The Bells Of Death (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This was a very solid swordplay movie. If you like the early Shaw Brothers sword films such as "Golden Swallow" or "Trail Of The Broken Blade", then you will definitely enjoy the plot and the fight scences in this movie.
This is one of my favorites. It would have gotten 5 stars but some of the beginning scenes between Gordon Liu and his new wife are a little too silly for me. But once she heads back to Japan and her crew misinterprets a letter sent to her, the rest is excellent.
Just to let you know, the fights in this movie are not to the death, and I don't believe that anyone even dies in the whole movie. Regardless of that, the action and fight scences are excellent as Gordon Liu must challenge a different Japanese fighter to a duel each day. Each of the duels have a different style of fighting and/or different weapons. After defeating all of the regular fighters, Gordon Liu must face the master who fights in a ninja style. The end scenes are very similar to those seen in "Legendary Weapons Of China", with lots of creative choreography.
While I watched this movie, I couldn't wait to see what the next duel would be. It is an excellent movie that should keep any kung fu fan on the edge of their seat.
The Invincible Armour (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie has many of the same people that were involved with "Secret Rivals" parts 1 & 2. "Invincible Armour" has a feel that is very similar to "Secret Rivals 2", only better. The characters are all excellent in this movie, from John Lui as the framed general to the two white-haired masters. The plot is simple but very interesting from start to end. If you like old school kung fu, this is definitely a movie that won't disappoint.
Seven Steps Of Kung Fu (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie is very comparable to "Mystery Of Chess Boxing" and "18 Fatal Strikes". All three of them have lead characters with comic roles and all three of them have excellent kung fu fighting with no, or at least not many, weapons involved. The lead character in this has a slight comic role but it's not nearly as over the top as the lead character in "Mystery of Chess Boxing".
Overall, the story was not really that interesting to me, but the end fight was impressive.
First of all, I must say that I loved "All Men Are Brothers" and "The Water Margin", otherwise known as "Seven Blows Of Dragon" Part 1 & 2, and I was expecting more of the same here in part 3. I must warn you that this is not the case with this movie. To be honest, it's hard to tell why this movie is even subtitled "7 Blows Of Dragon Part 3".
The movie focuses on Ti Lung's character the whole way, so don't expect to see a variety of characters like in parts 1 & 2. I thought that this one also lacked focus and seemed to not even make sense at times. For example, in the first 15 minutes of the movie, Ti Lung is being escorted to prison by two officers and they start drinking together while he is bonded? Then while the officers are drunk and passed out, Ti Lung befriends a couple but he refuses to take their advice to flee. The officers are woken up and the couple then asks Ti Lung to stay for dinner. He does stay with them and the officers are not shown again until the next day?
Little things like this usually don't bother me at all, but there were so many of them in this movie that it often became difficult to even understand. Even the end was confusing. Ti Lung makes it to safety and and is given the beads and head piece that he wore in the previous two movies. It then flashes to the character from the two previous movies and ends. It almost suggest that this was a prequel rather than a sequel to "All Men Are Brothers" and "The Water Margin".
The end fight is very good, but it doesn't make up for the first hour of the movie. I'd suggest watching the first two movies in this series and pretending that this thirrd one does not exist.
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READER COMMENTS
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It really pays to read up and find out that The Water Margin is based on a huge novel. Did it not occur to you that this movie explains the origins of a charater that is part of the Outlaws of the Marsh?
The Buddha Assassinator (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie was hard to take seriously due to the main characters constantly having comic parts. I do not recommend this one at all.
Legend Of The Fox (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I thought the movie started off a bit slow with a very confusing back story told through flashbacks very similar to "Ten Tigers From Kwangtung". Once the flashbacks and back story are told, the movie has a much better pace and is easier to follow. Unlike "Ten Tigers From Kwangtung", the flashbacks end with over an hour to go in the movie, so there is a lot of action once the flashbacks end.
The last hour of the movie involves a lot of poison and poisonous gases. One of the main characters is poisoned and another main character, the Fox, sets out on a quest to find the cure from the "King of Poison". The quest is kind of slow but interesting. It reminded me a lot of portions of the "Brave Archer" 3 & 4.
The last half hour of the movie has some great battling involving swords, poison gases, and a few interesting surprises.
Killer Clans (product link) Swordplay/Sword(s) / Martial Arts Most people probably remember seeing "The 5 Deadly Venoms" for the first time. In "The 5 Deadly Venoms" it was very interesting to try to figure out who was who. The movie was mysterious and kept you guessing the whole time.
I found "Killer Clans" to be similar in the sense that it was very mysterious and kept me guessing throughout the movie. One of the interesting things about the movie is the fact that there is a spy within the Lung Men Society. The leader of the Lung Men Society knows that there must be a spy but is not sure who it is. Neither does the audience. It is interesting to watch as the leader suspects certain members of his clan and tests their loyalty.
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