Fist of Fury: The Legend of Chen Zhen (2010)

[daisho2004]

OK I got to watch this movie last night, and I have mixed feelings about it.
1st. off I was expecting this to top Ip Man # 1 & 2 and it didn't even come close! The beginning action scene when he is fighting in the war was to sped up and that just ruined it for me.
2nd. most of the action scenes weren't that good the camera angles were really bad.
3rd. To much dialogue and not enough fighting.
The end fighting scene was pretty good which probably made up for the rest of the movie.
I mean it had a decent storyline but to me it still left out certain points, they only once refer back to Chen Zen and how everyone thought he had been killed by the Japanese at the end of The Chinese Connection aka The Big Boss one time. It never explained what happened to his school or any of the students. I was really expecting so much more out of this movie, it had the right stuff but it look like it was thrown together in a blender in a hurry!

[blue_skies]

From everything I have read it sounds like it's going to be disappointing at best and terrible at worst. Excluding IP Man (and the sequel I haven't seen) Donnie Yen films have been largely disappointing since his star rose making big-budget movies in China. Very good production values but largely unsatisfying from an action point of view. No doubt at some point I'll watch it but as far as I'm concerned Donnie Yen films are no longer an essential, must-see as soon as possible. I hope he can deliver a thrilling action movie with more quality action and martial-arts very soon, before it's too late in his career... Assuming it's not already.

[sen_pai]

Just wanna say that I enjoy your blog. Been checking it out since a few weeks ago. I mainly check 2 sites for martial arts. This forum and yours. I've been a really big fan of martial arts within the last few years.

Watched the film, definately a mixed bag but worth a look..you can find my full review on my blog here...

ASIAN CINEMA BLOG (http://asiancultcinema-drees5761.blogspot.com/)

[FeiLong]

Legend of The Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen released !!

DVD editions:
DVD9, DVD5 & DVD5-Simple-Pack

Spec for the DVD9:
Mandarin DTS, 5.1 and 2.0
Optional Mandarin subtitles
Dual-layered disc with capacity 6.96 GB
Region All (Region 0)
Anamorphic Widescreen
Runtime 101 min (PAL) plus 22 min special features
Disc SID should read "IFPI Z226"
Distributed by GuoShi Culture

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd166/FeiLong_01/15473x.jpg http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd166/FeiLong_01/15475x.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd166/FeiLong_01/15476x.jpg

[mark187]

http://www.yesasia.com/us/legend-of-the-fist-the-return-of-chen-zhen-dvd-hong-kong-version/1023698304-0-0-0-en/info.html

HK dvd and BD are out on Nov. 18th!!!

[AlbertV]

Going to watch it later this afternoon. I usually like the Fist of Fury legend, but considering all the mixed reviews, I will see and judge for myself. :D

[AlbertV]

Okay, watched it this afternoon and I agree with most of you...was definitely a mixed bag. The opening was awesome with Chen taking out the German troops in France. There was a lot more dramatic scenes and I liked the homage somewhat to Kato in certain scenes. I like did like the twist that involved a certain nightclub singer and the finale was really done well.

If I had to rank it right now...I'd say borderline B-/C+...good attempt but could have done a little better.

[FeiLong]

Bluray Slipcase available !!

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd166/FeiLong_01/15616x.jpg

[kingofkungfu2002]

The UK dvd & bluray release is scheduled for Jan 31st, from Metrodome :smile:

http://www.metrodomegroup.com/content.asp?id=28002&action=dvd

[andy338]

I watched this last night, absolutely terrible, boring with hardly any action, when they were shooting didn't anybody suggest throwing some fights in considering it's supposed to be an action movie (it is isn't it?). I'd been looking forward to this hoping it would be right up there with Fist of Legend, sadly i'd rather watch Jackie's New Fists of Fury 10 times than sit through this once again.

[Ramji]

Watched this twice now. As has been previously mentioned I don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be. Obviously everyone's entitiled to their opinion but I find it an entertaining hour and a half. Could have down with more action and less MTV style editing but still found it pretty exciting and enjoyed the production values. Not up there with SPL/Flashpoint but on par with 14 Blades for me.

[dyenboy]

finally got to see this movie and I liked it, this is vintage donnie yen style all over this

The war scene was epic, top notch. I was more fascinated with that scene then the final fight, which I did not care for, after the scene it was more like, you kick my ass now i'm gonna kick your ass, eh..to one sided

Also, I thought there was a good amount of action scene but I do agree there was alot of talking but how else would you build the story. I didn't think the talking was excessive as bodyguards and assassins...

