You may think that the secret to becoming a kung fu master is years of practise and dedication. But let me tell you; you'll never be truly good unless you see your family killed by evil kung fu men who laugh crapulently as they inflict that final blow on your dying father. Only after witnessing this heinous crime will you be able to study under the master who lives down the road, ultimately revenging yourself.
But I digress. What of the this film? Invoking standard kung fu plot #1, with a couple of minor variations involving American actors, Zhu zai xie lei (or Sun Dragons as my copy was called) could, on a generous day, be described as below average. I'm in such a generous mood, so I'll try to be kind regarding this film's myriad flaws.
Let's start with the dubbing. This won't be a problem for everyone watching the film, but if you see the same print I did you're in for a treat; the single worst dub in the history of cinema. Trying to encapsulate such awfulness in a few words is impossible, it really does have to be heard to be believed. Then there's the really bad editing. The dismal plot. And the kung fu.
If you're of the opinion that quantity will make up for quality, then this is the film for you. Containing as it does more than the average number of fights, you'll be reasonably happy as long as you like watching one guy beating the crap out of six people at a time. However, these scenes are too frequent and too long to hold the interest for long, and I found myself keeping an eye on the foot fodder in background, patiently waiting for another opportunity to get kicked in the face by one of our heroes.
The traditional bosses, who we would expect to give us a decent show, fail to do so. After the unremarkable fights leading up to the end, the viewer has the right to at least hope for something better; this does not happen.
Overall, the film is sufficiently cheesy and fight-filled to keep one watching, and it does have a tendency to fall into the 'so bad it's watchable' category occasionally.
This is a movie that's bad enough that it shows you how a movie shouldn't be made, but not sufficiently bad that you'll find yourself unable to stick with it.
