AlbertV
03-10-2008, 03:27 AM
The two stars of The Secret Rivals, Don Wang and John Liu, reunite for this action packed kung fu classic.
Wang plays Sun Shing-Kwei, a rebel for the Ming Dynasty who has killed the marshall of the Ching Dynasty after going undercover. Learning of this "betrayal", the new Emperor sends his top man, To Ku-Lan (Eagle Han) to kills Sun. To enlists the aid of his henchmen to do away with him. Meanwhile, Northern Kick Sung Hsin (John Liu) has also come to town. At first, he joins To's group and takes on Sun in a fight. When To takes it upon himself to viciously defeat Sun, the Southern Fist is nursed by young woman Kei Kei (Fanny Wang). However, is Kei Kei all she appears to be and what will happen when Sung is discovered to actually have plans to stop the Chings as well? Only time will tell.
William Cheung, who worked as cinematographer on The Secret Rivals and its sequel, helms this classic kung fu film that can be said to be a rip-off of the series. However, in retrospect, in some ways, this can be called Secret Rivals 3. Of course, that "title" went to a film that was released two years later. That film would be Northern Kick, Southern Fist, starring John Liu and Alexander Lo.
Meanwhile, the stars of the original Secret Rivals, Don Wang and John Liu, once again play the Southern Fist expert and the Northern Kick expert. Of course, they use different names and it's the same in the sense that they must take on a common enemy. In this case, it is the late Eagle Han Ying, who uses both Mantis Fist kung fu and taekwondo's kicking skills to a hellacious level that comes close to his fellow Korean, Hwang Jang-Lee.
The fight scenes, choreographed by Chin Yuet-Sang and Mang Hoi, are just top notch. Wang uses some Mantis fist himself and does some nice kicks. Liu, always one of the perennial kickers, does his fantastic kicking as always. However, it is Han who steals the show by showing his crispy hand techniques and frenetic kicking skills. As for the plot, it seems standard in the sense that if you have seen Secret Rivals, you know what to expect. However, there is another twist that proves crucial to the storyline and because of this, it proves to be superior to most standard kung fu films.
Death Duel of Kung Fu is definitely an underrated classic film. Wang and Liu are in top form, but it is Eagle Han who definitely steals the show.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Wang plays Sun Shing-Kwei, a rebel for the Ming Dynasty who has killed the marshall of the Ching Dynasty after going undercover. Learning of this "betrayal", the new Emperor sends his top man, To Ku-Lan (Eagle Han) to kills Sun. To enlists the aid of his henchmen to do away with him. Meanwhile, Northern Kick Sung Hsin (John Liu) has also come to town. At first, he joins To's group and takes on Sun in a fight. When To takes it upon himself to viciously defeat Sun, the Southern Fist is nursed by young woman Kei Kei (Fanny Wang). However, is Kei Kei all she appears to be and what will happen when Sung is discovered to actually have plans to stop the Chings as well? Only time will tell.
William Cheung, who worked as cinematographer on The Secret Rivals and its sequel, helms this classic kung fu film that can be said to be a rip-off of the series. However, in retrospect, in some ways, this can be called Secret Rivals 3. Of course, that "title" went to a film that was released two years later. That film would be Northern Kick, Southern Fist, starring John Liu and Alexander Lo.
Meanwhile, the stars of the original Secret Rivals, Don Wang and John Liu, once again play the Southern Fist expert and the Northern Kick expert. Of course, they use different names and it's the same in the sense that they must take on a common enemy. In this case, it is the late Eagle Han Ying, who uses both Mantis Fist kung fu and taekwondo's kicking skills to a hellacious level that comes close to his fellow Korean, Hwang Jang-Lee.
The fight scenes, choreographed by Chin Yuet-Sang and Mang Hoi, are just top notch. Wang uses some Mantis fist himself and does some nice kicks. Liu, always one of the perennial kickers, does his fantastic kicking as always. However, it is Han who steals the show by showing his crispy hand techniques and frenetic kicking skills. As for the plot, it seems standard in the sense that if you have seen Secret Rivals, you know what to expect. However, there is another twist that proves crucial to the storyline and because of this, it proves to be superior to most standard kung fu films.
Death Duel of Kung Fu is definitely an underrated classic film. Wang and Liu are in top form, but it is Eagle Han who definitely steals the show.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5