What was the last classic martial-arts film you watched?

[Drunken Monk]

Way of the Dragon - Earlier this year I made a state that was basically "Bruce Li's filmography is better than Bruce Lee's". We, having re-watched Way of the Dragon I feel less confident about my bold claim.

This film is really good. Simple film making at its best. Bruce Lee isn't Scorsese. He directs this film is a very matter-of-fact way and rather than the film making being chock full of metaphor and themes, it's Bruce charisma that's the focal point. And rightly so.
The first thirty minutes may confuse fans of, say, Enter the Dragon. It gives us sight gags and goofiness rather than arse kicking. But it's refreshing. I actually like Bruce's comedic sensibility, as silly as it may have been.

The action rolls out slowly but it's all phenomenal. From his early power-kicks to the double nunchaku to the final bout with Mr. Chuck Norris. It's all **chef's kiss**. Now I have to revisit the rest of Bruce's movies as I may very well be wrong. It could be that I love Bruce Lee after all.

[saltysam]

Chinese Iron Man

Not bad Fist Of Fury knock off-i'm embarrassed as i'm a huge fan to find Bruce Li has a large role in this as a baddie Japanese bully. i never knew!

Shaolin Plot

Great movie with a great cast, Chen Sing, Sammo,James Tien, Casanova Wong- would love to see a HD version of this.

 

[ShawAngela]

For whom to be murdered : I have only one word : SUPERB !!

The cannibals : I don't know why, but in my memory, in this movie, Chang Yi paired with Wang Ping, but it's not true at all. The heroine is Chen Chen ! Superb movie too !

[Liersi]

Having seen some previously unsees classics lately, I felt it was time to rewatch Shaolin vs Lama (1983) for perspective. You know how your perception of what you like and what things are like changes with time? That's why. Sometimes a classic will reaffirm its popsition in the pantheon, maybe even gain in stature. And sometimes you no longer think it's as good because now you've seen better.

SvL is as good as ever, and in many ways even better. It's a quitessential kung fu film because it not only catalyzes conflicts through fights, its entire narrative revolves around around learning how to get better and reach a higher level. This film excells at what I call "power levels". You know how a confrontation instantly communicates how powerful someone is compared to someone else? When that isn't consistent across the film, consistent across scenes, makes sudden jumps as people fight better or worse like they drank some instant soup skill or the reverse, the entire learning narrative goes to hell. There's only zero and hero, and both depend on the whims of the script. This is typically a lot worse in films in which the fighting is a means to a dramatic end. Drama supercedes fight logic.

SvL has none of that. To the contrary, it pays very close attention to reflecting everyone's skill level in every fight. It opens up a wide range of power levels all the way from the street brawler to the enlightened grandmaster. Alexander Lo Rei (Luo Rui) starts off one level above the average teacher. He's good and he knows it. The choreography reflects this by giving him a set of diverse form basics and good athletics, but not much in the way of tactics, complexity or power. It starts of somewhat pedestrian on purpose. He's not far above the teachers, but he's good enough to not have been beaten for 5 years. The film then chronicles his introduction to Shaolin kung fu and the advanced skills of their craziest master (the inimitable Sun Rongzhi). Compared to them he is but a mote of dust on a chicken's bare butt. As his skills improve, the choreography ramps up. It gets more complex, shows how openings are earned, power applied. The beginning fights become simple brawls in retrospect. Instead of trying to wow the audience from the get-go, this film evolves its martial arts with the characters. It's exhilarating to watch! It avoids so many mistakes lesser kung fu movies make in terms of power levels. Alexander never reaches the level of his master. How could he, in such a short time? The villain (the superlative Chang Shan) is not portrayed as invincible, but merely very good. It makes everyone human, vulnerable. It makes their advanced skills seem like a product of genuine talent, time and dedication, and not magic. I appreciated that greatly. The fight between Chang Shan and his erstwhile master Sun Rongzhi is the highest level fight in the film for a reason. They are the two highest level fighters in the film, not the "hero"! The finale is justifiable a different affair. The villain's so good they have to find the trick (Buddha's Finger), work together and get lucky to win. Plus the trick doesn't come to our hero by way of divine intuition (because he's so awesome). No, he's being told by the grandmaster who fought the guy to a tie to find out. Your garden variety kung fu flick doesn't care about these details. At this point it should be no surprise that SvL also gets the last point in power levels right: the highest level is spiritual, not physical. The highest phyiscal power comes from a state of spiritual tranquility, not a lifted weight. How does a cheap little Taiwan flick from '83 get so much so right? Shaolin vs Lama reaches what I consider to be the highest tier of kung fu filmmaking.

