Shou) is a sport similar to kickboxing that is becoming more popular in Mainland China, due to the fact that it emphasizes more practical fighting skills versus the acrobatic and showy traditional forms of kung fu such as Wushu. The film tells the story of Qiang (Sang Wei-Lin), a cocky Wushu champion from a remote village who travels to the big city of Shenzhen to meet up with his friend. While having dinner, Qiang starts a fight with the reigning Xanda champ, Wei (Teng Jun). Qiang not only get his ass handed to him, but his friend is also almost crippled in the process. Putting his pride aside, Qiang decides to learn Xanda so that he can earn enough money in tournaments to pay for his friend's hospital bills.

Like many films of this type, the story and acting aren't exactly setting the world on fire. The leads, who are real-life practitioners of Xanda, were obviously chosen more for their skills in that field rather than their grandiose thespianism. They are affable enough, but wooden in parts, though it would be hard for even the most professional of actors to pull out decent performances given what material they have to work with here, which gets so schmaltzy as to give Qiang a sickly wheelchair-bound girlfriend as a basis for his emotions, or lack thereof. It's all very cornball, like watching those bad movies form the 80's some of us grew up on, without the tropes of big hair and synth rock scores to create ironic laughter for today's audience.

Given that one of the (or really the only) main pulls of this film is showcasing these real Xanda fighters, it's puzzling as to why Marco Mak decided to hide the matches under so many camera tricks, though, in all honesty, it is one of Mak's go-to methods, as most anyone who has seen more than a couple of his films will be quick to notice. Most of Mak's films are unremarkable, offering nothing that will really stick with the viewer, and perhaps knowing this, the former cinematographer tries to gussy things up with a slick slow-motion sweat-spewing sheen, which addresses nothing about the core issues of the film and makes the meat and potatoes -- the fights -- come out, like a prize fighter entering the final round of a grueling battle, limping towards the finish, just trying to hang on long enough so that the audience doesn't get totally bored and switch to a rerun of The Ultimate Fighter instead.

RATING: 5