Before I start writing this article, I would like to ask you a question:
How long have you not watched a kung fu movie?
If I remember correctly, the film market in recent years has been almost monopolized by main theme movies and comedy movies.
Is it that the audience doesn't like kung fu movies anymore? Or is there no successor to the kung fu movie?
Today, Xiaobian will take you to take stock of the five last stars in the current entertainment industry to see if you can find the answer you want from them.
Jackie Chan, who can no longer move
I don't know if you remember that when Jackie Chan participated in the show a few years ago, he performed a four-seat "flying shoe outside the sky"?
At that time, Jackie Chan wanted to perform a front flip for everyone, and the audience was holding their breath and wanted to see jackie Chan's big brother style.
But I didn't think that Jackie Chan was "out of trouble.".
Jackie Chan not only did not succeed in the air flip, but also threw his shoes out, stunned by the crowd.
This scene would never have happened when Jackie Chan was young.
This year's Beijing Winter Olympics, Jackie Chan also served as a torchbearer, although the scene seems that Jackie Chan's big brother has a good look, but it is difficult to hide the color of old age.
Time is not spared, and Jackie Chan, who used to be able to fight and run, is 67 years old this year.
There is an old Chinese saying that goes, "Life is seventy years old", Jackie Chan is really old.
Jackie Chan is one of the representatives of the golden age of Hong Kong cinema,
"Double Week Cheng" has dominated the Box Office of Hong Kong movies for many years, and Jackie Chan has also ushered in the era of kung fu comedy.
Jackie Chan enjoys a high reputation in the world, and many foreigners mention Chinese kung fu, and the first thing that comes to mind is Jackie Chan.
For a long time, Jackie Chan was the representative of Chinese kung fu.
In 2002, Jackie Chan's name was engraved on the 2205th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Hollywood named October 4 "Jackie Chan Day".
Now 20 years later, Jackie Chan is nearly 70 years old, and few film works have come out in recent years.
With the increase of age, Jackie Chan can no longer fight as hard as he did when he was younger.
In recent years, Jackie Chan has also made several kung fu movies, but the box office is not ideal.
Such as "Blood of the Machine", "Detective Pu Songling", "The Mystery of the Dragon Card", "Railway Flying Tiger", "British Showdown", etc., the box office is very dismal.
The elderly Jackie Chan, the action looks sluggish and weak, and the movie plot is also uninteresting.
Even in the old routine of kung fu comedy, the audience is already aesthetically tired.
It can be said that the era of kung fu films belonging to Jackie Chan has completely ended, and he really can't move!
Jackie Chan is really old, and many people's memories are actually still stuck in the Hong Kong movies of the 90s of the last century.
So when the elderly Jackie Chan appears in today's movies, people have to sigh the passage of time.
Perhaps today's Jackie Chan also has to serve the old, or perhaps in order to rekindle everyone's enthusiasm for kung fu films, Jackie Chan launched the Jackie Chan International Action Film Week.
Jackie Chan may still want to leave something to the world, or maybe there is a little helplessness,
In short, after Jackie Chan, there is really no more Jackie Chan.
Zhen Zidan, who has already "sealed his fist"
Zhen Zidan once revealed that "Ip Man 4" is his last kung fu film.
The movie "Ip Man 4" is regrettably called the last feast of kung fu movies by many fans!
"Master Ye" came to an end, and the pure kung fu film seemed to be gone.
The "Ip Man" series of movies is the peak of Zhen Zidan's kung fu films, and it is precisely because of the role of "Ip Man" that Zhen Zidan became popular.
This can be seen from Zhen Zidan's salary for starring in "Ip Man":
When Huang Baiming first asked Zhen Zidan to shoot the first "Ip Man", Zhen Zidan's film remuneration was only 3 million,
After the "Ip Man" movie exploded, Huang Baiming immediately prepared to shoot a sequel,
By the time of "Ip Man 4", Zhen Zidan's salary had risen to 100 million, and the production cost of this film at that time was only more than 400 million.
In fact, Zhen Zidan's kung fu in the "Ip Man" series of movies has greater aesthetic significance than practical significance.
