Agreement:68% of 35 voters agree with Roger Judd, Jr.'s reviews Gender: Male Age: 47 Location: Brossard, Quebec, Canada
Bio: I am a lawyer.Grew up watching martial arts movies in the 70's.Practised Taekwon-Do (ITF) from 71 to 83.Also trained with friends in Shotokan Karate,Hapkido,Tang Soo Do and some Chinese styles.Martial arts movies is one of my favourite hobby & I own over 1600.Favourite actors:Bruce Lee,Hwang Jang Lee,John Liu,Jimmy Wang Yu,Cheng Pei Pei,Shih Szu,Tan Tao Liang,Chen Kuan Tai,Lo Lieh,Ti Lung,Leung Kar Yan,Venoms + more!Not crazy about modern KF movies. Always ready to trade movies with KF fans.
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Iron Bodyguard (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is an epic movie. I always like Chen Kuan Tai, and that's why I give it a 3½*. If not for him, overall a 3* at best because the movie (patriotic type) drags and there are not enough fights. Even the finale is not great because CKT's opponent is simply not good enough. CKT does very well in his fight scenes, both hand to hand and with the sword, deserving a 4½*. Yueh Hua is way under used and I did not like the faith of his character and did not like the ending. Also the use of rifles on two occasions takes a bit away from the martial arts. Great Shaw sets as usual. I waited long to put my hand on this title and and it left me disappointed. I was expecting more. CKT's fans will like it, but will wish there were more fights.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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should be rated higher than 3 and half stars- this is an all time classic fu film.
The Supreme Swordsman (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Too much flying wire work--almost super powers. Never really liked those. In the 1980's Shaw started to overuse spectacular unrealistic wireworks. Some love it, some don't. I don't mind jumping over fences, on top of roofs to escape, etc... But when you start flying in sitting position like a whirlwind or making mutiple back flips 30 feet backward and coming back with a boomerang effect, you lose me! Jason Pai Piao plays the villain collecting swords from the swordsmen he kills to open his House of 100 Swords. Ku Feng is a famous swords maker; and Derek Yee, his son, is the young hero. Overall the storyline is okay and the fights (take away the ridiculous flying) are alright. The ending is....I won't tell you, but is a bit "stretched". Mostly recommended for those who enjoy super powers and flying like Superman.
Long Road To Gallantry (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure The fights are sped-up and there's way too much use of wires and flying. Enough action though. Some comedy. When they stay on the ground, the fight scenes are alright. Pretty Kara Hui Ying-Yung gives a good performance, but I liked her more in "My Young Auntie". Chen Kuan Tai is much older here and does okay. Pretty lame storyline. Definitely not old school genre. If you like wired kung fu, you'll most likely like it more than I did.
Snake In The Monkey's Shadow (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Classic train/revenge/kill story. Overall an entertaining martial arts movie with a good cast (no prominent star except maybe Wilson Tong). Prominent styles are Monkey and Snake and well performed. Good choreography. Plenty of action. Low budget movie but definitely worth watching.
Shaolin Daredevils (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Definitely worth watching, especially if you are a Venoms fan (I am). But it is not their best action/fight movie. Also, there's not enough action in this movie, which Venoms fans are not used to. If you never saw a Venoms movie, don't start with this one. Go with their classic "Five Venoms" first.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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Agreed. Definitely a good kung fu movie but nowhere near the Venoms' best.
Pursuit Of Vengeance (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not Ti Lung's best. I love him but I could not rate this higher. The second part of the movie is so-so with too much comedy/humour and I hated the end. The action is alright, above average, but nothing commemorable. Lo Lieh plays a secondary role and is a good guy. Worth watching once.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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I did not agree what you wrote. The movie has a lot of replay value.
The Lady Assassin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Wonderful cast very well directed. Fantastic swordsplay action, very well chorographed, and a great storyline to keep you entertained. A true Classic Shaw movie at their best. Definitely a must-see.
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yes! I agree an awesome Classic Shaw movie & with great swordplay.
Lady Of Steel (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Cheng Pei Pei and Yueh Hua always worked well together. Old school daughter seeking revenge for her parents' murder. Good action. Entertaining. Get it. You can never go wrong with a movie featuring the duo of Cheng Pei Pei and Yueh Hua.
The Golden Sword (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I love Sheng Pei Pei with a sword and she does good here. Good performance also by Kao Yuen who reminded me of Yueh Hua here. Ku Feng is always great.
My Rebellious Son (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Well, if you like comedy/kung fu movies, you may consider it a 4*. But I am more into the martial arts quality and quantity in the movies I watch and like. The fight scenes are good not great. Maybe the last 10-minute finale is better. Not enough fights. Alex Fu Sheng is his usual clowny self with some good kung fu action. But the movie drags here and there. The European fighters are a joke (but this is kung fu mixed with comedy). Ku Feng is Fu Sheng's dad and his role is more comedy than action. Not my favourite from Fu Sheng. Interesting extra on the [HK DVD by IVL] about Fu Sheng's life with comments from his wife.