Typically, kung fu cinema is juvenile in its philosophy. Physical violence makes a wrong world right, and it can be acquired by anyone as long as they train their body. Mind and personality don't exist, which is why kung fu cinema is so full of arrogant heroes. SvL does what its characters do: it goes beyond being a good fighter. It's the story of how a good fighter transcends his arrogance into greatness. It shows peak physical display and then reaches beyond to enlightenment, where kung fu becomes an expression of philosophy.

The actors are phenomenal, I have to add that to this lengthy drooling post. Sun Rongzhi and Chang Shan are something else. Like their characters, they play at the highest level of screen fu. Alexander is spot on in showing how his character develops. He's rougher early on, his timing still a bit sloppy, then he starts to flow with the masters as his mind and body pick up the cosmic beat. I am in awe of this film and give it the highest honours.

[ShawAngela]

4 hours ago, Liersi said:

Having seen some previously unsees classics lately, I felt it was time to rewatch Shaolin vs Lama (1983) for perspective. You know how your perception of what you like and what things are like changes with time? That's why. Sometimes a classic will reaffirm its popsition in the pantheon, maybe even gain in stature. And sometimes you no longer think it's as good because now you've seen better.

SvL is as good as ever, and in many ways even better. It's a quitessential kung fu film because it not only catalyzes conflicts through fights, its entire narrative revolves around around learning how to get better and reach a higher level. This film excells at what I call "power levels". You know how a confrontation instantly communicates how powerful someone is compared to someone else? When that isn't consistent across the film, consistent across scenes, makes sudden jumps as people fight better or worse like they drank some instant soup skill or the reverse, the entire learning narrative goes to hell. There's only zero and hero, and both depend on the whims of the script. This is typically a lot worse in films in which the fighting is a means to a dramatic end. Drama supercedes fight logic.

SvL has none of that. To the contrary, it pays very close attention to reflecting everyone's skill level in every fight. It opens up a wide range of power levels all the way from the street brawler to the enlightened grandmaster. Alexander Lo Rei (Luo Rui) starts off one level above the average teacher. He's good and he knows it. The choreography reflects this by giving him a set of diverse form basics and good athletics, but not much in the way of tactics, complexity or power. It starts of somewhat pedestrian on purpose. He's not far above the teachers, but he's good enough to not have been beaten for 5 years. The film then chronicles his introduction to Shaolin kung fu and the advanced skills of their craziest master (the inimitable Sun Rongzhi). Compared to them he is but a mote of dust on a chicken's bare butt. As his skills improve, the choreography ramps up. It gets more complex, shows how openings are earned, power applied. The beginning fights become simple brawls in retrospect. Instead of trying to wow the audience from the get-go, this film evolves its martial arts with the characters. It's exhilarating to watch! It avoids so many mistakes lesser kung fu movies make in terms of power levels. Alexander never reaches the level of his master. How could he, in such a short time? The villain (the superlative Chang Shan) is not portrayed as invincible, but merely very good. It makes everyone human, vulnerable. It makes their advanced skills seem like a product of genuine talent, time and dedication, and not magic. I appreciated that greatly. The fight between Chang Shan and his erstwhile master Sun Rongzhi is the highest level fight in the film for a reason. They are the two highest level fighters in the film, not the "hero"! The finale is justifiable a different affair. The villain's so good they have to find the trick (Buddha's Finger), work together and get lucky to win. Plus the trick doesn't come to our hero by way of divine intuition (because he's so awesome). No, he's being told by the grandmaster who fought the guy to a tie to find out. Your garden variety kung fu flick doesn't care about these details. At this point it should be no surprise that SvL also gets the last point in power levels right: the highest level is spiritual, not physical. The highest phyiscal power comes from a state of spiritual tranquility, not a lifted weight. How does a cheap little Taiwan flick from '83 get so much so right? Shaolin vs Lama reaches what I consider to be the highest tier of kung fu filmmaking.

Typically, kung fu cinema is juvenile in its philosophy. Physical violence makes a wrong world right, and it can be acquired by anyone as long as they train their body. Mind and personality don't exist, which is why kung fu cinema is so full of arrogant heroes. SvL does what its characters do: it goes beyond being a good fighter. It's the story of how a good fighter transcends his arrogance into greatness. It shows peak physical display and then reaches beyond to enlightenment, where kung fu becomes an expression of philosophy.

