Unpopular opinion thread

[TheKungFuRobber]

15 hours ago, TheFlyingPanda said:

Man why do I love that movie... Perhaps nostalgia in my Youthful Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do days? When Will we see a Remastered Hitman in the Hand of Budda on Blu-Ray? 

I own the Eastern Heroes DVD, which has both the HK English dubbed version and the Korean version of the film. The picture quality is okay, but cropped to 1:78.1 so it seems. I've heard that the German DVD is remastered, but heavily cut to 72 minutes, so I didn't order it.

It would be nice to have a remastered Blu Ray of Hitman in the Hand of Buddha, because it is a popular film amongst old school martial arts movie fans. 

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

As far as recall, the German version just cuts the awful comedy bits with the beggar kids and stuff like that. Personally didn't miss that, but I haven't watched it in years.

[KUNG FU BOB]

On 1/12/2018 at 8:06 AM, ShaOW!linDude said:

I don't know that I'll ever get to see this, and you never know who might, so...spoilers, dude.

Good call @ShaOW!linDude. Too late for those that have already read it, but I've edited the posts to put that last bit in the "spoiler zone".

On 1/12/2018 at 10:58 AM, TheKungFuRobber said:

It's on YouTube to watch. I'd say check it out, it's a good film but much more emphasis on drama than solid martial arts. It's a very nice film all in all. Very touching, probably Hwang Jang Lee's finest work as a director.

@TheKungFuRobber , and everyone else that posts... please keep in mind that there are so many films and that many fans haven't seen everything that you have. So please, no spoilers. It doesn't matter how popular, old, or obvious a film is to you, if others haven't seen it, don't spoil it. Kung fu movies aren't typically known for their outstanding plots, so lets leave what little there may be to them as a surprise. @SMK and I made sure there was a "spoiler" feature here on the forum for just this reason, so you can freely discuss the films with those that have seen them, but without spoilers for those that haven't.

Here's how it works: after finishing typing your post, highlight the section that is a "spoiler", then click on the little "eyeball" icon in the tools band at the top of the text box- it's between the "smiley" icon and the "image" icon (square with mountains and sun). This will hide this section of your text unless someone clicks on it, like the following:

Spoiler

See? It's that easy.

Thanks!

[One Armed Boxer]

On ‎02‎-‎01‎-‎2018 at 4:53 AM, Iron_Leopard said:

3. Donnie Yen owes his 2005 and beyond career to Tony Jaa.

On ‎12‎-‎01‎-‎2018 at 9:16 PM, Drunken Monk said:

Can you explain this one? Do you just mean Tony Jaa reinvigorated the genre?

On ‎12‎-‎01‎-‎2018 at 9:46 PM, Iron_Leopard said:

Yeah that's all I really meant. Wasnt Donnie's career sort of in a rut at this point in time? I was always under the impression "SPL" was his answer to "Ong Buk". Competition is good for everyone. So without Jaa coming along and reigniting the genre Yen would probably still be making below average movies and occasionally having small roles in slightly better ones (Hero/Shanghi Knights).

So Tony basically forced Donnie to bring his A game.

It's true that in an interview with Yen in the leadup to SPL's release (unfortunately I don't remember exactly which publication I read it in), he said the reason he got involved in the production was to put HK cinema back on the map, because he felt that 'Ong Bak' had stolen its limelight. So in that regard it's not so much an unpopular opinion as it is a fact.

 

 

[Omni Dragon]

THE EIGHT DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER, MR. CANTON AND LADY ROSE and DRUNKEN MASTER II seem to often be considered some of the best martial art movies, but the last time I watched them I thought they were a bit less an than average to me personally.

I can't quite remember what exactly I disliked about DM II, but it did have me wondering am I going off martial art movies again?  

 EIGHT DIAGRAM; the acting seemed very stagy and OTT even for Shaw's standards which is even stranger when you think it came towards the end of the Shaw's era. I seem to remember, I wasn't to fond of how the plot played out either really.

