Michelle Yeoh Movies
Best known in the West for her role as Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) before her international breakout role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Michelle Yeoh is not your ordinary Bond girl. Her elegant good looks coupled with a killer high kick have made Yeoh one of the most popular martial arts stars in Asia and one of Hong Kong's most famous icons abroad.Born on August 6, 1962, in the mining town of Ipoh, in Western Malaysia, Yeoh's ethnically Chinese parents taught her Malay and English well before she learned Cantonese. She began ballet dancing at the age of four, and, inspired by Fame (1980), she enrolled in England's Royal Academy of Dance, where she eventually earned a B.A. Though a back injury ended her career as a ballerina, she returned to her home country to be crowned Miss Malaysia of 1983. From there, she appeared in a television commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the attention of a fledgling film production company called D&B Films.
Taking the stage name Michelle Khan, she acted in bit parts in a number of forgettable films until her breakout role in the girls-with-guns action-comedy Yes, Madam! (1985) alongside noted kung-fu femme fatal Cynthia Rothrock. Though she did not know any martial arts before signing on to the film, Yeoh reportedly spent nine hours a day in the gym, working out and learning to take a punch. She had come a long way from the Royal Academy of Dance. Within the first five minutes of Madam, Yeoh emasculates a flasher and wastes a quartet of thieves. Yeoh immediately became one of Hong Kong's biggest female action stars and was soon appearing in films at a dizzying rate. Always performing her own stunts, she teamed up again with Rothrock in the kung-fu fest Royal Warriors (1986), and she starred in a violent Thomas Crown Afffair remake, Easy Money (1987). While making the Indiana Jones-style action epic Magnificent Warriors (1987), she got engaged to department store tycoon and studio head Dickson Poon (the D in D&B Films). Taking the lead of earlier martial arts divas such as Angela Mao, Yeoh retired from the movie biz in 1988 and retreated to a life of quiet domesticity. It didn't last long. The marriage was not a happy one (the Hong Kong press reported -- falsely it turns out -- that Poon suffered two broken ribs after a well-placed kick) and it ended in divorce in 1992.
Yeoh's career came roaring back after her show-stopping performance in Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), where she matched the notoriously fearless Jackie Chan stunt for jaw-dropping stunt. At the beginning of the shoot, Chan was skeptical as to whether women could fight, preferring them to look pretty and to sit on the sidelines. By the end of the film, Chan was legitimately concerned that he might be upstaged. Yeoh's hair-raising high-speed motorcycle jump onto a moving train (she learned how to drive the motorbike the day before the stunt) was bested only by Chan's death-defying leap from a minaret to an airborne rope ladder hanging from a helicopter hundreds of feet above Kuala Lumpur. The film was a massive success, making Yeoh the highest paid actress in Asia. Now being billed as Michelle Yeoh, she starred in a string of popular action flicks, including Heroic Trio (1992) opposite Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui, Tai Chi Master (1993) along with kung-fu phenom Jet Li, and Wing Chun (1994), which is without a doubt the rockin'-est sockin'-est flick ever about tofu. Her career of high-flying stunts resulted in many a dislocated shoulder and broken rib, but in 1995, while shooting Ann Hui's Ah Kam, Yeoh managed to seriously injure herself. She misjudged a jump off an 18-foot wall (an easy stunt according to her) and landed on her head, cracking a vertebra. Yeoh was put in traction, and it was feared that she would never walk again. Yet within a month, she was back on the set as if nothing happened.
The American release of Supercop caught the eyes of Western producers, and soon she was cast opposite Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond-epic Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Once again, Yeoh's natural charisma, along with her effortless ability to dispatch bands of baddies, threatened to outclass the male lead. That same year, Yeoh was named one of People magazine's 50 sexiest people of the year. Back in Hong Kong, Yeoh received accolades not for her kung-fu abilities but for her acting skills in her role as Soong Ai-ling in the widely praised historical melodrama The Soong Sisters (1997).
