TheArtyDans Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 4/12/2020 at 10:19 PM, laagi said: I've enjoyed this more than I did IP MAN 4... there I said it! Felt fresh, different or maybe something I haven't seen in a long time. The slapstick and jokes are hit and miss; clearly not targeted at western audiences. The story is simple and quite oddly takes a rather abrupt and silly end. Again this probably fits the overall tone of the movie. But Donnie hasn't looked this good (no pun intended) on screen for a long time. I mean the action, my god it's incredible what the guy does while wearing a fat suit. Everyone seems to have a blast while not taking the whole thing too seriously. The last 10-20 minutes is just bad ass and when he finally uses the nunchucks, it's a wonderful homage not only to Bruce Lee but also Sammo Hung. Loved it, highly recommend! Initially I was thinking "whoa thats a big statemnt but then I reflected back on Ip Man 4 - and Donnie Yen is in 2.5 fighting scenes if I remember right, and one of those is interrupted by an earthquake. Juxtapose with ETFD and yeah, its obvious that it has more DY action But I cant bring myself to say it was better than Ipman 4 Let's see what Raging Fire can bring to the table. All that movie is missing is Wu Jing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member laagi Posted October 20, 2020 Member Share Posted October 20, 2020 @TheArtyDans Wu Jing is busy with chinese propaganda movies 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted April 13, 2023 Member Share Posted April 13, 2023 Hong Kong cinema is basically dead now, but this was made before that infamous law passed the following year to align Hong Kong films with Mainland rules. I love hearing Cantonese in a film and I am a fan of Donnie Yen. The name of this is taken from the 1978 Sammo Hung film, a better movie and Wikipedia is wrong, this is not a remake, though there are a few similar plot points like him working in the restaurant, sharing a love of Bruce Lee and well being Fat. This starts off so well that the eventual collapse of the movie is a disappointment. You have a consummate cop in Donnie Yen – he is so good (like Major Payne) that the bad guys cannot really do anything against him. Also, he is not as well liked as you think he would be (think The Incredibles). His relationship with an actress (Niki Chow) he is engaged to is going about as well as Fred MacMurry in The Absent-Minded Professor (this is such an old scenario). Though she does come off as more self-centered here (more worried about him married to his job than actually dying on the job). The early references to earlier films like SPL and Flashpoint made me think that this was going to be a lot more referential than it did. The script felt like it ran out of steam early. They break up, he gets demoted and turns to junk food. The film says he is 250 pounds, but even with that fat suit he does not look that big. Also, he is still an awesome fighter fat or skinny (you think he would worry about his back and/or knees). Maybe he should do a Roscoe Arbuckle biopic. But he has an opportunity to redeem himself by taking a suspect to Japan. You know this will not go well. It started going downhill with a fart gag. This is no Ozu and the flatulence gag lead to the death of a character – not the gas itself but started a chain of events. Hmm, I wonder if a serious film could make that work. But it starts feeling a bit too Wong Jing (he is Thor in the movie, should have been Sammo Hung), with the comedy. The Japanese police are a joke (obviously they could not get away with doing that with the Hong Kong police). The strength of the film is the fight scenes. They are nowhere near SPL, Flashpoint or Special ID, but they are still good. Yen has some great transitions here (going from one move to another, often mixing in some grappling techniques with well everything else). I just wish they would have been longer. Donnie Yen with nun-chucks is awesome. The ending on the Tokyo Tower overall is quite good, but a huge mistake in having the helicopter interfere too much. Sometimes fun, sometimes groin-induced, I mean groan-induced humor (well both technically) that is an OK film. But I’ll always watch Donnie Yen. Nice essay from City on Fire: https://bit.ly/3MASpqH Also disappointing is that there are no extras on the R1 release of this though on YouTube you can find a few short ones. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted April 15, 2023 Author Member Share Posted April 15, 2023 (edited) Great review, as always MasterofOneInchPunch. This is above average LNY material, thanks to Donnie and his action choreography. He made it stand out a bit with his overall input over with he had to work with. The result isn't all that bad. Edited April 21, 2023 by DiP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted February 4 Member Share Posted February 4 Late to the party (as usual), but I enjoyed this one. Reviewed it for "Month of the Dragon" - https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2024/02/enter-fat-dragon-2020.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted February 6 Member Share Posted February 6 I think this is still available on Tubi. Never have been able to pull the trigger on watching it. I might now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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