MR. CANTON; I'd heard that this one was a response to Jackie being criticised as a filmmaker beyond action and how this one top the criticism. I'm not sure hearing that helped, because one of the things people emphasised was how good the camerawork was.This probably added to me thinking how the camerawork feels forced. I found how Jackie naively becomes the head of a gang irritating and left me wondering, why does Chan always have to make himself goody two-shoes even if it doesn't seem to fit the story. The movie left me thinking; it's one of those Hong Kong action movies were they try to do a more ambitious plot, but didn't pull it off that well and maybe they should have just stuck to the usual action packed style?

[andy338]

I do enjoy Drunken Master 2 as the fights really are superb however I do think there is a weirdness to it in that Jackie is still trying to play the naughty young student character from the first film despite being 40! I can't remember the exact age differences but Anita Mui playing his mum/aunt was younger than Jackie & the guy playing his dad was I think just a few years older & it's that that spoils it a little for me. 

[Omni Dragon]

Yes, Ti Lung is only about 7 years, 8 months older than JC and Anita Mui is about 9 years, 6 months younger. Mui is playing his stepmother, so it's slightly more plausible but still odd.

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

Let's get real, Jackie is incredibly vain. Having his pick of nubile starlets who want to succeed and groupies tends to do that. He probably believed he looked in his 20's when he made DM2. Still entertaining in parts.

[Koravec]

On 1/27/2016 at 7:24 AM, Drunken Monk said:

Inspired by another thread on here, what kung fu movie opinions do you have that go against the grain? Do you have a point of view that people never agree with when it comes to martial arts films? Do you think Hwang Jang Lee was a terrible kicker? Do you think Jackie Chan has always been a hack?

What are some of your less-than-popular opinions?

Oh and let's keep it civil, ladies and gents. This is just a bit of fun.

Since I'm starting the thread, it;s only fair I post one: Bruce Lee only has two good films ("Fist of Fury" and "Enter the Dragon"). The rest go from mediocre ("Way of the Dragon") to unfortunate ("Game of Death") to damn near unwatchable ("The Big Boss").

I'm definitely one to have unpopular opinions so I guess Ill start here.  

I find the whole Fist of Fury concept entirely overplayed. That found the original film great when I watched it, but every subsequential film relating to that concept afterward made me lose all interest in even the original film (ok, The Return of Chen Zhen is an interesting watch, though very strangely unnecessary). And yes I too think Jackie was far too old to reprise his role in Drunken Master II, whose scenes actually made me feel uncomfortable (particularly the weird punishment and family scenes), I also felt Jet was too old to play Fist of Legend. (also not much of a Jet fan, especially in his later career (Unleashed has some hectic fights though).

I actually find Way of the Dragon to be the pretty unwatchable Bruce movie (though I doubt that's too unpopular), always figured Id go back to it, but never actually had the urge to get back into the story.

I actually find The Big Boss to be essential martial arts viewing (perhaps biased as it being the first proper kung flick I ever saw) as boring as it may be. The plot is so simple and perfect for its time. Its essential martial viewing, though not as much for understanding Bruce Lee I suppose. The action choreography is almost absent, opting instead for weird and primitive spring board jumping scenes closely shot and cut short. Though despite this, the way tension is built up is outstanding in my opinion, theres such a tense sort of suspense built up for the antagonist that leaves you genuinely intimidated and on the edge of your seat, at least to me. 

I find Enter The Dragon almost unwatchable for multiple viewings in some ways that it feels way overproduced. Its amazing the film came together the way it did, but it feels so overproduced and commercialized as to overly exploit Chinese kung fu and the film genre (yeah that's what its purpose was), and because of this and its silly plot, is less interesting to me.

but all in all, I suppose Id agree with your statement, Big Boss really doesn't translate all that well to a contemporary audience

Police Story 2>Police Story 1 (been a while but I believe I thought Project A 2 and even Fearless Hyena 2 better)

Ong Bak 2>Ong Bak 1

The Raid 2>The Raid

Game of Death 2>Game of Death   (GD 2 is one of my all time favs though)

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen>Fist of Legend

John Wick 2>John Wick

On 3/8/2017 at 12:08 PM, KenHashibe said:

This is a big one: I haven't finished Seven Samurai. I've tried watching it maybe three times and the furthest I've gotten through it is maybe halfway. Just the first half that I've seen felt like 5 hours. I love the hell out of Rashomon though!

