I don't know how else to start this review, and even WOW seems to fall short.

Casanova Wong leads an impressive cast that includes the always entertaining Sammo Hung, Fung Hak-on (who, typecast as usual, plays the villain), Lueng Kar-yan as the wizened wing chun master, and a trio of familiar faces as Thunder, Tiger and Iron. The story is sufficient on its own, but add the fact you have scene after scene of kung fu and it quickly becomes apparent why this movie is held in such high regard.

All the fighters seems to be in top form, with action that sells the skills of the characters. Casanova Wong has a great look and impressive physicality. Leung Kar-yan is reserved in his performance but steals every scene he's in. Fung Hak-on's surpise revelation was a nice twist (I'd spent the film saying that his prosthetic headpiece made him look like a Kilngon). I was pleasantly surprised at that. His kung fu, what little wirework we do see, is creepy/supernatural and fitting his black-clad vampire look.

I don't know wing chun from wushu from hung gar with any level of accuracy, but I can tell you in this film it's ALL entertaining. Casanova Wong and Leung Kar-yan have the prototypical looks of an old school kung fu hero and his sifu, respectively. The training scenes seem daunting, but we watch our hero overcome those obstacles to become a formidable opponent. Sammo is in his usual form showcasing his agility, speed, strength and humor. Add to that mix death, betrayal and literal backstabbing and you're sped to a climactic finish featuring the three heroes (Wong, Hung and Lee Hoi Sang) against Boss Mo, his weasel of an assistant and Thunder, Tiger and Iron.

There are plenty of gems in the BIG, BRUTAL and ultimately satisfying finale. DO NOT miss out, kung fu fans.

And as always, when Sammo is directing, the fight and training sequences are of the finest quality. And you learn a little about the particular style as well. Casanova Wong is an exellent screenfighter, although in my opinion, not charismatic enough to carry a movie. But luckily he shares the screen (almost evenly) with Sammo as the comedic sidekick and Leung Kar yan as the stern Leung Jaan.

On the villains side you have Fung Hak On as the creepy Mantis master, and guys like Lee Hoi San and Tiger Yang. So action satisfaction guaranteed.

I have a couple of minor gripes with the movie though. It is set in China, but is quite obviously shot in Korea. Which is fairly evident from the difference in architecture and outside enviroments. And then there is Dean Shek... aaah yes, Dean Shek. His weird and weasly characters were a mainstay of Kung Fu comedies of this time. But I really can't think of ONE single movie, where he adds, rather than detracts anything to or from the story. He just annoys me to no end. And I could have done without him and Sammo's akward fight at the end. But despite these flaws, this movie is still a classic and must have in my book.

The martial arts action in this film is some of the best that Sammo Hung has ever performed and directed. There is some use of wirework, camera tricks and fantasy elements here but mostly it is just great wing chun kung fu. "Warriors Two" is a Sammo Hung film so there is a lot of silliness, but there are some intense scenes as well. There are many great training scenes and tons of weapons and styles displayed here. Since this is a Golden Harvest production there are high production values and a stable of good stuntmen such as Lam Ching Ying and Yuen Biao.

This film presents Sammo Hung at his peak. This is one of my personal favorites and I highly recommend it.

Now if somebody wants to know why I consider it to be the best kung fu movie ever (everybody who has seen it propably knows it already), here's a few facts: "Warriors Two" is fucking beautiful. The quality of the cinematrophy and setting is like nothing ever seen in a HK kung fu movie before (watch this after viewing some lame-ass low-budget garbage like "Drunken Master" [1978, too], and you know what I mean [now don't get me wrong, I love "Drunken Master" and consider it a quality product compared to other 70's crappy chop-sockey films, but "Warriors Two" is just plain superior to all of them]). The plot is OK. The actors are convincing. There's plenty of fighting. The choreography is best ever captured to film, and I know what I'm talking about! I've seen over 150 martial art movies and a million fight scenes and not a single one [well, quite a few at least] even equals the unbelievable energetic and demented fighting presented here. It's hard to believe that this film was made way back in 1978. Just watch something that came out from Shaw Bros. the same time [5 Deadly Venoms, for example]! Everything in this film is done so perfectly! It's not that slow old school fighting anymore. Even the "powder puff" effect is in full use to show contact (the earlies film I've ever seen to use that trick)! Oh, and that guy Casanova is one mean kicker.

The plot centers around the mysterious death of old wing chun master Leung Jan (Leung Kar-Yan). When his new student cashier Hua (Casanova Wong) discovers that it was a murder, Hua and another student Ya Chun (Sammo)take revenge. FUCK THE PLOT, JUST BUY THIS MASTERPIECE!

Warriors Two is the more old-school of the two movies, with all of the fantasy elements and superhero kung-fu you'd expect from the genre, something that was missing in the realistic "Prodigal Son." Warriors Two also has more goofy humor, most of it oddly-placed. This seems to be typical of Sammo's work, as "Prodigal Son" also featured humor sequences that seemed out of sync with the rest of the film. (Such as the slapstick scene of Sammo doing calligraphy, placed right after a grisly murder). Warriors Two features more of the same, including Sammo and Casanova Wong joking over the corpse of Casanova's sister.

Fighting-wise, the choreography is as good as you'd expect. I don't think it's as intricate or hard-hitting as that in "Prodigal Son," but the fantasy elements add a nice touch. The final battle is the most memorable. It features a nice selection of colorful villains. There's a pair of white-bearded, twin swordfighters, a couple stooges, and a Dracula-looking guy who uses a "floating in midair" style. Lots of great martial arts are on display, such as a shot of Casanova doing a super-impressive flying kick over a dinner table.

Warriors Two is another good Gold Harvest production, but I don't rate it as highly as "Prodigal Son" or Shaw Brothers films from the same era. The fighting is great in it, but the goofy comedy and slapstick drag it down.

Final note: the DVD release sucks. There's only one release out there, and it's either from mainland China or Taiwan, because the only language featured is Mandarin. Luckily, English subtitles are included, but the menu options are all written in Chinese. The picture quality is nice, but the sound quality of the dialog is terrible, as there's a terrible echo on all of the voices. It sounds like the voice dubbers recorded their parts in an empty theater. But still, this seems to be the only DVD release available, so if you want to watch the movie, it's either this or a bootleg of a dubbed, pan-and-scanned, old video.