Shi ba ban wu yi

This movie has one of the best introductions of any film I have ever seen. The introduction shows a woman demonstrating several weapons of Kung Fu while sinister music plays. By demonstrating, I mean killing several men with these deadly weapons of Kung Fu! This movie has great style and creativity throughout. The story line is actually good, but might take several viewings to really understand what is going on.

Like others have said, it is not really a serious martial arts film, but it is one of my favorites nonetheless. You cannot beat the sinister music/introduction sequence in the beginning of the movie. That is worth watching alone. If you are a fan of Chinese Super Ninja, you will also like this movie.

I think watching Shaw Brothers movies is a bit like doing martial arts; if you go a while without practice, you lose the progress and skills you built up. I went on a binge of the studio's movies early last year, then went away for a bit, and now I'm back, feeling out of shape and out of breath trying to keep up with Legendary Weapons of China.

It could be partly or wholly on me, but I'm also open to the idea that this one might just be a bit much. It throws many characters and concepts (voodoo, invulnerable warriors, mistaken identities, disguises, magic, etc) at you so quickly; I was confused from the start and just got more confused as I went on.

Now, a confusing plot hasn't got in the way of me really enjoying martial arts movies before, but I was also confused during various fight scenes in Legendary Weapons of China. It's hard to get a handle on how some of the fantasy elements work, and who has the power to do what, and with the usual fast pacing and feeling that everything is slightly sped up (not just in the fight scenes either, unusually; I think that added to the confusion for me), I couldn't keep up.

Now, if that's on me (and I'm sure at least some of it is), I can't call this terrible. There is at least the ability to admire its ambition and unique qualities, even if those things did make me lose track of the things I'd usually enjoy. And the final fight scene did redeem things in my eyes a little. It downplays the crazy magic stuff to mostly just be a one-on-one fight that goes on for a while and involves many different weapons, and it was easily the most impressive sequence from a stunt/choreography perspective.

This is the kind of film where anyone who can keep up is likely to have a blast, but for whatever reason, tonight, it was just a little too much too fast for me personally. Gotta get back to my Shaw Brothers training regime, maybe...

The earlier comments give an unfair slating to what is an enjoyable film.The gaffes are obvious , (in such films as this the 1st class director Liu Chia Liang, was redefining the kung fu film , after the earlier swordplay flicks, and bruce lee's seminal movies, this film is set in late Ching dynasty China.) This is a film of rare quality , combining humour , a reasonable plot and some displays of great martial artistry, such as are no longer found in but a handful of films. The choreography is excellent, (only Sammo Hung at his best approaches Liu 's ability to film a fight with loving care for displaying technique)This film also benefits from the presence of the charismatic Fu Sheng and the Multi talented Hui Ying Hung. The special effects are cheap , but cheerful.(the previous reviewer seems to have missed that the purpose of all the bladed cloaks etc. was to show that tricks are no substitute for skill, skill no defence against bullets ... A classic of Kung Fu cinema

This is a great kung fu movie once you get the opening done with. The storyline is fairly confusing in the beginning, but that passes with time. The fight scenes are neat to watch, but they get exponentially better as time goes on. The fight with Gordon Liu (36th Chamber) is good and the final fight WAS FANTASTIC! This isn't a movie to sit down and watch for the stimulation. The character development isn't as good as FIVE VENOMS, or SWORDSMAN II, but it's fair. The weapons fighting is just unbelievable in the last fight scene. All in all, if you are a fan of kung-fu movies, get around to checking this one out. The three-section-staff work is even better than in 36th Chamber.

Anyone who has reviewed this movie and stated the plot is stupid has no knowledge of 19th century China. In fact during the Boxer Rebellion these "Boxers" believed through rituals they could make themselves impervious to firearms. No I am not making this up and neither did Chia-Liang Liu and while he exaggerated and had fun with it for comedic values he was making an historical notation. The Martial Arts in this movie are exceptional and so is the outrageous humor instilled in this movie. Not only did he poke fun at the Boxers but also many of the Martial Arts movies of the 1970s that went a little overboard with the magical Kung Fu element. And all in the same breath showed the usage of almost every weapon used in Chinese Martial Arts. The talent in this movie speaks for itself aside from Liu and his brothers there is Fu Sheng, Hou Hsiao and the sweet Kara Hui. They don't make Martial Arts movies this original or good anymore either with all the Ip Man clones and CGI epics not even close. All I can say is Chia-Liang Liu you are sorely missed.... And the point is no amount of skill will help you dodge a bullet!