I don't care for House of Flying Daggers that much. I don't know why. It looks stunning, but I just don't care for it. I think a lot of that has to do with the acting. I notice in a lot of Zhang Yimou's movies, the acting isn't good or bad. Instead, the actors say their lines as deadpan and emotionless as physically possible. That might just be me.

Despite me liking Hero so far, I haven't finished it. Probably for the reasons I don't care for House of Flying Daggers.

I think other people have mentioned this before, but I think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is boring as hell. I did finish it though. The fights are amazing and it looks beautiful, but it feels like it's 4 hours long.

Another unpopular opinion: Crippled Avengers might be my least favorite Venom Mob movies. It's still not a bad movie whatsoever and it has a lot of fun moments, but I thought it was fine overall.

Ill start off by saying that Crippled Avengers blows my mind watching them do all those acrobatics, literally jaw dropping scenes.

As for the rest, I wonder how many of us here actually actively watch All of the many period dramas that have consistently been put out in modern years. I don't think that's why we're all here, to watch boring period dramas posed as great epics which you have little to no emotional reaction to (contrary to what they're probably supposed to do with their long sweeping violin scened soundtracks). I may be wrong about that, but I think we're all mostly here for our love of classic fu flicks, and the fun and enjoyment those bring as opposed to the gigantic war epic sleepers which can make even Jackie Chan boring as hell if given a role in one (even though I love seeing Jackie draped in ancient robes and long hair).

[Omni Dragon]

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 6:34 PM, masterofoneinchpunch said:

Hmmm, Taxi Driver with the old English dub crew.  "You talkin' to me" would take on all new dimensions.  

[Rodolphe Dux]

I know this is highly unpopular, but I don't get the hype for "The Raid" movies, they sound like boring garbage movies to me. The directing sucks and the fight scenes are so damn lame and badly shot. I'll take "Headshot" or "The night comes for us" any day over those 2. To each his own I guess. Go ahead you can spit on me! 😁

Edited April 15, 2019 by Rodolphe Dux

[Drunken Monk]

4 hours ago, Rodolphe Dux said:

I know this is highly unpopular, but I don't get the hype for "The Raid" movies, they sound like boring garbage movies to me The directing sucks and the fight scene are so damn lame and badly shot. I'll take "Headshot" or "The night comes for us" any day over those 2. To each his own I guess. Go ahead you can spit on me! 😁

 

[Rodolphe Dux]

1 hour ago, Drunken Monk said:

 

Edited April 15, 2019 by Rodolphe Dux

[Rodolphe Dux]

Are you ready, folks?

This will really hurts a LOT of feelings, but I must tell my truth.

Yeah, Drunken Master 2 sucks donkey balls, big time. I mean the script is lame, Chan overracts, Anita Mui overracts, the directing is so lame it hurts and let's write about the script, there is none except two lines of rubbish bullshits wrote on toilet paper.

As for the fights, they're below average, I mean it could be cool, with a real rythm if the editing and framing didn't suck ass.

Now go ahead, bring on baseball bats and crowbars and beat me, I still don't like it 😂

Edited April 19, 2019 by Rodolphe Dux

[paimeifist]

Inspired by @JackieRome and @DrNgor

 

I think Chinese Super Ninjas sucks. I have always felt it is Chang Cheh “going off the rails” with his usual odd style cranked to the max. The silly and weird costumes, nigh homosexual undertones, unreasonable blood, etc.

The Japanese vs Chinese bit has been done better many times. It ventures in to camp territory a bit much for me. I’ve always felt that he made the movie without the audience in mind. I don’t think the action is any better than other Venoms movies, and fail to see why it is so highly regarded.

Edited May 6, 2020 by paimeifist

[JackieRome]

42 minutes ago, paimeifist said:

Inspired by @JackieRome and @DrNgor

 

I think Chinese Super Ninjas sucks. I have always felt it is Chang Cheh “going off the rails” with his usual odd style cranked to the max. The silly and weird costumes, nigh homosexual undertones, unreasonable blood, etc.

