We received this series from a colleague of M’s who has an even deeper appreciation for old kung fu movies than us. That said, I expected this series to be a ham-fisted drama with a bunch of low budget kung fu thrown in. Yet almost from the very first episode I was pleasantly surprised, and continued to be so with each subsequent episode. Not only is the plot intricate and intriguing, but the action was fun, the characters were engaging and dynamic, and the actors were either capable at acting or kung fu. The whole thing was a great way to kill a total of about 15 hours.

The story, roughly, revolves around Mo Ma, an abandoned orphan who, until late childhood years, learned Tai Chi from his mentor in a small village near the Capital. His mentor suddenly abandoned him (for reasons later to become clear), resulting in him becoming feral and maladjusted, living in a hut in the mountains and hunting for game which he trades at the local market. Eventually his life is threatened and he is helped by a kind yet (I surmise, anyway) mildly retarded local, resulting in them both fleeing the village and joining the army. Eventually they encounter the rest of the cast during a series of mishaps and dangerous situations and end up fleeing to the capital, where they settle temporarily, yet with no plans to leave. Mo Ma reunites with his mentor and continues to learn the ways of the JediTai Chi, encounters a host of opponents, both in and out of the ring, and they all, knowingly or otherwise, become involved in a very thrilling plot larger than any of them could imagine.

Being a Chinese drama, I was expecting much more nationalism, but I later found out that it was actually from Hong Kong. The result is higher production values, better actors, and a well-written plot that doesn’t focus on the “Chinese Spirit” or the notion of “Our Land” needing protection from the Barbarians/Foreign Devils/Westerners. Instead we’re treated to characters in constant flux who actually change over the course of the series, and in very believable ways in response to rather believable situations engendered by the main plot. The actors are good, and the characters are good, meaning that you’re sure to get drawn into the story. You never like any of the characters the whole time, yet you like all of them at some point (except Fung-Nin’s mother). If that’s still not enough, the fights are also pretty good.

I highly recommend this series if you can find it. If you’re looking for pure old-fashioned kung-fu badassery, maybe you should look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a way to kill several hours that’s loaded with romance, intrigue, suspense and drama, then you could do a lot worse.