Reviewed by:
Emaxx EMAXX...
A SOLID EPISODE IN KUNG FU ENTERTAINMENT.
this movie is loaded with star power , however , a significant proportion of that star power is un-used or simply under-utilised....
Nontheless , this movie is one for the collector's rack........IT IS THAT GOOD!
WANG TAO ; CHANG YI ; LUNG FEI (cameo) ;CHI KUAN CHUN ;WANG KWAN KWAN HSIANG .........Not much much more to ask for ,if you are looking for solid kung fu entertainment........
The story comprises :
betrayal , poison murder ,stabbing ,bone-crunching ,snake-biting ,stealing and of course last but certainly not least ....DEATH BY MARTIAL ARTS.
All ingredients for a great film , SHAOLIN KUNG FU MASTER IS JUST THAT..although CHANG YI fought only twice in the film , The movie succeeded in imparting it's message of NO TRUST and NOR FRIENDSHIP where money is involved to it's audience ..
some nice fights and a cast to make you run out and order this one.....
please get this movie , it is part and parcel of what the kung fu genre is all about ----GREAT KUNG FU---.
to all you SHAW BROS. fans, this is for you also...too much GORDON LIU or WANG LUNG WEI can dampen the appwetite for kung fu entertainment ( my opinion).......
this is a refreshing change.
this is an " A " .
A MUST HAVE...
EMAXX(audley )
Reviewed by:
ironfistedmonk2003 With rebellion rife and the fall of the Ching Dynasty imminent, a Manchu Prince (played by all time villain hall of famer Chang Yi) orders his 5 bodyguards known as "The Invincible" to take his gold out of the capital and hide it at a secret location where he will meet them in 10 days time, an appointment which was never kept. The Invincibles meet up every year at the secret location but after 9 years there has still been no sign of their Prince.
Champ Wang is the righteous hero who is on a visit to see his betrothed when one of his future brother in laws men reports that he was ambushed by someone after the gold, and it might have been the Invincibles. His brother in law it turns out was the leader of The Invincibles and informs him of the story of the Prince's gold. The good man that he is Champ is worried for the safety of his new family and so sets off to find The Invincibles and the identity of the villains after the gold. He enlists the help of his bumbling womanising friend and sets off tracking down the other 4 members of the Invincibles, the problem being that they are being killed off one by one and the Champ is always one step behind. Its up to our hero to find those responsible and return the gold to the people.
This is a tale of greed, betrayal and double crossing kung fu style with an allstar cast of shapes masters and Shaw Brothers superstars playing a host of colourful characters. First off you have the Invincibles themselves lead by Tsung Hwa with his wily assistant played by Chang Peng, then comes;
Number 2 played by Wong Chi Sang who is good at jumps and leaps and so specialises in Monkey Kung Fu
Number 3 is Tsai Hung who is big and strong and practices armlift techniques
Number 4 is the man Wong Tao with his deadly Eagle Claw
Number 5 is Chi Kuan Chun with his pole and shaking fist style
Then we have the Twin Eagle Stars, the most unlikely looking deadly duo you will see straight out of the Danny De Vito and Arnold Schwarzenegger school of twindom, played by Ching Ching and the odd looking Siu Wong Lung, these guys put the invincibles through their paces in some good fight scenes which are plentiful in this film, in fact these guys are the best thing in the film with their shady tactics and tag team techniques.
The only gripes I have are that the film goes on too long, it should have ended when the main villain turns up but goes on that bit longer than it should, plus the dubbing was from those guys who do the Korean kung fu films which I am not a big fan of. If you are an animal lover you should look away when Champ faces off an army of Cobras and starts chucking them about all over the place! He's a braver man than I!
This one has earnt a respectable 6.5 on the amitabha scale
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