The Japanese vs Chinese bit has been done better many times. It ventures in to camp territory a bit much for me. I’ve always felt that he made the movie without the audience in mind. I don’t think the action is any better than other Venoms movies, and fail to see why it is so highly regarded.

This is the right section to write negative comments while in the other topic only positive opinions should be written? I should probably only write here for many people. 

saving Lau Kar leung's films I consider the choreography of all the other Shaw's films "almost" always ballets and the costumes of carnival masks. Those fucking wigs and those goddamn fake weapons made out of silver paper, I can't stand them.

I still enjoy seeing them and getting bored even though I don't like them. I always hope there's that little thing to save. 

Then everybody talks about these Venoms all the time. I've seen 1-2 of their films and the fighting didn't convince me. there's a reason we're still talking about Jackie and Sammo today and very few people (apart from a few Americans and English out of time) know who the fuck they are. They may be fast but they are always weird choreographies, where there is little contact, jumps and trampolines, cables ... I find them ridiculous but still funny.

I see that there is also bad talk here about Drunken Master 2, so I understand that you can say everything without fear.

An easy example to show how cool some movies are only for small minorities: take a 20-year-old boy and show him Drunken Master 2 and a Shaw Brothers movie at random... I can tell you with mathematical certainty where he'll laugh at the exaggerations and the fiction of the scenes and where he'll be amazed. 

Sorry, I had to say that.

Edited May 6, 2020 by JackieRome

[Drunken Monk]

Bruce Li’s five best films are better than Bruce Lee’s filmography.

[DrNgor]

1 hour ago, JackieRome said:

This is the right section to write negative comments while in the other topic only positive opinions should be written? I should probably only write here for many people.

You are entitled to your opinion. We all are. But anyone who rails against "conventional wisdom" and "established classics," especially when they double down on it in every post they make, will inevitably get the attention of others and have their opinions set up for debate.

[DrNgor]

3 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Bruce Li’s five best films are better than Bruce Lee’s filmography.

You and @One Armed Boxer are like blood brothers or something.

[DragonClaws]

3 hours ago, paimeifist said:

Inspired by @JackieRome and @DrNgor

 

I think Chinese Super Ninjas sucks. I have always felt it is Chang Cheh “going off the rails” with his usual odd style cranked to the max. The silly and weird costumes, nigh homosexual undertones, unreasonable blood, etc.

The Japanese vs Chinese bit has been done better many times. It ventures in to camp territory a bit much for me. I’ve always felt that he made the movie without the audience in mind. I don’t think the action is any better than other Venoms movies, and fail to see why it is so highly regarded.

 

I've been meaning to review this title for year's now, I think I'll have to dust of my Blu-Ray copy soon.

 

You make some very interesting points, I got some new takes on Chang Cheh's cinematic output recently. After hearing Quentin Tarantino's opinions/views, during a recent Pod-Cast apperance he made.

 

Pure Cinema Pod-Cast

Link- https://thenewbev.com/blog/2020/04/pure-cinema-podcast-with-quentin-tarantino/

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by DragonClaws

[ShawAngela]

2 hours ago, JackieRome said:

This is the right section to write negative comments while in the other topic only positive opinions should be written? I should probably only write here for many people. 

I don't think that I'm concerned !

[ShawAngela]

I just took a look to this thread without really reading every post, and I saw that someone here says that Fist of Legend isn't a good movie...

Wow !! For me, it's a superb one, but, to each his opinion, of course !

[DrNgor]

1 hour ago, ShawAngela said:

Wow !! For me, it's a superb one, but, to each his opinion, of course !

Yeah, negative opinions of Drunken Master 2, Fist of Legend and Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin are very painful for me to read. People are entitled to have them, but it doesn't make them hurt any less for me to read.

Edited May 6, 2020 by DrNgor

[paimeifist]

29 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

Yeah, negative opinions of Drunken Master 2, Fist of Legend and Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin are very painful for me to read. People are entitled to have them, but it doesn't make them hurt any less for me to read.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If their opinion happens to be that Drunken Master 2 or Fist of Legend aren't good, than their opinion just sucks.

 

 

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

"There is a point when a personal opinion shades off into an error of fact. When you say The Valachi Papers is a better film than The Godfather, you are wrong." 

-Film critic Gene Siskel-