| I liked this film for 3 reasons.
1. The confrontation between the martial arts heroes and the antagonist near the end. I loved the fact that the this confrontation wasn't all kung fuey or anything of the sorts. It had a more Italian western stand-off feel to it with an Ed Wood style of backgrounding. The fact that there was no way in hell these heroes were gonna' beat the antagonist 'cause his martial skills were too astronomical was alluring and surprisingly authentic. However, kung fu enthusiasts who just want the kung fu boxing stuff will more than likely hate it.
2. Crappy Taiwanese production. "Ah sheeiit" lame-ass settings and silly costume designs, can't go wrong with that.
3. The giant monk! THE BEST MARTIAL ARTS VILLAIN OF ALL TIME!! He has gold teeth (I said silver before which was my mistake) and he bites off and chews up swords and chases people around, growling in sheer anger. You can dump big rocks on him, punch him, shove weird shit into his mouth and drop him off a cliff, he will keep coming. Awesome character played by an awesome actor.
Flaws to consider: since this is Taiwanese-produced, this film will have the usual flaws like bad settings and costumes, mediocre kung fu action, crappy yet hilarious English dubbing, a dreadful yet somehow entertaining story, and so forth. Other things to consider: the martial arts action is hindered at the hour and 12 minute mark 'cause from there on out you get nothing but a chase sequence with a 7-foot angry monk and an Italian westernized stand-off; but believe me when I say this, it's worth it. I loved it!
I look at this film as more of a cult classic than a kung fu film, which is why I liked it. Kung fu enthusiasts may not aspire to my point of view about it, 'cause despite my ramblings about the brilliance (the paradox which leads straight into retardation) of this film's absurdities, it's not recommended. |