The Tai-Chi Master

Michelle Khan nearly did the impossible by staging up Jackie Chan in "Supercop." Now, in "The Tai-Chi Master," she holds her own against Hong Kong action star Jet Li, whom some might say is a better fighter than Chan.

Yet another action-packed Hong Kong period piece - a la, Tsui Hark's "Once Upon a Time in China" series, which also starred Li - "The Tai-Chi Master" doesn't really attempt to retell history. Instead, it throws in a scant plot and some vague philosophy alongside some eye-popping kung fu action sequences.

While it's not quite as good as Chan's "Drunken Master 2" or even the aforementioned "Once Upon a Time in China" movies, it's still worth it to see Li and Khan team up for some dazzling scenes.

"The Tai-Chi Master" stars Li as Junbao, a student monk in a Shaolin temple. His friend, Tianbao (Chin Siu-Ho), however, is an impatient glory-hound who isn't content just to learn spirituality. He also wants to learn kung fu in order to trounce a bully and rise higher in the temple.

But during a martial-arts competition rigged by the bully's master, Tianbao - the better fighter of the duo - loses his cool and strikes the judge. Junbao, who comes to his pal's defense, and Tianbao have to repel their fellow students, armed with poles, just to get out of the temple. Consequently, the duo is expelled.

Without the temple's discipline to hold them together, the two eventually drift apart and head in opposite, but conflicting, directions. Tianbao joins the corrupt troops of the Royal Eunuch, while Junbao falls in with some rebels, including Siu-Lin (Khan).

To impress his new boss, Tianbao betrays Junbao and the rebels, setting up a final, fatal confrontation between the the two former friends. But Junbao, now called Sanfeng, has a surprise in store for Tianbao. He's developed a new form of self-defense, called tai chi chuan, that uses an opponent's strength and actions against him.

As mentioned, there are some attempts to string a story between the fights, of which there are many. But "The Tai-Chi Master" eventually goes with the flow, letting the action dictate the pace of the film.

That's fortunate, because the succeeding mayhem - some of which happens in a cartoony manner, but some of which also occurs in a bloody fashion - is the real draw here. Of particular note are the temple fight, in which Li and Siu-Ho defeat a room full of armed opponents, and the duo's final confrontation, pitting kung fu against tai chi.

But the best may be an unbelievable bit in which Khan fights another woman while on stilts - an impressive feat that surely cements her place as Hong Kong's greatest female action star.

"The Tai-Chi Master" is unrated but would probably receive an R for considerable violence, including bloody swordfights, some gore and a few scattered profanities.