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Morgoth
12-21-2007, 03:33 PM
venoms5 you are making me jealous posting all those great reviews, so I have to post one of my own. I hope you like it.




Chen Kuan Tai plays a kung fu master on the run from a gang called the 3 Evils. Johnny Wang Lung Wei is their leader and these 3 are super tough. After getting injured, Kuan Tai looks for shelter at a young man's house. Yuen Tak plays the young man and stays at a kung fu school. He was taken in as an orphan and has lived there for about 3 years. He gladly takes Kuan Tai in and they begin a very friendly teacher and student relationship. Yuen Tak is not an actor and would never fit in at playing a serious role, but this is a comedy and he does a great job as the lead actor. Lau Hok Nin plays the school's master and he is not exactly a fan of Kuan Tai because of their troubles in the past. The story is well done and more than enjoyable all the way through. It's not surprising since it is directed by Lu Chun Ku who has done many good movies including 'The Postman Strikes Back' with Ti Lung and 'Holy Fame of the Martial World'. He has worked together with Lau Hok Nin and action director Hsu Hsia before. Lau Hok Nin is even better in this than he was in 'Hell'z Widstaff' and 'Tiger Over Wall', both being directed by Lu Chun Ku. Not only is he a wonderful character actor, but he is no slouch in the kung fu department either. The action is absolutely superb and the entire movie is fight filled. Not a single scene looks rushed, and I always love it when they save the best for last.

While the story is well done, it also has a lot of unique touches to it. One of the 3 evil masters is a ladies man and his scene in a brothel is not one you will soon forget. The nudity does get a bit excessive, but Yuen Tak steals the show by dressing up as a woman. I was amazed to see all the jiggling boobies, but I had no idea the scene would turn out to be so funny.

To go along with the amazing action scenes and great acting and directing job, there is also a very fun soundtrack and beautiful cinematography. It is always nice to see the Shaw Brothers outdoor sets. I could have used a little more comedy out of Chan Lau, but other than that, I can only think of one other fault. Lung Wei uses a hair braid very effectively as a weapon, but it only seems to cut up clothes rather than cut up the body or face. It's a minor gripe, but there are some good blood effects for death scenes, and Lung Wei is an absolute madman with a spear in his hands. There is a lot to be happy about. If you are not a fan of the genre, it may get boring at times, but all hardcore kung fu fans will be delighted with this classic.

4.5/5

Iron_Jinon
12-21-2007, 04:14 PM
"all hardcore kung fu fans will be delighted with this classic. "
*cough,cough*you must mean hardcore fans of kungfu COMEDY...I did read Yuen Tak did not get lead role after this and easy to see why:eek::cool:..obviously career as action choreographer was better for him...
for movies credit,opening is awesome and final against wang lung wei is good.
scene where Chen Kuan Tai is killed(landed into split and groin met toes) is identical to one which appeared in "snuff bottle connection" years before.

Morgoth
12-21-2007, 04:19 PM
Yeah I found the movie funny, and Yuen Tak like I said is not a great actor but i found him good at comedy in this movie. The brothel scene had me cracking up really hard. I enjoyed the movie as a whole, as I explained in my review. And when I said all hardcore kung fu fans will be happy with this movie I am talking about the fights mainly. I liked them a lot. Opening, ending, middle fights... I enjoyed all of them.

Iron_Jinon
12-21-2007, 04:27 PM
you can`t understand my language but may want to take a look anyway at finnish 3 evil masters review; http://www.elitisti.net/review.php?id=175
2,5/5 I agree given there.Movies like this are not my cup of tea,flow from over the top slapstick to fights where people are killed I find at times hard to get acquainted.

Morgoth
12-21-2007, 04:30 PM
Yeah sorry I don't understand Finnish. It is definitely my cup of tea. i liked all of the fights, even the ones with Lau Hok Nin. chen Kuan tai just looked so strong in this movie. and I especially liked the fights with the 3 evil Masters. Yuen Tak is an amazing fighter, and I liked his comedy. Not a great actor, but he had some very nice scenes.

Iron_Jinon
12-21-2007, 04:36 PM
yup,he is great acrobat.It seems I am eventually going to see him in "roving swordsman".

Morgoth
12-21-2007, 04:37 PM
Let me know how it is. Anything with Yuen Tak in a Shaw Bros role is a movie I want to see.

Iron_Jinon
12-21-2007, 04:55 PM
Now when I think about it,scenes where Kuan Tai is not fighting are nice..he acts lot more human than usually:p

Morgoth
12-21-2007, 05:02 PM
Yeah if you compare Kuan Tai to Yuen Tak, then Yuen Tak cannot be compared to a great actor like Kuan Tai. Kuan Tai had a pretty big role in this movie, but he probably should have had a few more scenes before that one scene came... (The one where he gets a cheap shot to the nuts:eek:) Iron Jinon, D. Davis, and everyone else who has seen this movie knows what I am talking about.

WhiteTiger1
12-22-2007, 12:11 AM
This is the only Kung Fu movie that I could get my ex-wife to watch.
My new girlfriend even liked it...
It's a fun movie.:)

will91XingYu
12-22-2007, 01:24 AM
I really enjoyed this one, it was cool to see Chiu Fat as a villain who gets a fair bit of fight time! Yuen Tak was realy good in this, thanks for review, i really enjoyed this!

Morgoth
12-22-2007, 06:14 AM
Heya thanks a lot guys:)

venoms5
12-22-2007, 08:37 AM
Yes, great review, Morgoth and the movie is good, too. I have no problem with Yuen Tak as a main character in fact he was a damn good main villain as he displayed in HERO (1996). The comedy is grating to me, but I found it more tolerable on the Chinese version. Yuen Tak obviously handles himself well in the martial arts scenes, but he does come off as a bit effeminate here which may be why he didn't get much in the way of lead roles. And the presence of Kuan Tai is as always a freekin' plus in my book! The finale is suitably spectacular and a primo example of Shaw's doing the indy style.

venoms5
12-22-2007, 08:39 AM
yup,he is great acrobat.It seems I am eventually going to see him in "roving swordsman".

ROVING SWORDSMAN is good, too BTW. Some very nice sets. A good Chu Yuan martial mystery movie. One sequence copies the mirror scene from ETD. Sorry to go off topic.

Morgoth
12-22-2007, 10:44 AM
Thanks for the comments venoms5. I haven't seen Hero but I thought Tak was good as a villain in Operation Scorpio.

venoms5
12-22-2007, 11:13 AM
Thanks for the comments venoms5. I haven't seen Hero but I thought Tak was good as a villain in Operation Scorpio.

I haven't seen OPERATION SCORPIO!:D

Isn't this a pops movie? I was looking for a dvd of this a year or so ago. A friend has the tape.

venoms5
12-22-2007, 11:16 AM
The brothel scene in THE MASTER was tops. Love the fact that the knife thrower seemed to know something wasn't quite right with the "girl" but he kept tossing him money anyway hoping to see him slip up. I liked the music used here, too especially the opening theme during the restaurant fight.

Morgoth
12-22-2007, 01:48 PM
Yeah seeing Tak trying to make it seem like he has boobs had me cracking up hard. And you have to see Operation Scorpio. Yuen Tak is barely in it, but Pops has one of the best fights of his career. Kim Won Jin is the real star of the movie. He is SUCH a good kicker and his acrobatics are mind blowing. http://youtube.com/watch?v=X3vxh26PA6I

venoms5
12-22-2007, 02:04 PM
Some impressive kicks there. Thanks for the link.