Chen Zhen
08-09-2006, 05:19 PM
just got an opportunity to watch this Boxer from Shantung remake last night, starring Yuen Biao, directed by Corey Yuen. wow, i gotta say this film exceeded expectations quite a bit. having watched the original film only days prior, my appreciation grew while watching it. big shoutout again to Yakuza954 for hooking me up with my copy...i got it in the mail yesterday buddy...thanx again.
apparently this movie wasnt a very huge success at the box office...too bad. its actually produced by the once almight Shaw Brothers, who also produced the aforementioned Boxer from Shantung. Corey Yuen's take on the movie is surprisingly faithful to the original, while putting in enough of its own flair.
if uve seen BfS, then u already know the gyst of the plot, but long story short, the main character Takeshi Kaneshiro, and his brother Yuen Wah move to shanghai and dream of rising to the top, just like the top dogs, Yuen Biao and (in a rare starring role) Yuen Tak. as Biao and Tak's rivalry grows, Kaneshiro comes up surprisingly fast. enter plot twists here and a few surprises, which leads to a climactic showdown involving all 3 top dogs. as already mentioned, the plot stays very faithful to the original, and left me very interested in the plot. Corey's direction is mostly pretty sharp, and Yuen Biao and Takeshi Kaneshiro are great in their roles. Yuen Biao is easily one of the best kf actors in the game and it shows. lots of twists, that keep the viewer on his toes and the plot unfolds quite nicely. in terms of plot, dialogue and acting, this is definetely one of Yuen Kwai's better films. pacing was fine too, action scenes are dispersed quite evenly throughout the film. im impressed.
now for the action. there are about 5 or 6 action scenes throughout this movie, mostly martial arts with a bit of gunplay. Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak worked on the action together, and they did a great job. the action scenes for the most part are pretty fast, well choreographed and inventive...and also some of YK/YT's most violent action ive seen to date. definetely bloodier than the avg YK movie...or the avg MA flick for that matter. one of the best fights is the opening fight between kaneshiro and biao on a carriage...very creative, inventive stuff there. camera work is generally very good altho one or two fights contained some camerawork and editing that was a tad too fast. but overall, as usual, i was impressed with the Yuen Bros action.
overall this film surprised me. i read many lukewarm reviews for this movie, but i took a chance on it, being a big Corey Yuen fan, and i ended up enjoying it a lot. great action tied with a good plot with well developed characters that you actually care about...thats my kind of martial arts movie if u ask me. great stuff.
8 or 8.5 out of 10
thanks for reading.
apparently this movie wasnt a very huge success at the box office...too bad. its actually produced by the once almight Shaw Brothers, who also produced the aforementioned Boxer from Shantung. Corey Yuen's take on the movie is surprisingly faithful to the original, while putting in enough of its own flair.
if uve seen BfS, then u already know the gyst of the plot, but long story short, the main character Takeshi Kaneshiro, and his brother Yuen Wah move to shanghai and dream of rising to the top, just like the top dogs, Yuen Biao and (in a rare starring role) Yuen Tak. as Biao and Tak's rivalry grows, Kaneshiro comes up surprisingly fast. enter plot twists here and a few surprises, which leads to a climactic showdown involving all 3 top dogs. as already mentioned, the plot stays very faithful to the original, and left me very interested in the plot. Corey's direction is mostly pretty sharp, and Yuen Biao and Takeshi Kaneshiro are great in their roles. Yuen Biao is easily one of the best kf actors in the game and it shows. lots of twists, that keep the viewer on his toes and the plot unfolds quite nicely. in terms of plot, dialogue and acting, this is definetely one of Yuen Kwai's better films. pacing was fine too, action scenes are dispersed quite evenly throughout the film. im impressed.
now for the action. there are about 5 or 6 action scenes throughout this movie, mostly martial arts with a bit of gunplay. Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak worked on the action together, and they did a great job. the action scenes for the most part are pretty fast, well choreographed and inventive...and also some of YK/YT's most violent action ive seen to date. definetely bloodier than the avg YK movie...or the avg MA flick for that matter. one of the best fights is the opening fight between kaneshiro and biao on a carriage...very creative, inventive stuff there. camera work is generally very good altho one or two fights contained some camerawork and editing that was a tad too fast. but overall, as usual, i was impressed with the Yuen Bros action.
overall this film surprised me. i read many lukewarm reviews for this movie, but i took a chance on it, being a big Corey Yuen fan, and i ended up enjoying it a lot. great action tied with a good plot with well developed characters that you actually care about...thats my kind of martial arts movie if u ask me. great stuff.
8 or 8.5 out of 10
thanks for reading.