In 2000 Yeoh fused the popular historical aspects of her previous work with an unmistakably modern aesthetic, again displaying her unyielding skills and speed in the wildly popular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Teaming with international superstar Chow Yun Fat in an epic and gravity-defying quest to recover a stolen Excaliber-like sword named the Green Destiny, Yeoh cemented her status as an incredibly graceful fighter with the unusual ability to display a remarkable dramatic range as well.
~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional) teams with screenwriter Rebecca Frayn to tell the true-life story of Burmese pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi (Michelle Yeoh), whose marriage to husband Michael Aris (David Thewlis) endured even after Kyi was placed under house arrest by her government for nearly 15 years. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, (more)
The saga of Po continues in this sequel that finds the newly anointed Dragon Warrior (voice of Jack Black) teaming with The Furious Five to safeguard the Valley of Peace. But when a new adversary launches a treacherous bid to seize control of China and obliterate the martial arts, Po must look back to his enigmatic origins in order to unleash his true potential, and defeat his most powerful opponent to date. Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Michelle Yeoh provide addition voices for this sequel directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson from a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, (more)
- 2010
- R
Legendary martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo Ping returned to the director's chair for the first time in nearly a decade and a half with this lavish historical action-drama. Su Can (Vincent Zhao) is a fearless warrior in the late days of the Quin Dynasty, and after serving his time in the military he's eager to return home to his beautiful wife, Yuan Ying (Zhou Xun), and start a family. Six years later, his half-brother, Yuang (Andy On), shatters Su Can's idyllic life; filled with hatred for his kin, Yuang has developed a deadly martial arts technique, "The Five Venom Fist," and after using it to vanquish his foes on the battlefield, he's come to get revenge against Su Can. While Su Can can hold his own against Yuang and saves the life of Yuan Ying, Yuang steals their young son and takes him away. After the loss of his son, Su Can falls into a deep depression that grows far worse when his wife dies while searching for their missing child. Su Can becomes a reclusive alcoholic and seems destined to stay that way until he learns his son is alive and needs his help. With the guidance of Lord Wushu (Jay Chou), Su Can trains to win back his fighting skills, mastering "The Drunken Fist," and sets out to rescue his son. Featuring supporting performances from David Carradine, Michelle Yeoh, and Gordon Liu, Su Qi Er (aka True Legend) was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, (more)
Hong Kong action icon Michelle Yeoh stars alongside American muscle Vin Diesel in this science fiction thriller concerning a nun who is charged with the task of caring for a young girl who may be the carrier of a deadly virus. Based on author Maurice Dantec's Babylon Babies, this tale of genetic manipulation comes to the screen courtesy of director Mathieu Kassovitz. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vin Diesel, Mélanie Thierry, (more)
As China is ravaged by war in the late '30s, a young English journalist named George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) leads 60 orphans over the Liu Pan Shan mountains and into the safety of the Mongolian desert. Joining the journalist and the children on their arduous journey are an American nurse (Radha Mitchell) and the fearless leader of a Chinese partisan group (Chow Yun-Fat). The journey won't be easy, but as they boldly forge forward through snow-covered mountains and unforgiving desert, they learn the true meaning of responsibility, courage, and love. Jane Hawksley pens a drama based on actual events and directed by renowned filmmaker Roger Spottiswoode. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Radha Mitchell, (more)
- 2008
- PG13
- Add The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to Queue Add The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to top of Queue