The actors are phenomenal, I have to add that to this lengthy drooling post. Sun Rongzhi and Chang Shan are something else. Like their characters, they play at the highest level of screen fu. Alexander is spot on in showing how his character develops. He's rougher early on, his timing still a bit sloppy, then he starts to flow with the masters as his mind and body pick up the cosmic beat. I am in awe of this film and give it the highest honours.

Once again, superb comments on a movie ! Thanks for sharing such good point of views !

[sym8]

4 hours ago, Liersi said:

Having seen some previously unsees classics lately, I felt it was time to rewatch Shaolin vs Lama (1983) for perspective. You know how your perception of what you like and what things are like changes with time? That's why. Sometimes a classic will reaffirm its popsition in the pantheon, maybe even gain in stature. And sometimes you no longer think it's as good because now you've seen better.

SvL is as good as ever, and in many ways even better. It's a quitessential kung fu film because it not only catalyzes conflicts through fights, its entire narrative revolves around around learning how to get better and reach a higher level. This film excells at what I call "power levels". You know how a confrontation instantly communicates how powerful someone is compared to someone else? When that isn't consistent across the film, consistent across scenes, makes sudden jumps as people fight better or worse like they drank some instant soup skill or the reverse, the entire learning narrative goes to hell. There's only zero and hero, and both depend on the whims of the script. This is typically a lot worse in films in which the fighting is a means to a dramatic end. Drama supercedes fight logic.

SvL has none of that. To the contrary, it pays very close attention to reflecting everyone's skill level in every fight. It opens up a wide range of power levels all the way from the street brawler to the enlightened grandmaster. Alexander Lo Rei (Luo Rui) starts off one level above the average teacher. He's good and he knows it. The choreography reflects this by giving him a set of diverse form basics and good athletics, but not much in the way of tactics, complexity or power. It starts of somewhat pedestrian on purpose. He's not far above the teachers, but he's good enough to not have been beaten for 5 years. The film then chronicles his introduction to Shaolin kung fu and the advanced skills of their craziest master (the inimitable Sun Rongzhi). Compared to them he is but a mote of dust on a chicken's bare butt. As his skills improve, the choreography ramps up. It gets more complex, shows how openings are earned, power applied. The beginning fights become simple brawls in retrospect. Instead of trying to wow the audience from the get-go, this film evolves its martial arts with the characters. It's exhilarating to watch! It avoids so many mistakes lesser kung fu movies make in terms of power levels. Alexander never reaches the level of his master. How could he, in such a short time? The villain (the superlative Chang Shan) is not portrayed as invincible, but merely very good. It makes everyone human, vulnerable. It makes their advanced skills seem like a product of genuine talent, time and dedication, and not magic. I appreciated that greatly. The fight between Chang Shan and his erstwhile master Sun Rongzhi is the highest level fight in the film for a reason. They are the two highest level fighters in the film, not the "hero"! The finale is justifiable a different affair. The villain's so good they have to find the trick (Buddha's Finger), work together and get lucky to win. Plus the trick doesn't come to our hero by way of divine intuition (because he's so awesome). No, he's being told by the grandmaster who fought the guy to a tie to find out. Your garden variety kung fu flick doesn't care about these details. At this point it should be no surprise that SvL also gets the last point in power levels right: the highest level is spiritual, not physical. The highest phyiscal power comes from a state of spiritual tranquility, not a lifted weight. How does a cheap little Taiwan flick from '83 get so much so right? Shaolin vs Lama reaches what I consider to be the highest tier of kung fu filmmaking.

Typically, kung fu cinema is juvenile in its philosophy. Physical violence makes a wrong world right, and it can be acquired by anyone as long as they train their body. Mind and personality don't exist, which is why kung fu cinema is so full of arrogant heroes. SvL does what its characters do: it goes beyond being a good fighter. It's the story of how a good fighter transcends his arrogance into greatness. It shows peak physical display and then reaches beyond to enlightenment, where kung fu becomes an expression of philosophy.

The actors are phenomenal, I have to add that to this lengthy drooling post. Sun Rongzhi and Chang Shan are something else. Like their characters, they play at the highest level of screen fu. Alexander is spot on in showing how his character develops. He's rougher early on, his timing still a bit sloppy, then he starts to flow with the masters as his mind and body pick up the cosmic beat. I am in awe of this film and give it the highest honours.

