Director Chan Siu Pang has crafted something that would be considered quite an achievement by many critics - an intelligent and exciting kung fu film. 'The Magnificent' is not a film that is frequently mentioned by genre buffs due to its relative anonimity, but it stands above better known kung-fu films due to the quality it displays in a number of key departments. As was said earlier, 'The Magnificent' is a production that prides itself on its strong plotting and subtle depth; Chan Siu Pang makes sure that, during the opening half an hour, it is difficult to categorise the 'heroes' and 'villains' This creates genuine intrigue and turns the characters from mere stereotypes into integral pieces of the narrative. Eventually, Chan Sing is presented as the antagonist of the piece and it is his exceptional professionalism that adds the necessary spark to the film's dynamic. Carter Wong - who has often been criticised for his wooden acting - is more than just effective in the heroic role, proving that his appearance in kung fu cinema is for more than just his physichal appearance.

Although it can be emphasised how the cinematography is above average and the interesting use of locations adds untold interest, it is one particular cog in 'The Magnificent's machinery that cements its four star rating: Casanova Wong. Even in a supporting role, Wong dazzles with his furious bootwork and genuine screen presence. In one stand-out scene, facing a multitude of opponents, Casanova Wong unleashes a series of remarkable kicks that electrifies the screen. 'The Magnificent' is certainly above the genre's many fair to middling efforts, easily earning a recommendation for its many postive elements.

THE MAGNIFICENT takes place in 1911, as the Ching Dynasty crumbles to pieces. Lord Lu is solely responsible for the future of China. Lu is under pressure by two factions, a revolutionary movement that wants Lu to declare the Restoration, meaning a new government for the people. General Hsiung (Chen Sing) visits Lu at his palace and promises to protect him and his daughter, Wang Ying (Doris Lung) from Commissioner Yao (Carter Wong) who desires the downfall of the remaining Chings. General Hsiung convinces Lord Lu that Commissioner Yao’s police force plan to execute Lu. Commissioner Yao arrives and appeals to Lu to set up a new Republic. Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of fighting outside the palace. Everyone in the room treads outside to witness a battle between two proud fighters. Yao breaks up the fight and introduces both fighters to one another. These men are both respected rival fighters named Iron Hands and Magic Kicks (Casanova Wong). Yao recruits them to serve on his police force. General Hsiung insists that he and the royal guards escort Lord Lu away from the palace where he is vulnerable to attack from Yao’s rebel associates. Sure enough, Iron Hands and Magic Kicks attempt to capture Lu from General Hsiung’s protection. The General himself leaps to the aid of Lord Lu and the his martial arts prowess quickly sends both men heading for the hills. The General instructs Lu’s guards to take him to a hidden retreat for protection, while the General stays with the armed guards to await the coming of Yao and his constables.

As the other guards escort Lu over the mountains, another third party group attacks the guards and kidnaps Lu. Next, Yao and his men arrive at the scene and survey the dead bodies of Lu’s guards. He is puzzled about the identity of the abductors. The kidnappers take Lu to a large compound where a heavily armed staff keeps watch on him. Lu is confused and demands to know who is responsible for bringing him there. General Hsiung appears and says he brought Lu there for his own safety. General Hsiung also reveals that he is changing the parameters of their deal. He demands that Lord Lu give up the royal emblem, which would make General Hsiung the new leader of government. Naturally the Lu refuses, and General Hsiung plans to get his daughter to use against him for leverage. Yao and his constables go from hunters to the hunted. Yao breaks up his team to search for Lord Lu and General Hsiung. He commandeers a fishing vessel and discovers Princess Wan Ying inside with her Royal Guard of female bodyguards. Yao easily outfights the bodyguards and then is attacked by the Princess herself who believes that he is responsible for her father’s disappearance. She is a better martial artist than her bodyguards, and while they are fighting Yao attempts to talk sense into her. She doesn’t believe him of course, until the men steering the boat try to kill them both by starting a fire in the hull to burn them to death. Commissioner Yao and Wan Ying escape from a fiery death and punish the fishermen accordingly. Yao takes Wan Ying back to the police station for protection. There the rebel minded Iron Hand sees Yao working with Wan Ying, whom he mistakenly thinks is the enemy. Iron Hand goes so far as to get violent and Yao must physically overpower him and send him away.

Iron Hand goes to General Hsiung’s compound where he offers his services to the General (he is still deceived by the General and thinks he is an honorable man). The General knows he can benefit from allowing Iron Hand to function as his enforcer. Meanwhile, Princess Wan Ying demands that her father be saved and that she personally wants to kill General Hsiung. Yao responds by telling her that his men can overtake the General’s compound anytime, but that killing the General won’t be easy because he’s a master of that rare form of Kung Fu that renders the practitioner invulnerable. Yao and Wan Ying map out a strategy to beat General Hsiung using pressure points. They also train hard developing their own Kung Fu forms, so they may have a better chance of beating the General. When they feel they are ready, Yao enlists his constables and together they invade the General’s compound. General Hsiung’s forces clash with the guards, and an epic battle takes place. Iron Hand quickly comes to his senses and uses the distraction to rescue Lu. But Iron Hand finds that the General has beaten him to the punch--and is awaiting his arrival. General Hsiung finishes him, then joins his troops on the field of battle. Yao, Wang Yin, Magic Kick, and the other constables gain the upper hand during the bloody battle. General Hsiung comes out to personally take care of business. The heroes brace themselves for the moment of truth that they have worked so hard for. But how does one beat a man who is invulnerable, and feels no pain?