The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen continues the tale set into motion by director Stephen Sommers with this globe-trotting adventure that finds explorer Rick O'Connell and son attempting to thwart a resurrected emperor's (Jet Li) plan to enslave the entire human race. It's been 2,000 years since China's merciless Emperor Han and his formidable army were entombed in terra cotta clay by a double-dealing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh), but now, after centuries in suspended animation, an ancient curse is about to be broken. Thanks to his childhood adventures alongside father Rick (Brendan Fraser) and mother Evelyn (Maria Bello), dashing young archeologist Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford) is more than familiar with the power of the supernatural. After he is tricked into awakening the dreaded emperor from his eternal slumber, however, the frightened young adventurer is forced to seek out the wisdom of his parents -- both of whom have had their fair share of experience battling the legions of the undead. Should the fierce monarch prove capable of awakening his powerful terra cotta army, his diabolical plan for world domination will finally be set into motion. Of course, the one factor that this emperor mummy failed to consider while solidifying his power-mad plans was the O'Connells, and before this battle is over, the monstrous monarch will be forced to contend with the one family that isn't frightened by a few rickety reanimated corpses. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, (more)
As the sun begins to dim along with humankind's hope for the future, it's up to a desperate crew of eight astronauts to reach the dying star and reignite the fire that will bring life back to planet Earth in this tense psychological sci-fi thriller that re-teams 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle with writer Alex Garland and producer Andrew Macdonald. The skies are darkening, and the outlook for planet Earth is grim. Though the encroaching darkness at first seems unstoppable, scientists have concocted one desperate last-ditch plan to buy the human race a temporary reprieve from the grim future that looms just past the horizon. A crew of eight men and women has been given a nuclear device designed to literally reignite the sun and sent hurtling through infinity on the most crucial space mission ever attempted. Suddenly, as the crew loses radio contact with mission control, everything begins to fall apart. Now, in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, the men and women who may hold the key to ultimate survival find themselves not only struggling for their lives, but their sanity as well. Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Michelle Yeoh star in a film that asks audiences just what would become of humankind if the sky suddenly went black. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, (more)
The simple existence of a woman and a young girl is unexpectedly disrupted by the sudden arrival of a mysterious soldier. Sean Bean, Michelle Yeoh, and Michelle Krusiec star in a film written and co-written by Asif Kapadia and Tim Miller, and directed by Kapadia. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Bean, Michelle Yeoh, (more)
This film, based on the novel by Arthur Golden, unfolds from the perspective of Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi), a girl who, at the age of nine, is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto in the early 1930s. Here, she learns that becoming a geisha can be the single path to wealth and independence for a woman. The head geisha of her house, however, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), is bitterly jealous of Chiyo and abuses her at every opportunity. Eventually Chiyo is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), by far the most famous and successful geisha in their district. Under Mameha's tutelage, Chiyo becomes Sayuri, the most legendary geisha in the nation, skilled in all areas, from conversation to dance, and sought after by seemingly every man alive...except for the one whom she has secretly longed for since she began her training, The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) -- a man who showed her kindness at a time when her view of the world had turned the most bleak. Now as World War II approaches, Japan stands at the brink of a new era and Sayuri must confront the possibility that history will leave all that she has worked for behind. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe, (more)
Explore one of the cinema's most enduring traditions as the Independent Film Channel and filmmaker Ian Taylor team up to take viewers on an unforgettable tour of the stars, fighting styles, and inventive weaponry of the Hong Kong film industry. From the early screen adventures of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung to the remarkable choreography of Chang Cheh and the hard-hitting films of the legendary Bruce Lee, Chop-Socky: Cinema Hong Kong explores and analyzes the unmistakable techniques and innovations of kung fu cinema with the help of such filmmakers as Lau Kar-Leung (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin) and John Woo, and such high-kicking superstars as Jackie Chan and Jet Li. From the silent era to such modern innovations as "wire-fu," this exhilarating and exciting documentary leaves no stone unturned. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh serves as both producer and leading lady for this bit of slam-bang adventure. By day, Lulu Wong (Yeoh) is a mild-mannered environmental activist, but when the going gets tough, she transforms herself into Silver Hawk, a battle-ready heroine who finds herself chasing after Alexander Wolfe (Luke Goss), a suave British rogue agent. Wolfe has abducted a brilliant Chinese scientist (Chen Daming) who has invented a new artificial intelligence technology that could have dramatic worldwide impact; Silver Hawk sets out to find Wolfe and his captive before he forces him to reveal his secrets, but matters become more complicated when the daughter of a powerful industrial tycoon also goes missing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Yeoh, Luke Goss, (more)