I so want to watch this but refuse until someone brings out a HD Widescreen print

[Liersi]

2 hours ago, sym8 said:

I so want to watch this but refuse until someone brings out a HD Widescreen print

I'll keep low-key or not so low-key singing its praises in hopes of swaying someone's decision to do exactly this. I don't know who, how or when, but it needs to happen.

[ShawAngela]

A real gems fesat this evening !!

The Mandarin (the new German release I recently got) : I already post comments and a review on it, and it's still a gem for me !

The eagle's killer : John Chang begins to have a great place in my list of favorite actors...

That man from Singapore : a SUPER GEM !! A non stop action movie, with Sammo, Kim Ki Ju and WIlson Tong who I mistook with Jack Long, again, and Kao Chiang, who looks like Ling Yun sometimes...When I was looking for the German blu ray of Disciples of shaolin with the title Karato something, I had came across another Karato that I had left aside because I thought that it wasn't  an interesting movie, but when I recently saw it again and looked for the title and when I discovered that Sammo was in it, I bought it and I don't regret it at all !

Jade claw : Another Billy Chong's gem !! I noticed something strange though : I wonder if he was filming another movie at the same time he was filming this one, because at around 1h of running time, when he fights with Kong Do, he doesn't have the same kind of clothes nor the same haircut than in the rest of the movie. The fights lasts for just a few minutes, and then, he is back with the same clothes as before and the same haircut. It's almost like if they had copied-pasted a scene from another movie in this one and had added a few lines of dialogue to explain why there was this scene with Kong Do...Does anyone has any clue about this matter ?

[Iron Head Rat]

On 8/25/2020 at 4:55 PM, sym8 said:

I so want to watch this but refuse until someone brings out a HD Widescreen print

Exactly this...

[Drunken Monk]

The Unbeaten 28 - This one's a case of a very average movie having fantastic fights. If you like your "kung fu trials" movies, you might like this one. Though the trials here aren't all that exciting unless it actually involves human on human fight scenes. The "stone men" thing is a bit boring.

The actual fight scenes here are fantastic though. Jack Long isn't given enough to do but Mark Long shines as the dastardly villain and Mang Fei works his arse off.

 

While this film has everything I would normally love, it doesn't quite escape the label of "good but not great." The final fight scene's a gem though.

[ShawAngela]

The fierce boxer : I finally decided to watch this movie. All the fighters are very good and it's interesting to see an Indonesian production (I think) that isn't a Barry Prima's movie, has an interesting plot, a beautiful actress and Larry Lee playing two roles...

Worth watching.

[Super Ninja]

Hero of the Time (1979) - Gave this one a rewatch from the Vengeance Video DVD I've got, nothing to see here really, even the Tan vs. Tsung Hua fight wasn't as enjoyable as the first time. Definitely not one of Tan Tao-Liang's better efforts.

Devil Killer (1980) - Avoid Videoasia release, without a widescreen copy it's impossible to appreciate Tai's action.

[DrNgor]

Black Godfather (1974) - This is one of several blaxploitation films that show up on Mill Creek's "Martial Arts 50-Movie Collection". A small-time crime boss teams up with the local militants to get whitey (i.e. the mob) and his heroin out of the hood. The only martial arts shows up when a female assassin shows up at one dude's house, kills him with a blowgun, and then karate kicks his girlfriend to death. Glad to see the brotha stick it to the man and walk away trimphant at the end. Can you dig it?

Edited August 29, 2020 by DrNgor

[ShawAngela]

Balada dua jagoan aka A tale of two heroes : another Larry Lee's Indonesian movie, in which he pairs again with Georges Rudy to fight the bad guys, using some of Bruce Lee's screams-alike (you must take a look at the movie on youtube under its Indonesian title just to  listen to his shouts. It made me laugh at each of them !!). He made me think of Bruce Liang in some of his postures...

Good movie. I read on the internet that Billy Chong is mentioned in the cast...Well, if it's true, I didn't see him at all, or he was very young and I didn't recognize him, I don't know...

Edited August 29, 2020 by ShawAngela

[DrNgor]

Jive Turkey (1974) - This is another blaxploitation film that shows up on Mill Creek's "Martial Arts 50-Movie Collection". However, there are no MA to speak of. There's one fight sequence where a guy fights a bunch of policeman in a pool hall, the but the choreography is worse than your worst JWY film. The film is about a black crime boss in the 1950s who has to deal with the Italian mafia, the police (it's an election year so the mayor is cracking down on crime for reelection), and a mole in his organization. He deals in the numbers game, but they never explain what that it is. It's mainly people talking, and then driving somewhere else and talking, and then going somewhere else and talking more. There's no forward momentum or suspense. Characters are introduced, forgotten about and show up later for a death scene or something. There's some gore, a tranvestite assassin, two sex scenes complete with nudity, and a car chase, but the film is just boring.