The Magnificent Swordsman (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not a spectacular movie, but well made. Wong Chung Shun is the Magnificent Swordsman. It is very difficult to see him as the hero (one of his very rare role as a good guy). He just does not have the looks for it! But he delivers a very credible performance here. All about honour and respect. His style with the sword is not spectacular but efficient: 1 or 2 moves and the bad guy is dead. More of what you see in Japanese movies. It just takes awhile to get used to seeing him as the good guy! Very simple storyline. Shu Pei Pei does not fight here and her role is quite annoying as the poor girl victim. Tien Feng shows up at the end as a bad hired killer and uses the whip (like in Shadow Whip). I did not expect much from this movie and I was very pleased at the end. Entertaining.
The Eunuch (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Yeung Chi Hing, usually a great villain, plays an old master hero here and does it well with a touch of humour. Pay Ying is the bad Eunuch and is good at it! The hero (Chung Wa) and the heroine (Lisa Chiao Chiao) give a good performance. The only annoying thing is that they become "experts" within a few weeks or months of training--not too credible. Ouyang Shafei plays the wife of the old master and the pair is funny together as they each have their own student. Look for a young Sammo Hung in a short fight scene. Great sets and costumes. Worth watching.
Shaolin Death Kicks (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Could also be a 3½*. Ku Feng plays Huang Fei-Hung. Unusual for Ku Feng to play the good guy. He is better as a villain. However he did bring a new approach to Huang Fei-Hung's character in this movie and shows good charisma on the screen. More down to earth and much less wire work than Jet Li. The story drags here and there but there is sufficient fights. Huang Fei-Hung special technique is the "invisible kick". Well, Ku Feng is a good actor, but not a kicker! So his special kick is far from being credible (a simple front kick). Good hand techniques. The European chief simply looks and acts stupid. Wang Hsieh is the bad guy and I like more in epic movies. Maybe a 3.75* would be best. Worth watching to see a different portrayal of Huang Fei-Hung.
Challenge Of The Shaolin Disciples (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Low budget film with a good cast. Interesting forms showned by Pearl Cheung Ling (star of "My Blade, My Life"). Some kind of combination of Crane and Mantis styles with self created moves. Not much of a storyline here. David Chiang does a pretty good display of, again, a combination of Crane and Mantis. Interesting to see Cheng Lui much older in a mute role. The fight scenes are alright. The training scenes are boring. The finale is just above average but entertaining enough. Overall a decent martial arts movie. Probably a 3.75*, but not good enough, in my view, to be a 4*.
The Silent Swordsman (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not a great swordlay movie. Early 1967 Shaw so the action is often slow and way too much choreographed (you can guess the moves). Young Chang Yi is not very convincing in his leader role. He does get better through the years! The storyline goes everywhere: politics, love, patriotism, history, some musical singing scenes. Too many ingredients that don't always mix well if not well directed. Great Shaw sets and costumes. I've seen much worse but overall this is a very average movie, even boring sometimes. The finale is nothing to make you jump from your seat. Very close to a 2½*. Only recommended to die hard Chang Yi fans who woud like to see him in his early age.
Disciples Of The 36th Chamber (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Wonderful performance by Hsiao Hou. You gotta see him here. Beautiful choreography by Liu Chia-Liang. Exceptional fights. A good mix of comedy and martial arts. The last 20 minutes are fantastic. Gordon Liu reprises his role of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin. He has a supporting role here but gives a brilliant performance. I only wish they would have add an extra 10 minutes of action! If you love martial arts movies, you must add this one to your collection. A true classic.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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You're right, Hsiao Hou is great in this. It's a shame he's so underrated. I'm a big fan of this movie!
The Twelve Gold Medallions (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts Very entertaining Shaw classic. Great performance by Yueh Hua. Plenty of good action and bloodshed. The two old masters are really fun to watch and fight each other at the end. The only downer is that some wirework is just over the board. But being a Shaw movie, not totally unusual. Great sets and sceneries. Some fight scenes could have been filmed less close. Great old school movie!
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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i'm with you on that one this is very entertaining a must own film.
Ma Su Chen (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure 3 stars because I love Jimmy Wang Yu. But that's it! The fights are average, JWY using his typical unorthodox style. Not really one of his best movies, but most of his fans should like it enough.
Twelve Deadly Coins (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Classic Shaw movie. Fun and entertaining action. Good performance by Lo Lieh. Typical "escort service" storyline. I recommend it.
The Proud Youth (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I have mixed feelings about this one. The fights are okay. Sets and costumes typical of a Shaw movie. The story drags here and there. Also, any movie with Shih Szu not fighting annoys me! Wong Yu is alright, a bit clowning. Hard to say. Not bad but far from great. I know I won't watch it again.
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