- 2002
- PG13
Peter Pau, the oscar winning cinematographer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed Tian Mai Chuanqi (The Touch). Pak Yin-fay (Michelle Yeoh) and Pak Yeuk-tong (Brandon Chang) are siblings in a family of acrobats. Bad guy Karl (Richard Roxburgh) employs gifted thief/acrobat Eric (Ben Chaplain) to steal an item created in the 1200s. Eric is successful, but the fact that he is Yin-fay's adopted brother makes his motivations less than clear. While everyone attempts to possess the item, it is Yeuk-tong who ends up with it. He and his girlfriend take off with the object, with all of the other characters in pursuit. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Yeoh, Ben Chaplin, (more)
- 2000
- PG13
- Add Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Queue Add Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to top of Queue
Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee took a break from making Western period dramas to fashion this wild and woolly martial arts spectacular featuring special effects and action sequences courtesy of the choreographer of The Matrix (1999), Yuen Woo Ping. In the early 19th century, martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is about to retire and enter a life of meditation, though he quietly longs to avenge the death of his master, who was killed by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). He gives his sword, a fabled 400-year-old weapon known as Green Destiny, to his friend, fellow martial arts wizard and secret love Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), so that she may deliver it to Sir Te (Sihung Lung). Upon arrival in Peking, Yu happens upon Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a vivacious, willful politician's daughter. That night, a mysterious masked thief swipes Green Destiny, with Yu in hot pursuit -- resulting in the first of several martial arts action set pieces during the film. Li arrives in Beijing and eventually discovers that Jen is not only the masked thief but is also in cahoots with the evil Jade. In spite of this, Li sees great talent in Jen as a fighter and offers to school her in the finer points of martial arts and selflessness, an offer that Jen promptly rebukes. This film was first screened to much acclaim at the 2000 Cannes, Toronto, and New York film festivals and became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001: Tiger snagged ten nods and later secured four wins for Best Cinematography, Score, Art Direction, and Foreign Language Film. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, (more)
- 1999
As Hong Kong action movies grow in popularity, so do their male movie stars. But, for every Jackie Chan or Jet Li there is a female equivalent who rarely receives as much attention. Toby Russell, director of Cinema of Vengeance, finally gives the women their due in Top Fighter 2: Deadly China Dolls. Russell has assembled a top collection of martial artists who make their living on film. Michelle Yeoh, Yukari Oshima, and Moon Lee all make an appearance. After showing clips of the actresses' work, Russell interviews each one about the struggles and rewards of being a Hong Kong box-office draw. The experiences are similar yet different as the stars tell stories about getting hurt and working long hours. Russell displays the sensual side of action movies with his homage to luscious actress Amy Yip. Overall, the impression is one of balance; female martial artists must balance beauty with strength, and ease with diligence. ~ Sarah Ing, Rovi
- 1997
After wowing audiences both in Hong Kong and abroad with her jaw-dropping stunts during Supercop, Michelle Yeoh stars in this melodrama -- directed by Ann Hui -- about a stuntwoman struggling to survive in Hong Kong's notoriously cutthroat film industry. Kam (Yeoh) is a fearless stunt double trying to gain the respect of a ornery, battle-worn action director known only as "the Chief" (Sammo Hung). Though a father-daughter relationship of sorts eventually forms between the two, their relationship to the craft of stunts is complicated. Kam gets pulled away from her profession first through a bad relationship and then through looking after the Chief's kid Long (Jimmy Wong). The Chief, in turn, gets killed during a scuffle with the Hong Kong triads. This film, however, is perhaps best remembered because of a serious injury Michelle Yeoh incurred when she misjudged an 18-foot jump from a bridge to a truck. In venerable Hong Kong cinema fashion, the outtakes of Yeoh's brush with death are included as the film's end. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Roger Spottiswoode (Air America) directed this film, the 18th chapter in the 35-year-old James Bond series (excluding Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again). James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) learns billionaire media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is manipulating world events via an exclusive flow of information through his satellite system reaching all corners of the planet. With a stealth battleship sinking a British naval vessel, Carver sees that the Chinese are blamed. Crashing Carver's party in Hamburg, Bond meets "journalist" Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), later revealed as a Chinese agent. In a brief tryst, Bond renews his past relationship with Carver's wife Paris (Teri Hatcher). Carver dispatches Stamper (Gotz Otto) and other goons to cancel Bond, who eludes attackers with some of his new gadgets. In Southeast Asia, after Bond and Wai Lin scuba dive into the sunken British ship, they are captured by Stamper, handcuffed, and taken to Saigon where they make a motorcycle escape. To thwart Carver's plans for WWIII, the two agents head for Carver's stealth ship where a cruise missile is aimed at Beijing. Principal photography began April 1, 1997 in the new Eon Productions studio facility at Frogmore, northwest of London, and on the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios. Locations included the UK, Hamburg, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and off the Florida coast. The trademark Bond pre-title sequence was filmed in the French Pyrenees snowfields, centered around one of the few high-altitude operational airfields in Europe. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Michelle Yeoh appears in this light-hearted kid-centric martial arts film. Directed by Chu Yin Ping, the sequel to Shaolin Popey finds the Shaolin shorties defending their master from an evil bad guy and his pair of thugs. Filled with slapstick and kung fu, Shaolin Popey II: Messy Temple also stars Fok Siu Man and Sik Siu Loong. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- 1994
Wing Chun is a martial-arts film with an unusual feminist bent, inspired by a true historical figure. In 19th-century China, a pack of bandits attacks a remote village, attempting to kidnap a beautiful young widow named Charmy. However, they are foiled by Yim Wing Chun, a local tofu-shop owner who also happens to be a fearsome fighter; she defeats the thieves nearly single-handedly. This infuriates the evil bandit leader, who turns his full forces against the town in an effort to recapture Charmy. As if this weren't trouble enough, things become even tougher for Wing Chun when her childhood sweetheart, now also a martial-arts master, arrives in town after an absence of many years. On his return, he immediately falls in love with Charmy, mistaking her for Wing Chun -- and mistaking the real Wing Chun for a man. These farcical manueverings provide the backdrop for numerous fight sequences, which are filled with astoundingly acrobatic choreography skillfully performed by Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh. Especially notable is the final showdown between Wing Chun and the bandits, which proves once and for all it's not the size of the weapon, but the way that you use it. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen, (more)
Noted choreographer Ching Siu tung spins this two-fisted action flick about Wonder Seven, a band of motorcycle-driving orphans who battle enemies of the Mainland Chinese government. After their dealings with a band of thugs, their investigation leads them to Hong Kong and a Swiss bank account filled to the rafters with diamonds. Their sworn enemies are Tsun (Chin Ho) and Ying (Michelle Yeoh), a villainous duo who agree on little. In spite of their long-sworn animosity, Ying develops a strange interest in Wonder Seven's leader, Fei (Li Ning), and even saves her life once. Meanwhile, Tsun and his henchman, who was once a Wonder Seven member, plot all sorts of nefarious schemes to get their hands on those bails upon bails of diamonds. This film was reportedly so disjointed after shooting that film was essentially rewritten on the editing table. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Michelle Yeoh returns as Inspector Jessica Yang in this fast-paced action thriller. While Jessica's career as a policewoman in China has been going great guns, her fiancé David (Yu Rong-Guang), also a cop, is not having the same kind of luck; dismissed from the force, he leaves town to start his life anew. When a rash of skillfully executed burglaries throws Hong Kong into a panic, Jessica is brought in to crack the crime ring. But her usual zeal for putting bad guys behind bars cools a bit when she learns that the master criminal who's been robbing Hong Kong blind is David, her former love. A sequel to Police Story 3 (released in the United States as Supercop), Supercop 2 has been distributed in various territories under the titles Police Story 3 Part 2, Police Story 4: Project S, Police Story V, and Once a Cop. Jackie Chan, star of the previous Police Story films, makes a brief appearance as Inspector Chan, wearing women's clothing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Yeoh, Yu Rongguang, (more)