Definetly loved the kato tribute as well, once again another donnie yen movie and this is going in my collectionI APPROVED!! :xd:

[mark187]

yeah I agree! overall, I liked this the best out of Donnie's three movies this year. I think the movie was paced very quickly, so none of the dialogue scenes went on too long anyway, and luckily the editing and all that wasn't as bad as many reviews made it out to be. The only part which suffered a lot from the editing and camera angles I thought was the nunchaku sequence during the finale. a couple of nice shots still in there though.

SPOILER ALERT
~I thought it was perfect how when after Donnie killed the final guy, there was a direct reference to Fist of Fury (the failed attempt at getting up whilst coughing up blood)!!

[Golden Arm Kid]

Eh. Imo I was never a fan of Donnie's version of Chen Zhen. I understand it's supposed to be Donnie's own interpretation of the character and story but I honestly winced the first time I saw his portrayal. Idk just not my thing. Of course I'll check this out though when I can.

[Ramji]

Had the chance to see this at my local independent cinema yesterday. Always a treat to see HK film on the big screen. It lends itself well to the cinema, it's that kind of film. Sets look great, action looked that much better. Only thing was, even though they advertised it as being in cantonese, it was in mandarin. Half the actors spoke mandarin anyway which made some of the performances better for me (Huang Bo and Shu Qi for instance) but Donnie Yen and Anthony Wong were dubbed. Unfortuanately the print wasn't the best either. I don't know where they got it from but imagine it's the one used for the new UK home release. Bit poor.

Apart from that was pretty cool! I know there's a lot of hate for this move but each to his own!

[udar55]

Bumping this thread up as this film is finally coming out in the US this Tuesday (6/14).

[KUNG FU BOB]

First of all, despite the listed street date, I saw this in Best Buy on June 7th! I was in there snooping around for anything cool to get with a rewards coupon I had, and I saw it in the DVDs. I was shocked because I thought that it wasn't out yet. But after spying the DVD I marched over to the BR section, saw they had it, and picked it up.

The BR comes with a DVD also, which I thought was really redundant. I'd have preferred more special features. The disc had trailers and two short BTS bits which together added up to around 15-17 minutes. Seemed like they could've had a lot more in the way of features, but what is included is subbed and enjoyable. Also, the BR pic quality was fantastic and I only saw one flaw in all of the subs (the letter G was accidentally dropped in the word "things" in one sentence).

HOWEVER... Buyers beware... on Friday I was out with my son and we stopped in FYE. On the shelf I saw a completely different cover on the DVD- which indicated that it was a "special edition" which listed more special features. :neutral: DAMMIT! I checked with the clerk to see if there was a "special edition" of the BR too. Yep. And, she made a face and said "Whoops! This is on the shelf before street date!" So, now I have an opened copy that includes a DVD with the same stuff as the BR, but not the edition with the extras I want. :squigglemouth: This shit drives me crazy. I wish they would just put out one decent version. Anyway, the up-side is I get to warn everyone else not to buy the wrong version, and to say that WellGo has released another very nice Region 1 of a new Asian movie. :nerd:

[DiP]

Reviews of HK and US BDs are up at Blu-ray.com. Well Go USA surpasses the HK BD in video and extras (more features) while HK BD has the best audio and an exclusive extra in form of deleted scenes.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Legend-of-the-Fist-The-Return-of-Chen-Zhen-Blu-ray/17673/#Review

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Legend-of-the-Fist-The-Return-of-Chen-Zhen-Blu-ray/21131/#Review

[massa_yoda]

So, now I have an opened copy that includes a DVD with the same stuff as the BR, but not the edition with the extras I want. :squigglemouth: This shit drives me crazy. I wish they would just put out one decent version.

I have checked both Best Buy and Walmart and both only have the single disc Blu-Ray, but have the two disc Collector's Edition on Standard DVD. So do I want superior picture and sound or a few more extras for the same price??? I went with the BR. I can always watch interview clips online. It's just weird that they released it this way.

[gorhama]

Just to keep this thread alive a little longer. This is now streaming in HD on Netflix!! I checked last night and it's the Cantonese verstion with English Subs.

A good chance for those who haven't see it to give it a chance!!

[massa_yoda]

Can anyone cue me in on the deleted scenes on the Megastar DVD release? I hear they are important and actually improve the film. I have my Well Go edition and I'm happy with it, but I want to know what's in the deleted material.

[Killer Meteor]

Is this a Cantonese or Mandarin film? The UK DVD is Mandarin only, but doesn't appear to be dubbed.

[DiP]

It's a Hong Kong/China co-production in Mandarin and with additional dialogue in Japanese and English. Most people prefer Cantonese though because it features real voices by Donnie and Anthony Wong. However, that would be unrealistic if you go by the film's setting because it takes place in Shanghai, where Mandarin is common.