After his father and uncle are killed by Tiger Claw experts, Bruce Leung trains in Crane Fist kung fu to avenge their deaths.
It’s the fluid Crane Fist vs. the powerful Tiger Claw in Fists, Kicks and the Evils, a moderately entertaining old school flick featuring several notable performers and Bruce Leung.
One-time Bruce Lee imitator Bruce Leung plays an altogether unlikable hothead who comes to the aid of his uncle, played by Taiwanese director Lee Tso Nam. Tso Nam has just got the stuffing kicked out of him by an almost unrecognizable Bolo Leung (Enter the Dragon) and his partner, played by Phillip Ko Fei (The Hot, The Cool, and the Vicious). The two are Tiger Claw experts who have an old hatred of Crane Fist stylists and it just so happens that Bruce’s father and his two martial arts brothers once used Crane Fist. Bruce endures the murder of his father in overly dramatic fashion and begins training under the guidance Tso Nam until he too is killed by the Tiger Claw experts. Bruce then nearly gets himself killed while attempting to get revenge, but is saved by his father’s remaining brother. At this time, Bruce’s training in Crane Fist is nearly completed. After a chance encounter with Bolo leads to the successful and bloody match, Bruce invents an unexplained technique to finish off Ko Fei.
This is one of those films that could have been a near classic had it starred someone else like Jackie Chan or even Mang Fei. Bruce Leung is simply a hammy actor who just doesn’t perform well. His approach to portraying the Crane Fist style is brutish, although I admit to having seen worse martial arts skills on screen. The best act is put on by Bolo Leung, the guy most genre fans think of as the muscle-bound brute. Here, his massive physique is almost entirely masked and his martial arts display is based on skill rather than strength. Interestingly, this karate champion manages to look like a kung fu expert and it’s a shame so few of his films have given him this opportunity to shine.
Phillip Ko Fei is brilliant as usual in his martial arts performance, although he does take more of a back seat on acting. His final match with Bruce in a bamboo forest is memorable, thanks in part to some solid camerawork. One of best favorite aspects of these films is to see the hero training to build up strength in one part of his body for later use against his enemies. Here, Bruce mashes his hands into a basket of rocks until he grinds them to powder. In the final battle, you can anticipate seeing that hand doing some serious damage to the human body. In contrast, the gimmick where Bruce uses a finishing move on Ko Fei that he learned while watching birds fighting in a cage is poorly shot and its significance is never made clear. I feel the filmmakers got lazy at this point, but there’s no reason for it when much of the choreography throughout was quite good.
Fists, Kicks and the Evils is sadly a hard sell. The uninspiring plot and Bruce Leung’s annoying acting in particular will test the most diehard fan’s patience. I also have to mention his nearly as annoying sidekick who is played by some pubescent kid dubbed by a really bad woman’s voice. Yet, you have one of Bolo Yeung’s best performances, Phillip Ko in attendance, and solid choreography on several fights. In a perfect world, kung fu aficionados would not have to make compromises like these, but this film will bring you back to reality.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Genre: Kung Fu
