Member KenHashibe Posted August 28, 2014 Member Share Posted August 28, 2014 What are the best/worst HK movie climaxes? They’re a lot of them and quite a number of them are great. Here are a couple of my favorites: Best hand-to-hand/one-on-one: Drunken Master 1 and 2 (1978/1994) Gorgeous (1999) Martial Club (1981) The Prodigal Son (1981) Best weapons: Five Element Ninjas (1982) Magnificent Ruffians (1979) Best wire-fu: Fong Sai Yuk (1994) Once Upon a Time in China 1 and 2 (1991/1993) Tai Chi Master (1993) Best gun-fu: Hard Boiled (1992) Most exhilarating: The Longest Nite (1998) Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) Most creative: Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (1991) Iron Monkey (1993) Miracles (1989) Funniest: Fight Back to School 3 (1993) Worst(?!): I don’t know. What do you think? It’s kind of hard to mess up a climax. Man, I hope I got all of those years correct. What are your favorites/least favorites? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted August 28, 2014 Member Share Posted August 28, 2014 Swordsman with an Umbrella is without a doubt the best worst climax/final fight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted August 31, 2014 Member Share Posted August 31, 2014 in gunplay, better tomorrow 2 is finest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted September 1, 2014 Author Member Share Posted September 1, 2014 in gunplay, better tomorrow 2 is finest. I'm still going to have to give it to Hard Boiled for gun-play. A Better Tomorrow 2 is great, but I thought Hard Boiled was more exciting and it almost felt like you were there in the hospital. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 I'm still going to have to give it to Hard Boiled for gun-play. A Better Tomorrow 2 is great, but I thought Hard Boiled was more exciting and it almost felt like you were there in the hospital. You might be right about that, it`s been about 10 years since I saw hardboiled but I recall end shootout lasted close to 30 mins? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 Fist of the White Lotus could be one of the worst, and honestly so could the 36th Chamber, at least compared to how great the rest of the movies are. On the other hand, Dirty Ho is one of the best climaxes, Lo Lieh is too sick with the Guandao. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted September 2, 2014 Author Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 Fist of the White Lotus could be one of the worst, and honestly so could the 36th Chamber, at least compared to how great the rest of the movies are. On the other hand, Dirty Ho is one of the best climaxes, Lo Lieh is too sick with the Guandao. I actually liked the endings of both White Lotus and 36th Chamber, but they're both disappointingly short and definitely aren't the best parts of each movie. Dirty Ho has a fantastic climax but I think my favorite fight from the movie was Gordon Liu's fight against Wang Lung Wei and Hsiao Hou. I'm going to add some more to Most Creative: Naughty Boys (1986) Nightlife Hero (1992) Does anyone have anything for funniest? I'd probably say the climaxes to Fearless Hyena, Kung Fu Hustle, and Love on Delivery. The one I think is the absolute funniest is Fight Back to School 3. Seriously, that was freaking hilarious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 ...Most exhilarating: The Longest Nite (1998) Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) ... If you have seen what did you think of the similar sequence in Mad Detective? Both this, Enter the Dragon and The Longest Nite are all influenced by Lady from Shanghai sequence. Best hand-to-hand/one-on-one: I love The Young Master climax. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 Does anyone have anything for funniest? I doubt you'll find anything funnier than Swordsman with an Umbrella. But there's also Clash of the Ninjas, Ninja Terminator and Young Master. Most creative- Shaolin Prince and Buddha Assassinator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 I'm trying to think of the best finales, and the usuals come to mind, HK Godfather, The Challenger, Fearless Young Boxer, The Victim, Little Superman, Fist of Legend, Fearless Dragons, Flash Point, The Sword 1980, Rebellious Reign, Master Killers... but most of my favorite fights aren't finales. My favorite fight scene is towards the end of Killer's Nocturne where Chin Siu Ho has a wild brawl with some thugs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ToryK Posted September 3, 2014 Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 I'm still going to have to give it to Hard Boiled for gun-play. A Better Tomorrow 2 is great, but I thought Hard Boiled was more exciting and it almost felt like you were there in the hospital. I'm a Hard Boiled fanatic, but as