Michelle Yeoh (aka Michelle Khan) began her comeback bid with this flamboyant Hong Kong action film from director Michael Mak and choreographer Ching Siu-tung. Based on a novel by Ku Long, previously filmed in 1976 as Killer Clans, the film stars Yeoh as Sister Ko, part of the Happy Forest clan led by the dying eunuch Tsao. Before he expires, Tsao orders Ko and her friends to kill the head of the Elite Villa clan, Master Suen (Elvis Tsui), and steal a precious scroll. Yip Cheung (Donnie Yen) leads the first assault and fails, so Ko gets the skilled killer Sing (Tony Leung), whom she has a crush on, to help. Sing is engaged to Butterfly (Joey Wang), who has no idea that he is actually a trained assassin. When Sing infiltrates Master Suen's clan, he meets his childhood friend, Ho Ching (Yeh Chuan-chen), who is also working undercover for Sister Ko. Ho Ching's murder sets the stage for an angry encounter between Sing and Sister Ko, the final assault on the Elite Villa clan, and the revelation of a secret betrayal. Pop singer Jimmy Lin appears as Prince Cha; some of the fight scenes were later re-used in Chu Yen-ping's erotic Category III melodrama Slave of the Sword, which was filmed on the same sets later in the year. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- 1993
- NR
Johnny To and Ching Siu-tung co-directed this futuristic sequel to Heroic Trio set several years after a nuclear meltdown has contaminated the water supply with deadly radiation (a reference to the controversy over China's rather haphazard construction of the Dai Ah Bay plant near Hong Kong). Tung (Anita Mui) has settled down to raise her young daughter, Number 3 (Michelle Yeoh) delivers medical supplies, and Number 7 (Maggie Cheung) hijacks trucks carrying clean water and sells it on the black market. An insane mutant named Kim (Anthony Wong) controls most of the clean water, and teams up with a power-hungry colonel (Paul Chun) to stage a military coup. Tung is thrown in jail, and Number 3 works to free her while Number 7 teams up with a handsome soldier (Lau Ching-wan) to find a new source of water and liberate the region from the crazed despots. Damian Lau co-stars with Takeshi Kaneshiro and Kwan San. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anita Mui, Michelle Yeoh, (more)
Hong Kong star Jet Li portrays the inventor of T'ai Chi in this entertaining if not historically accurate martial-arts movie. Junbao (Li) and Tienbao (Chin Siu-Ho) are a pair of young monks studying kung fu in a Shaolin temple. Junbao is balanced and humble, but Tienbao is competitive and eager to advance. The two are wrongfully accused of cheating during a tournament and are expelled. From there they take radically different paths. Tienbao becomes a mercenary for an evil warlord, and Junbao joins a rebel group led by Michelle Yeoh. Tienbao betrays Junbao; Junbao loses his memory in the resulting fight. While recuperating, he develops the graceful T'ai Chi fighting style. Although many may find the cartoonish, acrobatic fight sequences to be campy, they are elaborate and dazzling. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, (more)
In this cartoonish live-action martial arts feature, three female super-heroes battle the forces of evil in the form of a woman who has hatched a plot to create China's next ruler. Over the years, she has stolen over a dozen children from their families. She hopes to raise them in a way that will make them into ruthless supermen. Among other things, the children are "hardened" by feeding them with human flesh. Thief-Catcher, Invisible Woman, and Wonder Women use their incomparable kung-fu skills to battle their nemesis and even some of the more seriously ruined children in order to protect the world from being taken over by them. Along the way, two of the women discover that they are sisters who were separated as infants. The film contains some scenes showing cruelty and violence being handed out to infants and children, and these may be distasteful for many. Viewers should also note that the Wonder Woman in this film is not based on the American comic-book character portrayed by Lynda Carter, but is a home-grown Chinese invention. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, (more)
- 1987
Michelle Yeoh stars in this breezy caper yarn loosely adapted from The Thomas Crown Affair as Michelle Yeung, a bored millionaire who at the film's opening stages an armored car heist of $HK 33 million of horse race receipts for the fun of it. Insurance investigator Lam (George Lam) immediately suspects Michelle as the mastermind of the crime. Along with dogged Hong Kong gumshoe Ken (Kent Cheng) and a dazzling array of electronic gadgets, Lam tracks Michelle throughout Europe, from skiing in the Alps, to hand gliding in France, racing through the streets of Paris. Inevitably, Lam and Michelle begin to fall for one another amid their transcontinental chase. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.