Second Term Paper Outline- "How Good is Your Movie Kung Fu?"

Outline for my second term paper which will cover one of my favorite rainy day movies, The Forbidden Kingdom featuring Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

How Good is your Movie Kung Fu?

1. Kung Fu at the movies!
1. In Kung Fu Movies everyone seems to be able to fly and take on hundreds of foes at once with an otherworldly grace.  In the choreography of these films, such as done by Woo Ping Yuen, there is much more focus on the form and art of Kung Fu rather than the physics.
2. One of the most memorable things from any Kung Fu movie is how the hero can send a villain flying  and everyone flying through the air without any noticeable recoil.
3. The first scene in The Forbidden Kingdom where inertia decided to take a day off is the opening scene where The Monkey King, played by Jet Li, is seen fighting soldiers off sending them flying without being thrown back himself.
2. Special Effects
1. When the regular characters fight you clearly see the action and reaction in a fight sequence, such as Jet Li flying backwards slightly while flipping Jackie Chan over and behind him.
2. When Immortal characters are fighting sometimes a character, such as the Monkey King, will send a soldier flying using his bo staff without being thrown back himself.
3. Much of this is achieved with practical effects like wires with some CG included for moments such as the Witch, Ni Chang, extending her hair and using it like a whip.  Another instance of CG is the golden light when the Monkey King is released as it knocks down everyone in the vicinity.
3. Weight and effects
1. Most effects relating to the Kung-Fu in the film are done practically with wires, which are used for “flying” and are primarily done with immortal characters.
2. CG is mainly used for backdrop scenery such as the Five Elements Mountain and for attacks when Ni Chang uses her hair as a whip.  For the hair whip, its movement goes right to the uncanny valley as it just shoots out when Ni Chang swings her head around, however, that may have been intentional.
3. The wire effects cause the characters to float around during fight scenes and make it seem like they are flying.  As a result much of the inertia is one sided.  When the Monkey King sends a Jade Warrior flying by striking him with his staff but there is no noticeable recoil on the Monkey King.
4. Finding the Inertia
1. In the temple fight scene between Jackie Chan and Jet Li while some noticeable wire work in the jumps you can see inertia in the punches and kicks in reactions and recovery, such as the recovery after a kick or punch.
2. In some instances of a jump kick the character will be slightly thrown backwards after recoiling their legs as they land.  Also, in close range fight sequences, movements are very quick and strong, where inertia can be noticed.
3. Finding inertia with Jackie’s drunken style is rather easy to follow once you locate his center of gravity.  The Drunken Style uses the core over the point of balance to remain stable while throwing your weight at your opponent.
4. For a fight scene where inertia has completely vanished, while the Monkey King is smacking Jade Soldiers aside with his staff, they are sent flying while he simply continues to move along without any noticeable recoil except for swinging his staff back for another swing.
5. How good is your movie kung-fu?
1. The effects more served to portray the form and art of Kung Fu.
2. CG effects while mostly for backdrops, Chi magic, and Ni Chang’s hair whip mainly provide atmosphere while practical wireworks do the real magic of flying with Kung Fu.
3. While the laws of physics do sometimes cease to exist in a  fight scene, it does allow the viewer to focus on the form of the fighter.  Seeing how quick Kung Fu is, it is almost necessary in visual media to slow things down to be able to take it all in.
4. Over all, the effects don’t take the viewer out of the movie, it allows them to focus on something they would ohtherwise miss.