I've gotten older, I've tended to gravitate towards The Killer more. It's just a better movie. Hard Boiled's ending is huge, but it lacks the tight focus of The Killer's ending or A Better Tomorrow 2's. They're shorter and the highlights aren't as spaced out, whereas with Hard Boiled, Woo seemed to be going for "bigger is better", and I think it kinda suffers for it. I'll have to think of what my favorite finales are. KenHashibe mentioned Naughty Boys; that was a pretty shitty movie, but the finale was excellent, an absolute blast. That's a good one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted September 3, 2014 Author Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 If you have seen what did you think of the similar sequence in Mad Detective? Both this, Enter the Dragon and The Longest Nite are all influenced by Lady from Shanghai sequence. Best hand-to-hand/one-on-one: I love The Young Master climax. I haven't seen Mad Detective, but I'm sure I will someday. I didn't know that these were inspired by Lady from Shanghai. That's pretty interesting, and yes, Young Master has a fantastic climax and I think it should also be considered one of the funniest because of Jackie's persistence to win. I'll update the list soon; It's going to be a long list. I doubt you'll find anything funnier than Swordsman with an Umbrella. But there's also Clash of the Ninjas, Ninja Terminator and Young Master. Most creative- Shaolin Prince and Buddha Assassinator. Swordsman with an Umbrella is pretty funny. The sword fighting isn't terrible (I've seen worse), but the low production values and awful dialogue make it pretty hilarious. I think another hilarious ending is for Ninja Masters of Death. It's so horrendous yet funny. I haven't gotten around to watching Shaolin Prince yet and I'd consider Buddha Assassinator a great one-on-one fight instead of a very creative fight. When I think of creative, I think of Miracles. I'm trying to think of the best finales, and the usuals come to mind, HK Godfather, The Challenger, Fearless Young Boxer, The Victim, Little Superman, Fist of Legend, Fearless Dragons, Flash Point, The Sword 1980, Rebellious Reign, Master Killers... but most of my favorite fights aren't finales. My favorite fight scene is towards the end of Killer's Nocturne where Chin Siu Ho has a wild brawl with some thugs. There are many great choices here. I forgot to mention The Victim, though I'm kind of distracted by the under-cranking, but the first time I saw it, I flipped out. Some of my favorite fights aren't the finales either. I loved Yuen Biao vs Lam Ching Ying/Wei Pai vs Yuen Miu in Magnificent Butcher and Chin Siu Ho vs Jet Li in Fist of Legend. The end fight in Killer's Nocturne is pretty extreme. There's a crappy-looking fight with a kangaroo in there too. I'm a Hard Boiled fanatic, but as I've gotten older, I've tended to gravitate towards The Killer more. It's just a better movie. Hard Boiled's ending is huge, but it lacks the tight focus of The Killer's ending or A Better Tomorrow 2's. They're shorter and the highlights aren't as spaced out, whereas with Hard Boiled, Woo seemed to be going for "bigger is better", and I think it kinda suffers for it. I'll have to think of what my favorite finales are. KenHashibe mentioned Naughty Boys; that was a pretty shitty movie, but the finale was excellent, an absolute blast. That's a good one. I praise Hard Boiled for its overall exhilaration. It's not John Woo's best but I still love the action and set-pieces which take up most of the movie. I agree that Naughty Boys is kind of crap, but the action is incredible. I probably won't watch the movie again, but I'll return to the finale many more times. I find that some of the action-comedies produced by JC are crap too. I thought Inspector Wears Skirts was entertaining crap while Naughty Boys was just crap. I haven't seen IWS 2, but from what I've heard, I think I should be glad. I'm surprised you didn't mention Wheels on Meals considering the gif you included. I'd say it's a great fight also. The original English dub has some pretty funky music to go along with it. Woah! This is a long post! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted September 3, 2014 Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 I have to disagree with Buddha Assassinator not being a creative fight. The way Hwang Jang Lee is rolling around on the ground sleeping and fighting at the same time is one of the most unique things I've ever seen. I put it up there with Leung Kar Yan vs. Yuen Shun Yi in Dreadnaught as the most creative fight. The funniest part in the finale of Swordsman with an Umbrella is the slow mo. No slow mo was actually used. They just tried to fake it by having the actors move really slow. I"m not kidding. I don't think I've seen Ninja Masters of Death. Does it have a ninja blowing up at the end? What about the best brutal final fight? I'm thinking HK Godfather and Killer in White aka Shadow Ninja. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted September 3, 2014 Author Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 I have to disagree with Buddha Assassinator not being a creative fight. The way Hwang Jang Lee is rolling around on the ground sleeping and fighting at the same time is one of the most unique things I've ever seen. I put it up there with Leung Kar Yan vs. Yuen Shun Yi in Dreadnaught as the most creative fight. The funniest part in the finale of Swordsman with an Umbrella is the slow mo. No slow mo was actually used. They just tried to fake it by having the actors move really slow. I"m not kidding. I don't think I've seen Ninja Masters of Death. Does it have a ninja blowing up at the end? What about the best brutal final fight? I'm thinking HK Godfather and Killer in White aka Shadow Ninja. I would usually call a fight creative based on its use of its surroundings. That's why I loved the rope factory fight in Miracles and the car repair shop fight in Nightlife Hero. The fight from Buddha Assassinator is still incredible though and I'm sure a lot of creativity would be needed to make a fight so long yet so complex. I believe you about Swordsman with an Umbrella. I noticed there's a scene at the end when the scar man is climbing up a hill and it takes him about 28 seconds (I counted). Then the dialogue is laughably bad (i.e. So you scar man?). Ninja Masters of Death has a death scene which I can't describe. I'm sure if you saw it, you'd recognize it. Here's a link: E-pmpnyiuKA I remember a ninja explodes at the end of Ninja Terminator though. Moon Lee vs Oshima Yukari from Angel immediately comes to mind when I hear brutal final fights. I'm sure there are crazier fights out there. I agree with you about HK Godfather. Usually I'm more of an "action-comedies guy" and brutal films usually aren't my thing, but there are some that I do enjoy. I thought Crime Story has probably Jackie's most brutal fight scenes and some of his most realistic. I'm going to be very broad here: How about most awesome climax? Tiger on the Beat is the first thing that comes to mind. Chow Yun Fat with a gun is always cool. A sword fight between Conan Lee and Gordon Liu is in there too...but instead swords, they use freaking chainsaws. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted September 3, 2014 Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 I haven't seen Mad Detective, but I'm sure I will someday. I didn't know that these were inspired by Lady from Shanghai. That's pretty interesting, and yes, Young Master has a fantastic climax and I think it should also be considered one of the funniest because of Jackie's persistence to win. I'll update the list soon; It's going to be a long list. ... Lady from Shanghai is not quite up there with the best of Orson Welles, but it is an important and worthy watch and also quite influential on directors such as Johnnie To. The mirror scene in that film is one of the more famous scenes from Hollywood cinema. It is on (for those who want to rewatch it), but it is a spoiler for those who have not seen it. When I think of other good climaxes from Johnnie To I also think of Exiled with that great gun battle. I would put it up there with Hardboiled (still one of my favorite ending gun battles of all-time) or the melodramatic ferver of The Killer, but still quite good. While not quite the ending (though possibly considered the climax), the pickpocketing duel in Sparrow is among my favorite scenes of all-time. The ending to Tiger on the Beat was awesome, so no complaints here. Great now I want to complain about melodramatic endings after thinking about The Price of Love from a different post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted September 3, 2014 Author Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 Lady from Shanghai is not quite up there with the best of Orson Welles, but it is an important and worthy watch and also quite influential on directors such as Johnnie To. The mirror scene in that film is one of the more famous scenes from Hollywood cinema. It is on (for those who want to rewatch it), but it is a spoiler for those who have not seen it. Now I'm thinking about how much I love the mirror scene from The Longest Nite. That was really inventive. You can find it on YouTube. It has some major spoilers for those of you who haven't seen it. Trust me. Just watch the whole movie, it's excellent. Great now I want to complain about melodramatic endings after thinking about The Price of Love from a different post. That's okay. There are some melodramatic endings I hate too. I'm sure there are some who may disagree, but I hated the ending of My Heart is That Eternal Rose. Without spoiling it, I don't think the ending made too much sense or really even worked along with the story. By a technical standout, the editing is pretty awful up to the point where I couldn't tell who was shooting who. Too much blood in the squibs and a car explodes for no reason. Just because an ending's risky that doesn't mean it's good. I loved the ending of Expect the Unexpected because it fit the theme of the movie and after watching it a second one, I realized it was the right ending to go with. Speaking of which, Expect the Unexpected would probably be on a list of the most shocking climaxes (behind The Longest Nite though). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted September 3, 2014 Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 ... I loved the ending of Expect the Unexpected because it fit the theme of the movie and after watching it a second one, I realized it was the right ending to go with. Speaking of which, Expect the Unexpected would probably be on a list of the most shocking climaxes (behind The Longest Nite though). I'm still not sure how much I like that ending. It is, of course, ironic given the context of the Mainland robbers in the film, though exactly what the title states. Unfortunately I saw it coming and was a little irked by it. Not sure what aesthetics annoyed me exactly, but there was something that put me off. Though I still appreciate it more than the endings of Running On Karma or Yesterday Once More (going through my Johnnie To notes right now; I noticed in my writing I wasn't too kind of the ending of All About Ah Long either). Have you seen Sparrow (I highly recommend both that and Mad Detective which has a very good MOC (Masters of Cinema) DVD release)? I still need to see My Heart is That Eternal Rose so I cannot comment on that one (just checked prices on Amazon for used yikes.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted September 3, 2014 Author Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 I'm still not sure how much I like that ending. It is, of course, ironic given the context of the Mainland robbers in the film, though exactly what the title states. Unfortunately I saw it coming and was a little irked by it. Not sure what aesthetics annoyed me exactly, but there was something that put me off. Though I still appreciate it more than the endings of Running On Karma or Yesterday Once More (going through my Johnnie To notes right now; I noticed in my writing I wasn't too kind of the ending of All About Ah Long either). Have you seen Sparrow (I highly recommend both that and Mad Detective which has a very good MOC (Masters of Cinema) DVD release)? I still need to see My Heart is That Eternal Rose so I cannot comment on that one (just checked prices on Amazon for used yikes.) I didn't see the ending of Expect the Unexpected coming. The first time I saw it was in the theater and I was wondering if I was seeing things right. While going home, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but I was lucky enough to buy it at a book sale at the library. I re-watched it and ended up appreciating it more. I haven't seen Sparrow, but my local library has it (there's a lot of Chinese in the area, my library's awesome), so I'll pick it up the next time I go. Also, you shouldn't be surprised by the prices on Amazon. A lot of new (sometimes used) HK movie DVD's cost more than expected (sometimes $90). Heck, even a VHS for that movie costs almost $20! I haven't seen Running on Karma either, but the movie (and Andy Lau) looks freaky. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted September 3, 2014 Member Share Posted September 3, 2014 I would usually call a fight creative based on its use of its surroundings. That's why I loved the rope factory fight in Miracles and the car repair shop fight in Nightlife Hero. The fight from Buddha Assassinator is still incredible though and I'm sure a lot of creativity would be needed to make a fight so long yet so complex. I see what you are saying now. But that's part of the reason why Assassinator is such a unique fight. The fact that they were able to create so much out of nothing. But when using the surroundings in a fight, there's no doubt Jackie Chan was the king. That Ninja Masters of Death scene was great. That guy must have been using some high level ninja magic to burn the body so fast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted November 9, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 9, 2014 I thought Inspector Wears Skirts was entertaining crap while Naughty Boys was just crap. I haven't seen IWS 2, but from what I've heard, I think I should be glad. I came to the 'Inspectors Wears Skirts' series pretty late on, and expected plenty of dumb comedy interspersed with some solid 80's action. Sadly I thought they were complete crap, the first one opens and closes strongly, which almost make it worth a watch, however I found the middle to just drag and drag. 