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

5 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Jive Turkey (1974) - This is another blaxploitation film that shows up on Mill Creek's "Martial Arts 50-Movie Collection". However, there are no MA to speak of. There's one fight sequence where a guy fights a bunch of policeman in a pool hall, the but the choreography is worse than your worst JWY film. The film is about a black crime boss in the 1950s who has to deal with the Italian mafia, the police (it's an election year so the mayor is cracking down on crime for reelection), and a mole in his organization. He deals in the numbers game, but they never explain what that it is. It's mainly people talking, and then driving somewhere else and talking, and then going somewhere else and talking more. There's no forward momentum or suspense. Characters are introduced, forgotten about and show up later for a death scene or something. There's some gore, a tranvestite assassin, two sex scenes complete with nudity, and a car chase, but the film is just boring.

Numbers was the underground lottery game played in the ghetto. Movies like this were made for people that would immediately know that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_game

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

Subbing Fighting Ace with John Liu, so I've basically been watching that. Not bad, Wu Ma, Kwan Yung Moon and others pop up and Liu's is toned down in this so the story works a little better. Pretty good if you like training scenes and the dubbing is not bad (though the remaster will just be subbed) but all in all even the comedy scenes are not of the "I fell in shit" level usually in these movies. The main villain is a bit of a tub of lard, and old, but size makes fights so in the real world he'd have a weight and power advantage. Anyway, not bad. I had just watched 5 Masters of Death/Five Shaolin Masters as well, for the 20th time, still dug it, though guys killing each other at the same time mantis vs dragon claws is pretty silly. Even if you could puncture skin and some meat, you would not kill someone even with a garden rack just hitting them in the side. The Dragon claw snapping the neck, now that would fuck you up!

Edited August 30, 2020 by NoKUNGFUforYU

[lilmanjs]

Drunken Master. Not seen this in a long time, so it was pretty much like a first time viewing for me. The comedy works well, and seeing Jackie's character turn from I help people only after I've been beaten myself to a guy who saves the day out of the kindness of his heart is certainly a highlight. The training with the master is good fun though and easily the highlight of the movie aside from the end fight.

[DrNgor]

Three the Hard Way (1974) - Definitely a step up from Golden Needles, with three blaxploitation stars (Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly) teaming up to stop a white supremacist organization from poisoning the water supply with a chemical that's lethal to only black people (I assume theplot was sort of an inspiration for the tainted malt liquor in Black Dynamite). It's non-stop action (shoot-outs, car chases, car stunts, explosions, and karate) on a decent budget--Allied Artists had more money at their disposal than some of those smaller production companies. Kelly gets a handful of fight scenes, including one where he beats up almost a dozen corrupt cops. The fights aren't classic, but they're pretty fun. It also has a bizarre excuse for T&A in which a trio of dominatrixes torture information out of a bad guy, but not before taking their tops off.

[ShawAngela]

Deadly silver spear : I thought that I hadn't watched this one, but as soon as I saw Hu Chin, and later Hsu Feng playing a blind girl, I remembered that I had already watched it in the past.

Nice movie, but none of the two actresses had a fight !! And Chang Yi has only one fight at the end...

[paimeifist]

Revisited an old favorite of mine, hence the avatar change. Rebellious Reign - I can't say enough good about this movie, and while I wouldn't say it is "under rated", as those that have seen it know that it kicks ass, I feel it is overlooked compared to other classics. It is probably the most epic independently produced classic kung fu movie, featuring tons of extras, grand locations and sets. The story is actually very good, but even if it wasn't, its a straight fight fest and the fights are amazing. Featuring the best performance I've seen from Kwan Yeung Moon as a seriously RAGING villain, and Jimmy Lee kicks complete ass as the lead showing some serious versatility and skill. My only gripe with this movie is that it could have been made much better with a longer run time. We don't get to see Jimmy Lee's character rise in the ranks of the military, and something like 5-10 years goes by from the scene where he joins the Emperor to the scene where he shows his true motivation, and has amassed a huge following and army of his own.

Alan Chui has impressed me many times both as an action director, and on screen even though he is usually in smaller roles. I assume he was an opera performer due to his acrobatic skill. Does anyone know anything about this fella?

Anyway, I love this movie. If you haven't seen it, watch it, if you have seen it, watch it again!

