Fists And Feet Fly In Trailer For Keanu Reeves' Directorial Debut Man Of Tai Chi

After recently mumbling his way through the indie drama Generation Um…, Keanu Reeves nailed down that directing debut he’d been wanting to make for the last couple of years. The name of the film is Man of Tai Chi, the trailer can be seen above, and the expectations that the trailer leaves you with…well, I have no idea what to do with those, because they weren’t expected to come up.

Maybe I’m the odd man out, here. This is a decent trailer, isn’t it? All the fighting and flipping around certainly seem a lot more exciting than whatever Reeves is talking about in the voiceover. Oh, he was talking about the plot? Dammit. The trailer threw me off by initially showing him sitting with his back to the camera, which is bizarrely similar to a moment or two in The Matrix.

Thankfully, Man of Tai Chi’s other Matrix connections are largely successful, including the use of fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and Reeves’ martial arts trainer Tiger Hu Chen. Since the film’s fighting locations look to be limited to rooms and stages, more attention seems to have gone into the fights themselves, rather than how to incorporate an entire area into the battle. It’s like an Asian update of Bloodsport.

It does indeed involve a tournament to the death, and Reeves plays Hu Chen, a villain who is forced to enter the battles. Iko Uwais will play a young warrior who also gets roped into things. Expect him to fight Reeves in the end. And hopefully it will be a lot more satisfying than the end of this trailer, which features Reeves giving his worst William Shatner: “Let…the show…begin.”

Man of Tai Chi doesn’t have any release dates set for either side of the planet, but you’ll still be able to see Keanu Reeves kicking someone’s ass in Carl Rinsch’s 47 Ronin when it releases on Christmas Day.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.