Kozo says that "Exceptional - even brilliant - action make this eighties HK actioner a minor masterpiece." LHKF readers voted it the 65th best Hong Kong movie of the 80's. The question, however, remains: is it any good?
THE GOOD: THIS IS A HONG KONG MOVIE! Dangerous deeds of derring-do are deftly done! The heroes are utterly righteous. The villains mix moral nihilism with sadism in just the right measure. When the heavy stuff gets too heavy, the filmmakers leaven our load with gratuitous buffoonsmanship. The drama isn't just drama, it's melodrama!
THE BAD: THIS IS A HONG KONG MOVIE! The plot is full of holes. Thematic pontification masquerades as dialogue. Stunt performers masquerade as actors and actresses. Gratuitous buffoonsmanship bogs the story down. The drama isn't drama, it's melodrama.
THE SKINNY: This kind of stuff is an acquired taste. If you've acquired the taste, go nuts. If not, skip it.
Miscellaneous Observations: Yuen Biao clearly has a things against groins. Watching him punch that Triad boss square in the junk was awesome. Watching him kick Cynthia Rothrock in a very special place, where no gentleman should ever kick a lady, was disturbing. Cynthia Rothrock was and probably still is a trooper; she gets rhymes-with-stunt punted by Yuen Biao and then, later on, some other, blonde, high-kicking "gweilo" lady nails her right in the mammaries. Yuen Biao's flying scissors do not disappoint.
THE GOOD: THIS IS A HONG KONG MOVIE! Dangerous deeds of derring-do are deftly done! The heroes are utterly righteous. The villains mix moral nihilism with sadism in just the right measure. When the heavy stuff gets too heavy, the filmmakers leaven our load with gratuitous buffoonsmanship. The drama isn't just drama, it's melodrama!
THE BAD: THIS IS A HONG KONG MOVIE! The plot is full of holes. Thematic pontification masquerades as dialogue. Stunt performers masquerade as actors and actresses. Gratuitous buffoonsmanship bogs the story down. The drama isn't drama, it's melodrama.
THE SKINNY: This kind of stuff is an acquired taste. If you've acquired the taste, go nuts. If not, skip it.
Miscellaneous Observations: Yuen Biao clearly has a things against groins. Watching him punch that Triad boss square in the junk was awesome. Watching him kick Cynthia Rothrock in a very special place, where no gentleman should ever kick a lady, was disturbing. Cynthia Rothrock was and probably still is a trooper; she gets rhymes-with-stunt punted by Yuen Biao and then, later on, some other, blonde, high-kicking "gweilo" lady nails her right in the mammaries. Yuen Biao's flying scissors do not disappoint.