[ShawAngela]

Tiger jump: What a TRUE GEM is this movie !!

Ii just finished to watch it and I write the review at once, it's a too good movie to be delayed in writing my thoughts and risking to forget the plot as I did for some movies I reviewed too long after watching them...

See you in the reviews section...

[ShawAngela]

I finally got a Mandarin version with English subtitles of Dragon Blows.

As for the original Mandarin vcd version I had got months (years ?) ago and in the English dubbed version too, if I remember well, the movie doesn't have the same beginning as in the French language version I had seen in the cinema and begins when Xiao Ping and her grandmother are running away from the killers, so that the movie only lasts for 1h 17mn, but at least, there are subtitles (even if there are whole sentences that aren't translated or partially translated) and there are some things that weren't very well explained in the dubbed versions that are a little bit clearer there.

As it was one of the first martial arts movie I watched as a teenager, if not the first one, it still has a special place in my heat and in my memory and I enjoyed it as much as before, even if it's the 5th or 6th tile I watch it...

[Liersi]

20 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

I finally got a Mandarin version with English subtitles of Dragon Blows.

As for the original Mandarin vcd version I had got months (years ?) ago and in the English dubbed version too, if I remember well, the movie doesn't have the same beginning as in the French language version I had seen in the cinema and begins when Xiao Ping and her grandmother are running away from the killers, so that the movie only lasts for 1h 17mn, but at least, there are subtitles (even if there are whole sentences that aren't translated or partially translated) and there are some things that weren't very well explained in the dubbed versions that are a little bit clearer there.

As it was one of the first martial arts movie I watched as a teenager, if not the first one, it still has a special place in my heat and in my memory and I enjoyed it as much as before, even if it's the 5th or 6th tile I watch it...

I love the personal detail you add to your impressions. Being a firm believer in perspective dynamics, these personal histories and circumstances are every bit as important as the film. It gives me a much better idea what to expect, so thank you. paimeifist just did the same thing, and it really helps put the impressions into perspective. The old English dubs are hell for me. They're terrible, but not funny terrible. Every film I've seen in the original or another better dub has improved. On the other hand I'm partial to old German dubs, so I'm not pointing fingers. We get used to a certain feeling, and we want that feeling. Like strawberry icecream.

Last night I watched Ninja Kids (1982). What an odd, odd experience. I'd never seen this before, but had expectations based on the players. Alexander Lo Rei (Luo Rui) is always a reliable, snappy striker. Venoms Lu Feng and Jiang Sheng guarantee excellent weapons work and acrobatics respectively, although Jiang Sheng doesn't get to do much. The choreography by Li Haixing is a very fun mixture of power fu and acrobatics. There's a bit of technical fencing, just enough to not make it a boxing match, and lots of focused striking. The fencing integrates well with the Venom style weapons work, and the acrobatics never defuse the aggression. So what's not to like? Somebody thought it all needed to be undercranked badly. All of it. Badly. Not a little bit, this is almost a Keystone cops farce. Too bad, the underlying mixture of acrobatics, kickboxing and some traditional fencing isn't deep, but very effective. The plot is unfortunately a meandering mess, killing the pace of the movie before it ever picks up momentum. It's ninjas, in China, from Japan, but really Chinese. There's a boy, who's a man, who's Chinese, but really Japanese, because there's a princess, or was, and the japanese Ninja who are chinese Ninja murdered people, but also defended her, and now we're in China and there's an old master teaching the boy who's a man, and he's really a prince. And then there's a really bad ninja who wants everyone dead because...well because. There's no need for any of this, and the script doesn't care. The film drags.

There are traces of the tokusatsu set and costume feel, and an overall episodic made for TV vibe to it all. The players and the action are lit, though, as the kids say. Everyone is on fire. Dudes get blasted across the screen when they get hit hard, I love that. Lu Feng is terrifying with two hammers, his weapons work is outstanding as always. There's immense energy transported through the action, a quality high on my list. Too bad about the convoluted plot and the undercranking.

[ShawAngela]

I got a Mandarin version of Furious Slaughter which doesn't look like the Hoker version...

Does anyone can tell me hos long is the English version of this movie ?

The version I got lasts for 1h24mn35s, but i noticed that there is a part that looks like if it was remastered in comparison to the rest of the movie.

And I'm still under the impression that there are cut scenes, since the movie suddenly jumps to something else for instance during a fight or a dialogue...

Aside of these remarks, I enjoyed the movie once again as much as the first times I watched it...