Donnie Yen - The Master

When Jet Li or Jackie Chan are said to be -- following the tragic death of the inimitable Bruce Lee -- the greatest martial arts stars of the last three decades, I bring up the name of the one who, IMHO, surpasses their remarkable gifts: Donnie Yen.

Born in Guangzhou, China, and raised in Boston, MA and Hong Kong, Donnie Yen Chi Dan (Zhēn Zǐdān, 甄子丹), is the son of a martial arts master, his mother, Bow Sim Mark (麥寶嬋), founder of the Boston-based Chinese Wushu Research Institute. He has studied classical martial arts and modern fighting techniques since childhood. He is also a fine actor of great gravitas.

His earlier films such as Tsui Hark's (徐克) Once Upon a Time in China II (黃飛鴻之二男兒當自強) -- where he is pitted against Jet Li in a magnificent fight -- and the very fine Iron Monkey (少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮), directed by master martial arts choreographer, Yuen Woo Ping (袁和平), show great range both in his fighting skills and dramatic range. Later, one finds Donnie Yen as Jet Li's first opponent in Zhang Yimou's (張藝謀) wonderful, Oscar-nominated cinematic "opera", Hero (英雄) in a highly-stylized fight scene, and other popular hits. Among the very best of his films is Sha Po Lang (殺破狼 or "Kill Zone"), where a fight scene with Chinese actor Wu Jing (吳京) is among the most exciting I've ever seen on-screen, and he is also up against the legendary Sammo Hung (洪金寶).

Despite Donnie Yen's many career achievements -- now including, in addition to his acting, a lot of work both in Hong Kong and Hollywood cinema as an action choreographer -- I feel he has never really received the "star treatment" that should have been accorded to him. I'm not sure why. Still, his legacy is well-recorded for generations to come.

Here (below) is that astonishing fight scene with Wu Jing from "SPL"--Donnie is in black. The power, speed and excitement of the action choreography raises the bar for all martial arts performances. I hope that if you do not already know Donnie Yen's work, watching it will inspire you to see more.