'Inspectors Wear Skirts 2' was pretty much unwatchable, it doesn't even come with any decent action. On the otherhand, I actually enjoyed 'Naughty Boys', and found its silliness to be charming in that old Hong Kong 80's style. I have to disagree with Buddha Assassinator not being a creative fight. The way Hwang Jang Lee is rolling around on the ground sleeping and fighting at the same time is one of the most unique things I've ever seen. I've never seen this movie, but the fight scene sounds similar to the sleeping style used by one of the characters in 'Last Hurrah for Chivalry', made 3 years earlier, do you think it was probably inspired by this? When I think of other good climaxes from Johnnie To I also think of Exiled with that great gun battle. I would put it up there with Hardboiled (still one of my favorite ending gun battles of all-time) or the melodramatic ferver of The Killer, but still quite good. 'Exiled' was the first Johnny To movie I ever saw, and I went into it under completely the wrong impression, thanks to the western marketing tactics playing it up to be in the style of a John Woo movie like 'Hard Boiled' and 'The Killer'. I was pretty disappointed when the gun fight in question lasts as long as a soft drink can being thrown into the air and falling back to the ground, but I think if I re-watched it now (which I probably should) I'd be able to appreciate it a lot more. I've never been able to get fully into To since then though, the movie of his I most enjoyed (from what I've seen) would have to be 'Drug War', followed by 'Throw Down'. I'm sure there are some who may disagree, but I hated the ending of My Heart is That Eternal Rose. Without spoiling it, I don't think the ending made too much sense or really even worked along with the story. By a technical standout, the editing is pretty awful up to the point where I couldn't tell who was shooting who. Too much blood in the squibs and a car explodes for no reason. I'm going to be one of the ones that has to disagree. I love this movie, including the ending, a brief but intense heroic bloodshed shootout lensed by Christopher Doyle, what more could you want!? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted November 9, 2014 Member Share Posted November 9, 2014 The sleeping style in Buddha Assassinator is definitely a nod to Last Hurrah. Chin Yuet San uses sleeping style in Last Hurrah, and in Buddha Assassinator he has to defeat the sleeping style. Similar style used in both movies, but in Assassinator they explore it much further. And Naughty Boys rocks. I love my pink VCD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted November 9, 2014 Author Member Share Posted November 9, 2014 I came to the 'Inspectors Wears Skirts' series pretty late on, and expected plenty of dumb comedy interspersed with some solid 80's action. Sadly I thought they were complete crap, the first one opens and closes strongly, which almost make it worth a watch, however I found the middle to just drag and drag. 'Inspectors Wear Skirts 2' was pretty much unwatchable, it doesn't even come with any decent action. On the otherhand, I actually enjoyed 'Naughty Boys', and found its silliness to be charming in that old Hong Kong 80's style. I thought the first Inspector Wears Skirts was dumb, fun, entertaining crap. And I refuse to watch IWS 2 unless I have absolutely nothing else to watch (which means almost...never). The action is definitely the highlight of Naughty Boys, but I didn't like the rest of the movie. The setup was pretty creative but I mainly only liked the action including that incredible finale. I'm going to be one of the ones that has to disagree. I love this movie, including the ending, a brief but intense heroic bloodshed shootout lensed by Christopher Doyle, what more could you want!? I know a lot of people who like this movie, but I didn't. Kenny Bee was one heck of a boring lead and the relationship between him and Joey Wong is pretty bland too. There are a few very interesting moments, mainly the scenes with Tony Leung who is probably the best thing about this movie. I would even say he was excellent in this movie. I'll make a more in-depth review when I start my series of video reviews, I think we can all agree that this movie has a fantastic trailer. This trailer makes me want to love it, but I don't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 6, 2021 Member Share Posted May 6, 2021 The Old Master was pretty bad. Yu Jim-Yuen had no business being in a martial arts movie, bearing in mind that he was the same age as Kwan Tak-Hing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.