Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- playful
- kinetic
- action movie night
- martial arts marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually exuberant and entertaining, with inventive martial-arts spectacle offset by an uneven overall execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Chen Village conflict pits Tai Chi practitioners against a formidable battalion of steampunk soldiers.
Yang Luchan arrives as a strange outsider and must gain the villagers' trust and martial knowledge.
The film centers on elaborate Tai Chi combat and received multiple action-choreography nominations.
Chinese martial-arts tradition is combined with steampunk soldiers and fantastical technology.
Films like Tai Chi Zero, and why
Kung Fu Hustle
stylized martial arts choreography, comic-book energy, and historical fantasy spectacle
The Grandmaster
martial arts fantasy with exuberant visual design, eccentric characters, and heightened action
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
period martial arts adventure blending imaginative technology, heroic outsiders, and elaborate combat
The Forbidden Kingdom
playful wuxia action, genre hybridization, and kinetic visual invention
Movie Details
- Director
- Stephen Fung
- Release Date
- 2012-09-27
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (140)
Cast
- Jayden Yuan
- Fung Hak-On
- Stephen Fung
- Shu Qi
- Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
- Bruce Leung Siu-Lung
- AngelaBaby
- Eddie Peng Yu-Yan
- Dillon Wu Di
- Chen Sicheng
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Hi-YAH Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tai Chi Zero about?
- A gifted outsider enters a guarded martial-arts village and becomes its unlikely champion against a steampunk military threat.
- What is Tai Chi Zero like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tai Chi Zero as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Tai Chi Zero violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Tai Chi Zero as moderate.
- What did critics think of Tai Chi Zero?
- Critics broadly found the film visually exuberant and entertaining, with inventive martial-arts spectacle offset by an uneven overall execution.
- Which films are like Tai Chi Zero?
- Films with a similar feel include Kung Fu Hustle, The Grandmaster, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, and The Forbidden Kingdom.
- How long is Tai Chi Zero?
- Tai Chi Zero runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tai Chi Zero?
- In United States, Tai Chi Zero streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Hi-YAH Amazon Channel.
