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The author of this article is @鬼脚七 from Xiaowan family. The only function of movies is to make life more interesting than movies.

For many movie fans, the combination of Shi Xiaolong and Hao Shaowen may leave as much trace in their memories as Stephen Chow and Ng Man-tat.

The two brothers who were both kung fu-savvy and cute in "Abbot's Courtyard" successfully combined comedy, action, adventure and coming-of-age themes, creating a film trend for the time.

After nearly 30 years, do you still want to see the classic group from that time?

The online movie "Drunk Punch" directed and acted by Shi Xiaolong brought the two together again.

In fact, this is not the first time that Shi Xiaolong has been a director.

In 2022, he directed "The School Detective". One of the main highlights at that time was the reunion of Shi Xiaolong and Hao Shaowen after more than 20 years.

"The Truant Detective" is a grand mashup of elements from various classic genre films of the past, and it also vacillates between two different styles, action and suspense. Although the number of views is good, the quality of the film is indeed average.

"The Truant Detective"

However, perhaps because of the popularity of this film, Shi Xiaolong once again directed and acted in the film this year, and invited Qin Pengfei, the action director of "No One" and "Northeast Police Story", to launch this second directorial work.

The story of "Drunken Punch" is set in the Republic of China period which often appears in online movies. The protagonist Lin Yao (played by Shi Xiaolong) is the son of a wealthy businessman in Changle Town. He loves to practice martial arts and act carefree. He often sets up a ring to compete with others.

Lin Yao seemed to be an expert in Kung Fu and invincible in every battle, but he did not know that those martial artists who were defeated by him were all arranged by his father in advance to make him lose on purpose in order to make him happy.

Because of this, Lin Yaocai, who thought he was a master of kung fu, lost his entire family property in a competition due to the joint planning of a group of scammers and was "badly beaten" by society.

Afterwards, Lin Yao, who recognized the reality, began to study hard and practice diligently, determined to regain everything he had with real strength, and in the process thwarted the villain's greater conspiracy.

We've outlined the story here because it's a marked improvement over the hodgepodge of bits and pieces that made up The Truant.

On the one hand, the plot development and character logic are clearer and smoother. On the other hand, although the transformation from pride and frustration to courage after knowing shame is old-fashioned, it is after all a classic model of kung fu movies, such as "Drunken Master" and "Fong Sai-yuk". The second half also superimposes personal revenge and family and country feelings (similar to "Once Upon a Time in China" and "Huo Yuanjia"), which can be regarded as giving it a layer of deep meaning.

Drunken Master & Fong Sai-yuk

There is also the character setting of Hao Shaowen in this film. From a servant of the Lin family to betrayal due to inner imbalance, and then to "turning over a new leaf", it is also written reasonably, and the "selling of feelings" is also smoothly integrated with the development of the plot.

As an online movie, "Drunken Punch" has some problems that cannot be ignored in many plot details and performances. But for Shi Xiaolong, a "long-time famous" but still young (36 years old this year) action star, this may be the best way to start over.

Shi Xiaolong's "Fire Fist" VS "Flame Sword" in "No One" at the end of the film

Of course, when talking about "child stars becoming popular again", we have to mention the representative figure in this field: Xie Miao.

Speaking of which, Xie Miao and Shi Xiaolong have many similarities——

Shi Xiaolong was born in 1988 and Xie Miao was born in 1984, with a difference of four years between them. Shi Xiaolong starred in "Shaolin Kid" in 1994, and Xie Miao also starred in "New Shaolin Five Ancestors" in 1994.

Both of them were martial artists who had practiced martial arts since childhood. They were also famous in their childhood. They also chose to study in their youth. When they returned to the entertainment industry, they had to face the difficult task of starting from scratch.

After being unknown for many years, Xie Miao became popular again in the last two years with "No One". After the first part attracted attention, this year's "No One 2" was originally planned to be released in theaters. Although it did not happen in the end, the speed of "getting on the big screen" may be difficult to imagine for online movies before.

If Xie Miao can become popular again, why can’t Shi Xiaolong?

As they are all in their prime, it is not a problem for them to return to the big screen to star in one or two action films. The remaining question is whether they can first gain enough recognition and experience on the online platform.

A simple comparison:

In the "No One's Respect" series, the stories of the two works are interrelated. Cheng Xiazi, played by Xie Miao, is the core character. He has established a complete character history and personality traits, becoming a very recognizable screen image.

On the other hand, viewers who have watched "No Man's Land" should also remember that compared to ordinary online movies, "No Man's Land" has a lot of stylized, cinematic audio-visual processing, such as the snow scene and stage-like processing at the end of the first part. The improvement in quality and texture is impressive.

For Shi Xiaolong, the biggest difference is that he himself serves as the director, which of course provides him with more space for performance and room for development, and also gives him more say in the film itself.

It is also because of this that both of Shi Xiaolong's works have a cast that is at least more familiar to ordinary audiences than the "No One" series, such as Zou Zhaolong and Xu Shaoqiang from "The Detective", and Yin Ziwei, Zhang Shi, Weng Hong and Yuen Qiu from "Drunken Fist".

Xie Miao, who focuses on acting, and Shi Xiaolong, who is both a director and an actor, are trying two different paths and directions. There is no difference between different choices. Whether it is specialization or comprehensiveness, as an audience we expect to see better works, and as a film market, we naturally expect a different "new style".

In fact, there is a linking detail between these works of Xie Miao and Shi Xiaolong——

Shi Xiaolong will next collaborate with "Drunken Punch" action director Qin Pengfei on "The School Detective 2" and "Ghost Writer".

Qin Pengfei and Shi Xiaolong

The "School Detective" series is expected to be developed into Jackie Chan's own IP, and "Ghostwriter" is the spin-off of "No One".

To put it simply, Shi Xiaolong and Xie Miao will eventually meet in the "No One in My Eyes Universe".

As two actors who have left a deep impression on a generation, their "screen meeting" after their respective hard work can't help but make people feel quite emotional.

During the promotion of "Northeast Police Story 2" starring Xie Miao last year, Shi Xiaolong went to the scene to show his support, which led to a rare appearance of the two child kung fu stars in the same frame. At that time, many netizens sighed that "kung fu movies are no longer popular."

Perhaps it is indeed difficult for kung fu movies to return to their former glory, but for those actors, directors, screenwriters and action designers who are still working in the kung fu film genre, these films are still the world they love and are most familiar with.

Although kung fu movies have been "pushed" from the big screen to online streaming media, there will always be excellent works, like the "No One" series, trying to bring kung fu movies back to theaters.

I hope that Shi Xiaolong and Xie Miao can take on such important responsibilities in the future.

Note: Some of the pictures in this article are from Douban and the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us.

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