What really made the audience applaud was some of the action movies he had made before, such as the "Kill the Wolf" series of movies.
In particular, the fight with the big villain played by Wu Jing in the alley is not only fun to watch, but also has a bit of violent aesthetic meaning.
Today's Zhen Zidan is also nearly 60 years old, and it is basically impossible to see such a blood-boiling fight scene.
No matter how strong the physique, no matter how strong the body, no matter how superb the kung fu, it seems that it is difficult to resist the invasion of time.
"Master Ye" came to an end, Zhen Zidan also sealed his fist, after Zhen Zidan, who can still carry the banner of kung fu films?
Wu Jing?
After "Wolf Warrior", there is no more wolf warrior, Wu Jing, who has been transformed
Remember Wu Jing's contemptuous expression towards the enemy?
"Wolf Warrior 2" made Wu Jing famous, sitting on the throne of the Chinese film box office champion for many years, until last year, when he was defeated by his own starring "Chosin Lake".
But Wu Jing defeated himself not with his own kung fu and punches.
Wu Jing was once considered to be another kung fu superstar after Jackie Chan and Zhen Zidan.
Now it seems that the superstar has become, but the kung fu is gone.
Today' Wu Jing has become a box office guarantee and the hottest actor in the past two years.
At present, Wu Jing's personal box office has already exceeded 20 billion, ranking ahead of all film actors.
Wu Jing's transformation can be said to have begun after "Wolf Warrior 2", of which "The Wandering Earth" now seems to be his transformation work.
In the movie "The Wandering Earth", Wu Jing played a warm father and played a big hero who saved the earth.
In fact, as early as after filming "Wolf Warrior 2", it was rumored on the Internet that Wu Jing was going to start filming "Wolf Warrior 3", but Wu Jing claimed that he would no longer play the main role of "Wolf Warrior 3".
This shocked the fans!
According to Wu Jing, after "Wolf Warrior 2", Wu Jing's joints were damaged in many parts of his body, and he was almost injured from head to toe.
Wu Jing admitted that such a body is simply difficult to support the role in the movie, and he is afraid of smashing it.
Wu Jing also said that if the physical injuries have been difficult to recover, or what sequelae have been left, then there may be no martial arts films in the future.
Later, everyone also knows that Wu Jing has starred in a number of main theme movies, such as "My Motherland and Me", "Chosin Lake", etc., which have sold well at the box office!
It is reported that today's Wu Jing, the film has been scheduled to ten years later, a cursory look at the Wu Jing film contract spread on the Internet at that time, there are almost no kung fu films.
Wu Jing's transformation may also be a kind of helplessness.
This kind of helplessness has physical helplessness, but also the reasons for the decline of kung fu films, the rise of main theme films and comedy movies.
However, Wu Jing's transformation is still quite successful, but his transformation also tears the last fig leaf of kung fu movies.
However, the Wu Jing in "Wolf Warrior" can never come back, and then ask a philosophical question:
Which one do you prefer now and Wu Jing before you?
Wang Baoqiang, who didn't want to fight anymore
Perhaps many people after watching Wang Baoqiang in "Soldier Assault", it is difficult to imagine that he is also a "kung fu kid".
People can't look at each other, Wang Baoqiang's kung fu is still authentic Shaolin kung fu.
Wang Baoqiang began to learn martial arts at the age of 6, and worked as a lay disciple at the Shaolin Temple in Songshan at the age of 8-14.
To tell the truth, Wang Baoqiang's kung fu foundation is still relatively strong.
But who could have imagined that in the end, Wang Baoqiang was famous for the role of the stupid root in "No Thief in the World".
Later, Wang Baoqiang starred in the classic TV series "Soldier Assault", and his kung fu was useless.
In 2013, Chen Desen prepared to shoot "One Man's Martial Arts", and the protagonist was Zhen Zidan.
At that time, Zhen Zidan told the director Chen Desen: "Be sure to find someone who can fight with me, I don't want to spend a rack!"
Later, Andy Lau recommended Wang Baoqiang.
Wang Baoqiang lived up to expectations, and his kung fu finally had a place to play, and the director was very satisfied.
