Sammo Hung - an actor, director, producer who already starred in films at the age of nine according to this site, there's no doubt this guy got loads of talent and he would really shine with his future films during the 80s. This film was his first directorial debut and it's really well directed with amazing choreographed fight scenes and quick edits that doesn't let the film feel slow at any time.
However, the biggest problem for me with this film is the plot of the film as well as the message. Sammo's character gets bullied and beaten up in a flashback scene and it's why he joins a temple to train martial art so he can defend himself and others from bullies. However, as soon as he comes upon a bad guy that bullies some kids in the village, Sammo ends up beating him and then sits on him, being just as bad as the bullies himself, somehow I believe that the temple he trained at wouldn't approve of such behavior, but instead defend those in need and nothing else. We do learn that Sammo's character is a bit of a troublemaker, which might be why he's the way he is.
We also experience a very cruel rape scene early on in the film with the leader of the bad guys raping a woman who later takes her own life because of it. The brother of the rape victim promise to revenge her death but... well...
****SPOILERS**** ... towards the end of the film, not only do the bad guys kill the brother's mother, but also rape his wife and kills her. And at the massacre at the dye factory, he, together with all of his co-workers gets more or less butchered and killed - and this is where I lost my motivation with the plot - what's left for Sammo and his monk friend to even fight for when everyone - everything's dead. It felt like the harm was already done so what good was it that they even had the fight at the end with the bad guys. I also think the "Big Brother" from the Imperial Court got the worse punishment than the main bad guy, having his eyes ripped out.
This film was very brutal and there are so many deaths which Sammo later on would slow down with and also let the people he defends in his future films survive until the end. See the film for Sammo's directorial debut as well as the fight scenes - but be aware that it's a bit disappointing story-wise.
However, the biggest problem for me with this film is the plot of the film as well as the message. Sammo's character gets bullied and beaten up in a flashback scene and it's why he joins a temple to train martial art so he can defend himself and others from bullies. However, as soon as he comes upon a bad guy that bullies some kids in the village, Sammo ends up beating him and then sits on him, being just as bad as the bullies himself, somehow I believe that the temple he trained at wouldn't approve of such behavior, but instead defend those in need and nothing else. We do learn that Sammo's character is a bit of a troublemaker, which might be why he's the way he is.
We also experience a very cruel rape scene early on in the film with the leader of the bad guys raping a woman who later takes her own life because of it. The brother of the rape victim promise to revenge her death but... well...
****SPOILERS**** ... towards the end of the film, not only do the bad guys kill the brother's mother, but also rape his wife and kills her. And at the massacre at the dye factory, he, together with all of his co-workers gets more or less butchered and killed - and this is where I lost my motivation with the plot - what's left for Sammo and his monk friend to even fight for when everyone - everything's dead. It felt like the harm was already done so what good was it that they even had the fight at the end with the bad guys. I also think the "Big Brother" from the Imperial Court got the worse punishment than the main bad guy, having his eyes ripped out.
This film was very brutal and there are so many deaths which Sammo later on would slow down with and also let the people he defends in his future films survive until the end. See the film for Sammo's directorial debut as well as the fight scenes - but be aware that it's a bit disappointing story-wise.