Birth of the Dragon (2016)

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Birth of the Dragon (2016)

In the true Hollywood sense of never letting the truth get in the way of a good story, this embellished Bruce Lee origin film centres around his highly contested real-life fight with Chinese kung fu teacher and fellow San Francisco resident, Wong Jack Man, who also acts as a consultant on the film. Depending on who you believe, the fight in December 1964 at Lee’s Oakland school either lasted a few minutes with Wong running away from Lee’s flurry of punches (Linda Lee’s account), or it lasted closer to 25 minutes and ended in something resembling a tie (Wong’s account). …

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Sworn to Justice (1996)

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Sworn to Justice (1996)

Probably the best of Cynthia Rothrock‘s somewhat patchy American output, she gives a rounded and accomplished performance as Gianna, a distinguished criminal psychiatrist by day and a crime-fighting, ass-kicking vigilante by night. She is on a quest to root-out those responsible for killing her sister and nephew at the start of the film, and after a visit to a shrink (played by Star Trek‘s Chekov, Walter Koenig), there are suggestions that – after a number of increasingly powerful premonitions – Gianna may indeed have psychic abilities. This supernatural element is never fully explored, but it does add a superhero-like note …

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Zombie Fight Club (2014)

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Zombie Fight Club (2014)

Tedious Taiwanese zombie flick with a really unpleasant seedy streak. The film is split into two parts: the first part rips off The Raid, the second rips off The Walking Dead. In The Raid section, a SWAT team led by corrupt Michael Wong and dashing young do-gooder Andy On are trapped in an apartment block during a zombie invasion, caused by what seems to be some dodgy pills at a orgy. The second section is set a year after the attack, in which Andy On and some other remaining humans are used as gladiatorial guinea pigs in a zombie fight …

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Star Runner (2003)

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Star Runner (2003)

This is a real mixed bag; a schmaltzy, soft focus teen romance coupled with a predictable tournament movie. Black Mask director Daniel Lee uses a melancholy acoustic soundtrack and some overwrought performances to layer on sentiment with a heavy trowel (think Best of the Best levels of troweling), and although the story is very familiar, some of these rousing emotional tricks do occasionally work. As a piece of postmillennial Hong Kong martial arts filmmaking, the movie is notable for introducing a trio of fresh-faced Asian American actors who would, within the next decade, become Hong Kong’s next generation of fighting …

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Dragon Squad (2005)

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Dragon Squad (2005)

Cops and robbers stuff from director Daniel Lee, who really butchers the action with way too much ‘shakey-cam’, crash zooms and quick editing, rendering many of the shootouts as almost unwatchable. And the film mostly consists of shootouts, too, despite Chin Kar-lok’s credit as martial arts coordinator and with Sammo Hung in the cast. Sammo does have an excellent throw-down with Korean star Heo Joon-ho, but if you’re a kung fu movie fan, you will be far better served watching Sammo’s other 2005 effort, S.P.L.. Given that its an ensemble film, most of the characters are offered short-shrift in terms …

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Dynasty Warriors (2021)

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Dynasty Warriors (2021)

Hot on the heels of Mortal Kombat, Double World and Monster Hunter, the much-maligned video game adaptation appears to be enjoying something of a renaissance. This Hong Kong film is based on a long-running Japanese video game series set after the fall of the Han dynasty and during China’s turbulent Three Kingdoms period – a familiar setting for many a wuxia film. Tonally, this is less Red Cliff and more Marvel’s Avengers, only with subtlety, character development and story in very short supply. The film instead favours weightless CGI spectacle in which entire landscapes are rearranged and scores of extras …

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 72: Cynthia Rothrock

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 72: Cynthia Rothrock

“We are put on this earth to follow a specific path that is designed for us. Some of us find it, and some of us don’t – and I definitely think I found the path of what I should be doing in this life.”

Cynthia Rothrock – the undisputed ‘Queen of martial arts movies’ – never anticipated a career as an action film star. The Scranton-raised martial artist initially headed west in search of furthering her kung fu knowledge, often competing in men’s divisions to become a national champion, and touring the world in the process. It was a portentous audition …

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The Deed of Death (2019)

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The Deed of Death (2019)

Along with Adrian Teh’s Wira, this film rounds off an impressive year for Malaysian martial arts cinema. A confident if obviously low-budget directorial debut from cinematographer, Areel Abu Bakar, this film – like Wira, which was picked up by Netflix – has also enjoyed international recognition, winning an award at the 2020 New York Asian Film Festival and a distribution deal with Well Go USA. Unlike Wira‘s more familiar crime-busting themes, this film is rooted in themes of identity, spiritualism and morality. It tells the story of a farming family of Malay Silat fighters whose martial arts practice is as much an …

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 71: Philip Ng

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 71: Philip Ng

“I’m a fanboy, basically, that got to make kung fu movies with my idols. It’s pretty cool.”

When Philip Ng burst onto the scene in his 2014 leading-man debut, Once Upon a Time in Shanghai – co-starring Sammo Hung and with fight choreography by Yuen Woo-ping – followed by his turn as Bruce Lee in the 2016 Hollywood biopic, Birth of the Dragon, the kung fu movie world was introduced to a wonderful new talent. In reality, of course, Philip’s story of overnight success could not have been further from the truth. Since the early 2000s – when Philip decided to leave …

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Profile: Philip Ng Wan-lung

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Profile: Philip Ng Wan-lung

Date of birth: 16 September 1977 (Hong Kong)

Other names: Philip Ng, Philip Wan Lung Ng, Philip Wan-Lung Ng

Occupation: Actor, martial artist, action director, second unit director, stunt coordinator

Style: Wing Chun, Choy Li Fut, Hung Gar, Western Boxing, jujitsu, taekwondo, Eskrima.

Biography: Kung fu star Philip Ng was born in Hong Kong in 1977 into a martial arts family. His father, Sam Ng, is a master in the Choy Li Fut style, and his uncle, Alan Ang, is a master of Wing Chun. The Ng family – Philip, his mother Frances, father Sam, and his sister Laura – emigrated to Chicago, USA, …

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