Even Zhen Zidan praised Wang Baoqiang for having real kung fu!
However, after the release of such a movie full of real kung fu, the box office was very dismal!
Maybe he saw the decline of kung fu movies, Wang Baoqiang seems to be dead hearted, he may not want to fight again!
After that, Wang Baoqiang actively tried comedy, especially Chen Sicheng's "Detective Chinatown" series, which made Wang Baoqiang's career reach another peak.
To be honest, Wang Baoqiang's play path is quite changeable:
From "Silly Root", "Xu Sanduo", to "Feng Yuxiu", and then to Tang Ren in "Detective Chinatown",
Wang Baoqiang tried many roles.
Today' Wang Baoqiang is already a comedy superstar in people's minds, and it is a pity that he is a Shaolin Kung Fu.
Zhao Wenzhuo disappeared
Zhao Wenzhuo, a martial arts star on par with Zhen Zidan's kung fu.
However, it is also very strange that in recent years, Zhao Wenzhuo has disappeared a bit, and there have been no new films released in theaters for many years.
But it is no wonder that Zhao Wenzhuo's play road is narrow,
In today's booming comedies and main theme films, if martial arts stars do not actively try to transform, there must not be much market.
Zhao Wenzhuo learned martial arts from a young age, and was admitted to the martial arts department of Beijing Sport University in 1990, so it can be said that Zhao Wenzhuo's kung fu foundation is not worse than zhen zidan and others.
But there is a saying how to say, "both born Yu He Shengliang", Zhen Zidan's appearance to a certain extent robbed a lot of Zhao Wenzhuo's resources.
Zhao Wenzhuo and Zhen Zidan originally had a relatively good relationship, but later they became strangers for a work.
Today, Zhen Zidan seems to have become an action superstar with merit, and has pulled away from Zhao Wenzhuo from a distance.
Kung Fu movies dead?
Jackie Chan Jet Li is old, Zhen Zi Danfeng fist, Wu Jing and Wang Baoqiang have transformed, Zhao Wenzhuo also has a weak heart,
One can't help but ask: Who can still carry the banner of Chinese kung fu movies?
Looking at the entire entertainment industry, looking at the entire film market, this answer seems far away.
The decline of kung fu films is an indisputable fact!
"Kung Fu films are dead", the saying has been circulating for many years, for many reasons.
Among them, there are not only the changes of the times and the film market, but also the reasons why there is no successor to kung fu movies, and it is closely related to the atmosphere of today's entertainment industry.
Most of the glorious period of kung fu movies was in the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, including the birth of kung fu superstars such as Jackie Chan and Zhen Zidan.
Kung fu filmmakers of that era were generally able to endure hardships, and rarely used stand-ins for filming, so they created many classics.
Just as the so-called times create heroes, the times are different,
Look at the entertainment industry in these years, making fast money has become the choice of many people,
Who else has that kung fu to study?
Kung Fu pays attention to inheritance, and no one has explained that the inheritance is broken, not only kung fu filmmakers, but also an indomitable spirit.
Who can still carry the banner of kung fu films?
To be honest, at present, I really don't see who can carry this big flag, maybe no one wants to carry it at all!
This is actually a real problem, in many crews, the income of martial arts is almost the lowest,
They do the hardest work, such as stand-ins, but are paid much less than the protagonist.
So not many people want to work in this industry, which is also an important reason for the fault.
Many stars now, relying on faces and topics, can easily obtain various resources.
Even if you don't have acting skills, you don't have real kung fu, you can solve it through the later stage,
The rapid development of film and television technology allows actors to no longer play for their lives, which also squeezes the living space of real kung fu actors in movies.
At the same time, some actors with real kung fu no longer want to act in kung fu movies!
The times have really changed, and now the movies are all the stimulation of the pursuit of the senses, and the simple kung fu films have no market.
But kung fu is a treasure of our country, a business card, and it is not coveted by people in some countries.
If you want to carry the banner of kung fu films, you not only need kung fu superstars and the market, but also our filmmakers must think about it:
Where is the way out for future kung fu films? What kind of kung fu movies do the audience want to watch?