Las Garras Del Dragón

DRAGON'S CLAWS is a cheap knock off of the likes of the popular movies that Jackie Chan was having success with during the era - films like DRUNKEN MASTER and SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW provide the obvious template for this film, about a young student whose master is offed by a ruthless rival and who vows to take revenge by training up and then fighting the bad guy himself. The hero is played by the young Jimmy Liu, designed to look like Jackie, but he doesn't have much of Jackie's charisma or ability.

The plot is very straightforward and the fight scenes are quite ordinary, but overall this isn't a bad kind of film. There's plentiful action and incident in the short running time, and there are few slow spots too. Some of it is quite outrageous, like the scene with the drunken master encouraging the kids to urinate. Hwang Jang Lee is as always an imposing presence as the villain of the piece and gets to kick plenty of backside. DRAGON'S CLAWS is hardly a classic but it does pass the time well enough for undemanding fans.

Master Lung Tzu, leader of the legendary Dragon Boxing sect, is killed in open combat by Dragon Claw expert Ling Fung. Lung Tzu's wife and son go into hiding, and the son begins the arduous training necessary to master the art of Dragon Boxing, thanks to a kindly medicine man, who also happens to be a martial arts master along the way. A master, who eventually agrees to train up the young man for absolute revenge, Dragon's Claws style...

Not dissimilar to Snake in the Eagles shadow, this is a fairly enjoyable, old school offering, and instead of the hero being Jackie Chan, it's Lau Kar Leung's nephew. He does a decent job as the young hero, who goes up against Hwang Jang Lee, who once again plays the bad guy, with all the skills you would expect! Largely this is a very entertaining piece, skilfully blending both humorous touches with some very worthwhile fights. Theres some good characterisation and angle, namely the hero's mother who had caused the injury to her husband which ultimately leads to his demise. Her husband had drugged her and had his way with her, had a kid and she had to marry him,

Joseph Kuo was the mastermind behind some of the legendary independent kung fu films of the 1970's and 80's. Not that hey were masterpieces of cinema but that they were some of the most idiosyncratic kung fu films made. 18 Bronze-men, Ninja Checkmate and many others. Here he keeps the story slightly more grounded in reality but it's pretty far out there anyway.

A "Dragon Claw" master returns from Manchuria where he became a traitor to China. He's after the coveted Dragon Claw Golden Tablet that will force people to bow down to him. He challenges the Grand-master who has a checkered past of his own. The Grand-master happens to suffers from a terminal chronic injury related to his evil past. The traitor kills the grand-master, causing his wife and son the go into hiding. The wife seems to really be the Dragon Claw master in the family and she vows to train her son the kung fu secrets. The son finds that one of his friends has learned a strange style of kung fu from a filthy medicine man. The son seeks him out to improve his kung fu and defeat the traitor.

Everything that makes a low budgeted kung fu film fun is here. Strange villains, the traitor has brought two nasty friends along, the Red Monster and the Green Monster. Red fights with an abacus! Quirky Chinese humor abounds but it doesn't supplant the martial arts. While I would guess that Dragon Claw is wholly invented (it looks like the real martial art of Tiger Claw mixed up with other southern kung fu styles) but there are lots of real martial arts on display from all of the actors. As mentioned in other comments, Kam Chia Fung is quite impressive.

Quite a decent amount of fun. Recommended.

Once again, I am pleasantly surprised by an old school Kung Fu film that, despite a routine story, elevates itself above the mundane with excellent characters, some welcome wackiness and superb acrobatic fighting. I fully expected Dragon's Claws to be a chore to sit through, but thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this wonderfully entertaining fight flick.

Jimmy Liu stars as Leung Chow, son of Master Lung, leader of the Dragon Boxing sect. When Master Lung is killed by Ling Fung (played by legendary kicker Hwang Jang Lee), Leung and his mother (Kan Chia Fung from Kung Fu Hustle) must go into hiding to protect the Dragon's Claw medallion, which signifies power and position.

In order to do battle with Ling, Leung trains with the strange old man who peddles medicines in the village, and learns the skills necessary to avenge his father.

This film has so much going for it that one can easily overlook the banality of the plot. Fighters use poles, fans, chopsticks and even piglets during the course of their mêlées. The obligatory training scenes include some great methods involving the use of gold balls to strengthen the arms and jumping like a toad to improve agility.

One unbelievable scene has the old man collect the urine of little boys in order to cure Leung of an otherwise fatal attack from Ling; in the process he gets covered from head to foot in wee!

The movie culminates in an incredible hilltop battle between Leung and Ling which features some truly jaw dropping martial arts. Don't miss this great example of classic Kung Fu movie making.

While the movie says the new style Dragons Claws, There really is no such thing. If you want to see real Eagle Claw then watch this movie! This is not Tae Kwon Do! Because of the excellent fights in this movie I now try to see every movie Hwang Jang Lee ever made. While parts of this movie are a little silly, there are excellent training sequences in the traditional style.

Watch his feet! Amazing!!