THE MAGNIFICENT is just that. It’s a movie that fires on all cylinders. The script goes beyond a mere excuse for Kung Fu fights, to deliver a thought-provoking and politically driven storyline that covers a key period in China’s history. The script also succeeds in setting up the character motivations, and these characters are depicted as shades of gray (like real-life folks), rather than the stereotypical characters with the white or black hats, figuratively speaking. It is not until the half-way point that the motivations for the main characters become clear. Chen Shao Ping’s direction is unique and refreshing, invoking some amazing visuals to match the drama and martial arts action. Ping maintains an atmosphere of tension and an aura of doom to each scene. As a result, he movie is deadly serious, with no humor whatsoever. Ping controls the pacing, suspense, and action throughout, ensuring there are no slow moments during the 90+ minutes running time. He also uses some interesting angles and camera panning that helps create the illusion of movement. Not just in the fight sequences mind you, but other simple scenes like horses moving or people running all exhibit a certain kinetic energy.

The casting is near perfection. Chen Sing’s acting ability convinces the audience he is first the hero, then later a villain (something he eventually got typecast for). The same can be said for Carter Wong, who is never taken seriously in fan circles despite the 200+ films he’s been in. Here, it’s hard to pinpoint his status as rebel hero or rebel villain because that’s what the script calls for. But his conviction in his beliefs spills over into the audience despite the language barriers. Ultimately, he becomes the protagonist and puts in a performance that will generate respect from his critics. Doris Lung is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in Kung Fu movies, and that alone is reason enough to see THE MAGNIFICENT. However, her martial arts skills cannot compare with those of Angela Mao, Lily Li, Hsia Kuan Lee, or other top Kung Fu vixens. Casanova Wong also steals his share of scenes, until his untimely demise. THE MAGNIFICENT is also one of the most brutal and bloody Kung Fu movies I’ve seen since Chang Cheh’s run of Venom movies--we are talking a huge body count here, folks. The choreography is for the most part very believable and natural. The fight choreographers flirt with some photography tricks and hidden trampolines, but it never detracts from the solid display of Kung Fu action.

SIGHT
THE MAGNIFICENT is a true martial arts epic, and the filmmakers succeed in attaining an epic look on film. The widescreen (2.35.1) compositions are painstakingly photographed, and considering the low budget they had to work with, outshine even many Shaw Brothers productions. The action all takes place in sprawling exterior sets, with no soundstage work that necessitates the need for fake studio lighting. Crash Cinema’s print is surprisingly flawless, with the exception of nics and scratches during the first five minutes. Then after that, THE MAGNIFICENT looks like a brand new film. The colors are absolutely lush, and the blacks are deep. The sharp image provides some great visibility in the movie to enable the viewer to take in the detailed production design and the great period costuming. I found myself in awe over the cinematography more than once, and often it distracted from the action (it was that good!). Now for the one fly in the ointment--the subtitles are burnt into the bottom of the image. These subtitles are extremely tiny and difficult to read. Worse, they are white colored. This means that when someone wearing white talks on screen, it’s impossible to tell what he is saying (and the star Carter Wong wears white throughout the entire movie!) So while there is gaps in the dialog, it’s still not to hard to figure out what is being said. But ideally, the subs should be big, yellow, and appear on the black portion of the lower black letterbox bar.

SOUND
In the past, Crash Cinema has suffered in the area of poor audio mixes. On some DVDs like SHAOLIN MASTER KILLER, the dialog is all but inaudible. But it seems that Crash has beat that problem, as both the English dubbed MASK OF DEATH and THE MAGNIFICENT exhibit superior Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 fidelity. There is no distortion in the original language dialog. The sound effects, including flying leaps, martial arts kicks, and dueling swords are prominent in the mix. THE MAGNIFICENT also includes an (uncredited) original score which sounds great and is not recycled stock music from another film. The score is tinged with Spaghetti Westerns intonations. A marked improvement in audio fidelity from Crash Cinema.

FEATURES
There are no extras on this disc. We can’t help but comment on the backwards step made by Crash Cinema in the area of DVD authoring. Whereby earlier releases of Crash titles have featured some colorful menu design (including shots of the cast) and navigation, the menus for THE MAGNIFICENT are ultra-generic.

CONCLUSION
Considering its independent origins, THE MAGNIFICENT truly lives up to it’s moniker as a magnificent piece of Kung Fu filmmaking. This is not an egotistical ‘movie star‘ picture like a Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or Jet Li movie which revolves solely around the main hero; THE MAGNIFICENT is an ensemble piece which blurs the line between hero and villain. The cast each contribute their considerable talents and skills to elevate the movie well above mediocrity—their smaller parts solidify THE MAGNIFICENT as a whole. The film is also brilliantly photographed with stunning cinematography to go along with the remarkable fight choreography. Crash Cinema delivers, in my estimation, their finest video presentation to date. Lovers of classic Kung Fu rejoice. The only weakness on this disc is the lack of extras and poor subtitles. Hopefully, on future releases they’ll rectify this.