Earlier this year, 62-year-old martial arts superstar Jet Li caused controversy when participating in the Chinese short film market, with two works "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "Kiếm quy". The common point is that both films have martial arts elements.
Gangster Force" is a modern martial arts short film combining special abilities, telling the story of a massage master caught up in a gangster conspiracy, in which Jet Li plays the role of martial arts senior Phong Tu.
Kiem quy" is a traditional martial arts film, promoting the spirit of chivalry; the previous work of this crew was the short film "Mac cuong dao" which reached more than 70 million views. In the film, Jet Li plays a mysterious master.
Initially, there were mixed opinions about Jet Li acting in short films. A part of the audience believed that this choice could make Jet Li's superstar image "depreciate". Some people said he participated in short films for fame and for his salary.
In a recent interview, Jet Li directly responded to the reason for filming short films, showing that this decision was not "for money" as many people speculated.
He clearly stated: "It's not that I want to shoot short films, but that I want to build a "martial arts short film universe", so that many people can dream of stepping onto that stage.
Martial arts is a very precious "business card" of China, it is necessary to cherish and preserve this brand, that is the initial purpose.
Compared to movies, short films are actually much easier to access; a lower threshold can also help many young people learning martial arts in this era show their talents.
According to Chinese media, what Jet Li shared about the purpose of filming short films is clearly shown in action.
Both short film works belong to his signature martial arts genre, but Jet Li did not win the main role. Sources in the industry also said that his cat-xe is almost zero.
Observers believe that short films are increasingly popular, but no matter how high the quality, when placed next to cinema or long-running TV series, they are still somewhat "noble". When participating in short film projects with only supporting roles and guest roles, Jet Li clearly does not gain benefits.
With Jet Li's position, if he really wants to act in short films to earn money more easily, then countless good scripts will come to him.
At the opening ceremony of the action short film "The Gangster Force", Jet Li once expressed his gratitude to his predecessors who used martial arts to convey national culture.
He also believes that his generation needs to shoulder the responsibility of preserving and inheriting it. At the same time, he hopes that Chinese martial arts will spread to the world.
Even when participating in Ngo Kinh's blockbuster "Xiao Ren: Phong Khoi Dai Mac", Jet Li also played the role of a "wing-spreading" for the young generation of martial arts stars.
In the initial promotion phase, Jet Li was the focus of attention, even more anticipated than Wu Jing and Nicholas Tse. The title "Kungfu King" helped him maintain strong attraction even after many years.
But in "Tiêu nhân", Jet Li proactively yielded the central position, did not choose the role with the most screen time, and did not intentionally add scenes. Even the role of Chang Gui Ren he played was cut short compared to the original.
However, he still accepted to participate, wholeheartedly supporting his close younger brother Wu Jing and Chinese martial arts films.
