Director Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu transitioned from acting to producing, launching Diversion Pictures, and revitalised the martial arts genre with Tai Chi Zero and its sequel Tai Chi Hero. Focusing on the Tai Chi master Yang Luchan, these films employ computer-generated special effects to bring to life a story set in the late Qing dynasty, a period marked by China’s technological lag behind the West. The inclusion of Western technologies and inventions, the tank-like monster ‘Troy’, and the flying device ‘Heaven’s Wings’ indicates the infusion of new elements of comics and video games into martial arts cinema. As director, Fung diverges from martial arts conventions, adding a Hollywood superhero flair to his film. Martial artist Jayden Yuan makes his screen debut as Yang, sharing the spotlight with Tony Leung Ka-fai, who portrays Yang’s master. As the master finally embraces his estranged son (Feng Shaofeng) and his wacky innovations, the films highlight the reinvention of the martial arts genre, in terms of plot, cast, as much as production technology.

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