This seems to be the second time I watched this movie. I did not post a review after the first watch back in 2015 because I did not like the movie and figured to give it another shot someday. Today is that day. So I got my notes from the first watch and played it again.
Bruce Le's movie career began here. He was one of the new breed of actors who had a solid background in real martial arts before appearing on screen. He got his foot in the door at Shaw Brothers because of martial arts and ended up as one of the many Bruce Lee imitators. I have seen most of his movies and never fail to be surprised by how small he is.
Shih Chung-Tien plays Hung Fei-Hung, the greatest folk hero in Chinese history. I would consider that role an honor but then again it is also a role played hundreds of times. There are many interpretations of the character and in this one he is broke and a poor tipper.
Overall, I was not impressed by the fights. Even the great Sek Kin looked off balance and not smooth in his moves. Yes, the end fights are better as mentioned in other reviews. I could not find any aspect of the movie that was above average. Production value was one possibility but that was always a Shaw Brothers strength because of their facilities.
I rate it as average for the year and genre. After two views I doubt I will be watching it again.
Bruce Le's movie career began here. He was one of the new breed of actors who had a solid background in real martial arts before appearing on screen. He got his foot in the door at Shaw Brothers because of martial arts and ended up as one of the many Bruce Lee imitators. I have seen most of his movies and never fail to be surprised by how small he is.
Shih Chung-Tien plays Hung Fei-Hung, the greatest folk hero in Chinese history. I would consider that role an honor but then again it is also a role played hundreds of times. There are many interpretations of the character and in this one he is broke and a poor tipper.
Overall, I was not impressed by the fights. Even the great Sek Kin looked off balance and not smooth in his moves. Yes, the end fights are better as mentioned in other reviews. I could not find any aspect of the movie that was above average. Production value was one possibility but that was always a Shaw Brothers strength because of their facilities.
I rate it as average for the year and genre. After two views I doubt I will be watching it again.