Dian tang lang

`I call this my Shrimp Fist, I designed it to beat idiots like you,' says the happy-go-lucky Ah Chin, a trouble-making scamp with an eye on helping the needy. His misadventures lead to all kinds of trouble with the Jade Horse clan, who set their mind on wiping out Ah Chin and all who knows him. God knows what triggers the brutal assault, but needless to say Ah Chin must hone up on his kung fu skills (by learning a crazy form of Mantis Fist) in order to defeat these evil scoundrels. Fists perched, legs balanced and beard on full display, Leung Kar Yan truly shines in this somewhat lacklustre kung fu quickie. Culminating in a memorable if truly insane finale, we watch as Ah Chin becomes so bitterly twisted and vengeful, he takes on a new deranged form, dribbling down his beard and occasionally collapsing into lapses of Mantis convoltions, before breaking his opponents to pieces and eating their sweet raw flesh. Hmm, tasty.

I hate it when people who do not understand the genre, post stupid or ludicrous comments. You cannot watch this film with a jaded "American Cinema" perception. Sure it has bad dubbing and a simplistic plot. SO what? It simply has the best fight scenes and action of any martial arts film EVER. The ending is not "sick or gross", it's a strange twist and makes the film unforgettable. The lead is tortured so mercilessly, and so unrelentingly, that by film's end, you're half expecting the brutal onslaught to be unleashed. Note carefully the manic yet precise performance as the hero fights the bad guys during the incredible final sequences. That's one bad man! So, in short, If u don't "get it", then don't watch it!

"Thundering Mantis" gives you what you expect from a Chinese kung fu movie--poor dubbing, lots of fighting (much of which is obviously fake), and a fairly predictable plot. The main musical theme is like something you'd find in "ChiPs", not really belonging to the movie, but rather amusing. And the introduction, oh boy, if you like cheesy fighting, you'll be rewinding like anything.

This movie does do a few things right, better than most kung fu movies. I actually wanted the villains to get their butts kicked. The movie does a good job of showing how Hsia and his henchmen are increasingly cruel and sadistic. Moreover, I actually cared when the good guys suffered(!), especially the boy. "Thundering" even has some pretty funny scenes which are actually supposed to be humorous.

Overall, it's worth viewing at least once. Some people may be repulsed by the ending, and there is a bit of swearing, but I still give it 6/10.

I watched this film in two parts... the first half I watched around a friends house and we both got kinda bored with it as it's composed mainly of comic scenes (that aren't particularly funny - think Jackie Chan) intended to establish characters and get the plot moving... a month or so later (in a slightly inebriated state) I decided to finish watching the film... maybe it was my state of intoxication, but the thing that stuck me immediately was how funny the film is both in terms of the slapstick scenes and the bizarre dubbing which has the master sounding like Albert Steptoe and a whole slew of baddies like John Wayne... the fight scenes are superbly crafted and have many nice original touches... and the ending is possibly the most insane thing I have seen since American Psycho... this is a great film, probably best approached as a p***take comedy... enjoy

This has got to be one of my favorite old school Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks. There are a lot of clichés in both the writing and the characters' mannerisms, but for someone who enjoys this genre of film those things are par for the course. On the other hand, there are a few things that make this film stand out. The protagonist style (mantis) is one that is already one of the weirdest (and most vicious) systems of Kung Fu in the martial arts world, and has been given an even weirder twist in this film. Secondly, the boy in this film is one of the stars and nearly steals the show; he has some impressive training sequences, does some impressive acrobatics (some of them wire assisted) and has at least one solid fight scene. The last thing that really makes this film stand out is the ending. The whole film up until the end is pretty happy-go-lucky and predictable, but the bizarre and brutal nature of the film's conclusion has caused it to stand out in my mind. For fans of the genre who don't mind a dark twist here and there this is a gem, but if you're easily shocked, please turn away.