Dragon Fist (1978)

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Dragon Fist (1978)

Lo Wei’s attempts to launch Jackie Chan as the next Bruce Lee was never more apparent than with this schlocky kung fu time-waster; an undemanding slice of mediocrity that takes itself far too seriously. Chan plays a downhearted student-type eager to avenge his master’s death, defeated at the hands of a rival master. There is also something to do with the criminal Wei Clan smuggling and pillaging, but the overall lack of excitement makes this one an effort to follow. Jackie is, of course, the only saving grace, but the film is undoubtedly a waste of his talents.

AKA: In Eagle Dragon …

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Perfectly serviceable reboot of the Turtles franchise which is just the sort of thing you would expect from the multiplex king of blockbuster carnage Michael Bay – here acting as executive producer. It’s loud, fast and brash with dumb dialogue and obvious product placement (a goofy Victoria’s Secret gag, Skype, Google, and a particularly risible Pizza Hut commercial about a third of the way through), plus it’s marginally unsuitable for really younger crowds. The buffed computer animated Turtles have been bestowed with significant upgrades; they’re easily four foot taller and now resemble Schwarzenegger in a morph suit. But their new-age …

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Magnificent Bodyguards (1978)

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Magnificent Bodyguards (1978)

Jackie Chan plays a Ming Dynasty fist fighter hired by a wealthy family to escort a sedan chair holding a secret cargo across the notorious Stormy Hills, famous for its bandits and traps. He assembles a tough team to assist him: a swordsman (Tien) and a kicker (Leung). Say what you like about Jackie’s Lo Wei movies, but there’s no denying that they’re a lot of brainless fun, and this one is particularly good, especially during the ludicrous plot twist finale which is completely baffling. The reason much of the action is performed to the camera is because this was …

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Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975)

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Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975)

Cleo Jones returns in this haphazard Shaw-produced sequel. She’s tackling dope fiends on the mean streets of Hong Kong; specifically style queen The Dragon Lady (Stevens) and her posse of Chinese underlings. Ni Tien plays a Chinese special agent acting as Cleo’s kung fu partner, and the two are soon chopping up the locals. Juvenile filmmaking and a bad script scupper proceedings, but as mindless blaxploitation action goes, it’s more diverting than the first film.

AKA: Cleopatra Jones Meets the Dragon Lady.

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Cleopatra Jones (1973)

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Cleopatra Jones (1973)

Dobson plays the title role of superfly US special agent Cleo Jones in this dated blaxploitation which provides ironic hilarity throughout. According to popular opinion, Jones is “some kinda woman” and “ten miles of bad road” for every hood in town. She’s a sexy, slick PI with a full wardrobe, teeming afro and deadly Karate chops. There’s a drug crisis and Cleo’s on the case, up against the glamorous exploits of lesbian gangster Big Momma (Winters) and her jive-talking underlings (including ‘Huggy Bear’ Fargas). So bad it’s good, the words outrageous and camp barely do it justice. Best viewed through …

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Unleashed (2005)

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Unleashed (2005)

A mismatched film revolving around three very different character actors. Bob Hoskins plays a British gangster in a Lock, Stock setting filmed in grimy Glasgow; Morgan Freeman plays a wise, blind soothsayer in a sentimental aside; and then there is Jet Li, who randomly explodes into violent flashes of kung fu action, and barely stringing a single sentence together. Such clashing elements give the film a bizarre, unsettled tone, despite succeeding quite confidently in all three separate departments. Li plays the cooped-up property of Hoskins who keeps the fighter on a leash like an animal (the film is also known …

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

To get things started, we are introduced to the Axe Gang – an army of suited henchmen who dominate the underworld of 1940s Shanghai – by way of a brutal slaying worthy of Scorsese. They then quite spontaneously break into a Thriller-esque dance routine over the opening titles, and it quickly becomes apparent that we are firmly back in Stephen Chow territory. In a provincial town, a burly landlady screams at her tenants with such force that the ground shudders and the windows smash. An Axe Gang leader is given a bad haircut by one of the town’s idiot folk, …

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Painted Skin (2008)

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Painted Skin (2008)

A mad supernatural romance with just the right level of pie-eyed craziness to keep things interesting and avoid falling completely into mawkishness, despite the sentimental score. Based on a story by Ching dynasty fantasy writer Pu Song-ling – who also inspired the A Chinese Ghost Story films – this sees Gordon Chan adding his blockbuster shine to a story which was also brought to the screen by King Hu in 1993. The film starts ambitiously as a Hero-esque wuxia swashbuckler set in the Qin dynasty, where a baby-faced General (Chen Kun) rescues a creepy but sensual orphan girl (Zhou Xun) from the …

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Interview: Hwang Jang-lee

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Interview: Hwang Jang-lee

In a film career spanning over two decades as the archetypal go-to bad guy, Hwang Jang-lee kicked out Jackie Chan’s teeth and wore some of kung fu cinema’s most elaborate hairdos. Then he disappeared. So what happened? We meet the world’s original bootmaster to find out.

If there was ever a performer who best encapsulated maniacal villainy during the golden years of kung fu cinema, then it was the inimitable Hwang Jang-lee. In his debut Chinese feature, The Secret Rivals (1976), he set the template as the wizened Ming dynasty bandit Silver Fox, complete with furrowed brow, long white locks and matching beard. …

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Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (1981)

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Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (1981)

Taking full creative control as director, producer and leading man, this is Hwang Jang-lee‘s labour of love. The result is a kung fu classic. As a reaction to always playing the villain, Hwang casts himself as the movie’s clean-shaven hero. In the brilliant opening sequence, he steals a man’s money and fends off a heap of attackers only to return the cash back to its occupant, upon which the grateful man asks, “maybe the bad can become good?”. Despite the niceties, Hwang still kicks hard and is electrifying in the fight scenes. Superb choreography highlights his entire repertoire of fancy …

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