Rise of the Legend (2018)

Rise of the Legend (2018). Rise of the Legend: Directed by Teng Bee. With Jake Eng, Tosh Chan, Mark Lee, Yann Yann Yeo. Badminton player turned celebrity decides to immortalize himself and share his achievements in winning silver twice in the Olympics badminton event.

“u0026quot;Lee Chong Wei: Rise of the Legendu0026quot; follows Leeu0026#39;s life from a young age, when as a little boy he discovered his passion and talent in badminton, up to the moments when he had to face off against his rival on the court, Chinau0026#39;s two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the movie title indicates, the biopic is not about the glitz and glamour of being an internationally-recognised badminton champion. No, it is the journey undertaken by said champion, the years he spent struggling and training before he was the Worldu0026#39;s No.1 Player (as ranked by the World Badminton Federation (BWF)) and bestowed the title u0026#39;legendu0026#39; by admiring fans who aspire to follow in his footsteps one day. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLeeu0026#39;s childhood and adolescence were a complicated tangle of being too poor to even dream of owning a racquet, being laughed at by other kids for his underprivileged life, having a strict father who absolutely did not approve of him playing badminton and having a gentle mother (Khor Kim Choi, played by Yeo Yann Yann) as well as encouraging mentors who set him on his path to becoming who he is today.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot to say that his father is the villain, however, stick around to see how Lee Ah Chai (played by Singaporeu0026#39;s Mark Lee who cheekily threw in a few words about Singaporeans in his dialogue that made the crowd titter) eventually became one of the sturdy rocks in the badminton championu0026#39;s life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie was no doubt visually arresting, thanks to cinematographer Eric Yeong. Even just a shuttlecock perched precariously atop a badminton net was mesmerising to watch, and that was just in the opening scene, so the audience can rest assure knowing that the rest of the movie will follow the same stylistic setup. Though the movie does suffer from choppy editing on certain parts, resulting in some rather abrupt cut of visual and audio elements, it shouldnu0026#39;t take away too much from the audienceu0026#39;s enjoyment of it. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStory-wise, those whou0026#39;ve read Leeu0026#39;s biography u0026quot;Dare to be a Championu0026quot; will be familiar with it, though director Teng Bee and producers Josiah Cheng, Ben Lee and Tony Hu did add several dramatic touches to make it more apt for a big screen adaptation.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe main cast, made up of Tosh Chan who bears a striking resemblance to the titular hero he stars as, Jake Eng as the young Lee, Ashley Hua as Leeu0026#39;s love interest and now real-life wife Wong Mew Choo, and Datuk Rosyam Nor as Leeu0026#39;s mentor Datou0026#39; Misbun Sidek, delivers a solid performance despite most of them being newcomers in the acting industry.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie doesnu0026#39;t just show the audience the story of Leeu0026#39;s early life, it also inspires everyone watching to work harder in achieving their dreams, imparts the message that everyone must have faith in themselves and in a sense, it also instills patriotism – thereu0026#39;s just something about watching sports and especially seeing the side youu0026#39;re rooting for winning that immediately forges a bond among spectators (when watching this movie in cinema, expect the hall to keep erupting into cheers whenever Lee is on the court, especially when Lin Dan enters the scene).”