Tian long ba bu

Prior viewer's descriptions of the action offered here have been duly attempted and I won't dispute anything I've read. I will just say, you REALLY have to be in the mood for this.

I've been watching Kung Fu movies on TV since the 1970's, and I've seen some pretty wild stuff. But this one dumps a whole kitchen sink of action and effects on you. A lot of it makes no sense and a lot of it looks terrible, but hey, like I said, you have to be in the mood. And as to those cheapy laser beams, just look at American, high-end effects in 1977. Star Wars came out the same year, and the laser effects there were not hugely better than this stuff. Production values as a whole were worlds apart, but the laser beams themselves? Not a big difference.

Thank the Red Dragon, or the deity of your choice, for the El Rey Network. It has "Flying, Five Finger, One Armed, Eight Pole, Shaolin, Exploding Death Touch Thursdays". Wonders like this one are now brought to my TV each week. Not every movie can be a classic like Enter the Dragon, but El Rey shows them all with no prejudice. Actually, thank Robert Rodriguez, for putting his reputation and cash on the line to start that channel. I don't know another network that would show us these treasures.

In a contest for the strangest Kung Fu movie, I'm not sure which one would win, but this movie, and Hong hai er (The Fantastic Magic Baby) are definitely two of the top contenders.

Within the opening few minutes of Battle Wizard, you are sure to guess just what kind of movie you're in for! As an angry husband bursts into the room, cursing his cheating wife, her lover leaps through a window then proceeds to shoot lasers from his fingers, eventually cutting the lower legs of the husband...

Stereotyped and honorary Hong Kong cop Danny Lee, had starred in a number of Shaw Brothers hits before fans got used to seeing him play a member of the police force in any number of Hong Kong films. A few of those Shaw's hits were pretty odd offerings, although still highly entertaining, and Battle Wizard is one such movie!

Director Pao Hsueh Li brings Louis Cha's novel 'The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' to life with outrageous action scenes, crazy characters and monsters. From the girl who charms snakes into peoples bodies with a wiggle of her nose, to the hard-skulled, razor-teethed, bad guy with a retractable lobster claw on a chain (who runs at incredible speed), and the masked beauty who fires darts from her large bone-shaped weapon; Battle Wizard opens with 30 minutes of insanity that will either have you laughing-out-loud and falling for its bizarre charm, or reaching for the control to switch it off.

Danny Lee is hilarious as the young scholar who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, constantly getting slapped about by the girls, getting into trouble with the bad guys, and eventually becoming a kung-fu master. He gains such powers by wrestling in a river with a giant red python, before biting its neck and sucking its blood. Because of that, we get the line made famous by Keanu in The Matrix, as Danny Lee comments, 'I know kung-fu..!' Mind you, that's if you are watching the classic English dub, something I must recommend to add to the fun and excitement of watching Battle Wizard.

While the main cast makes a change from most Chang Cheh or Lau Kar Leung hits, they still impress and we get to see some bit-parts by legends such as Yuen Cheung Yan, Corey Yuen Kwai, Yuen Wah, Yuen Shun Yee, and even the Bastard Swordsman himself, Tsui Siu Keung shows up for some action. While the fights aren't as intricate as something choreographed by Lau Kar Leung or the Yuen Clan, they still provide a lot of entertainment and great moves. Shaw Brothers veterans, Tong Gaai and Wong Pau Gei handle the fight choreography providing endless amounts of fantastical kung-fu, using weapons and finger lasers as fighters face off against each other. Around the hour mark we get a fantastic battle as the bad guys attack and an imprisoned Lee takes on a gorilla. As the gorilla proves to be a worthy opponent, Danny resorts to eating a magic toad that makes him invincible to the point where he puts the hairy beast to the ground with one zap of a laser, then proceeds to rip its arm off!

The abused lover from the beginning, who was made a cripple by having his knees zapped by such a finger laser, now returns for revenge, complete with extendable, metal chicken legs - I kid you not - who can also breathe fire and palm-blast fireballs!

With many great sets and detailed costumes, as with most Shaw's productions, you certainly can't deny the effort put in to the production. Offering many wild special effects much like Bastard Swordsman, Holy Flame Of The Martial World and Demon Of The Lute which are all worth the watch...

Director Pao, who worked alongside Chang Cheh on many classics also directed many great films such as The Boxer From Shantung, Delightful Forest and The Kung Fu Emperor with Ti Lung which I really enjoy. Battle Wizard surprises with its very short running time, and will hardly go down as one of the finest Shaw's productions, but it still proves to be highly entertaining - if not for the added bonus of some unintentional laughs.

Overall: Worth a watch and great fun, Battle Wizard is one crazy film!

Definitely along the lines of "Anything Goes" HK cinema, Battle Wizard starts crazy and remains that way to the very end. Convoluted story, strange characters, garish special effects and a snappy pace keep this film entertaining, that is if you go for this sort of thing.

This is the sort of movie that is immune to most commentary just by the obvious disregard the film makers have for normal movie making. Either you watch this sort of film or you don't. The only comment I can make is that whoever edited this film should have been sent back to the butcher shop to resume slicing tripe. It's some of the worst editing I ever have seen in a Shaw production.

Fun for an afternoon with friends.

THE BATTLE WIZARD is a wacky, effects-fuelled martial world romp from Shaw that once again features Danny Lee in a kind of superhero-style role. This one came out just four months after STAR WARS and may have been influenced by that film's reliance on then-cutting edge FX technology. It's a short, fast-paced little adventure, with a ton of action and bizarre touches to make it enjoyable; Chiang Tao's half-human terminator and the fighting gorilla are highlights here. The guy with metal legs is also a hoot, and Tien Ni has a great role as a conflicted femme fatale.

This is one of those "so bad it's good" type of movies. Plot and editing are all over the place, as are action scenes, but that doesn't matter when people shoot laser beams from their hands and spit fire like dragons. It's a great to watch with your mate to laugh and question life while watching it. I give it 6/10 though. Not everyone can watch this and the movie has a very slow beginning. I recommend it just to hardcore fans of kung fu movies and bad movies!