Shen bu you ji

Sammo Kam-Bo Hung has crafted a masterpiece of classic martial arts action. Do not miss this.

This film contains some of the best martial arts fight scenes ever shot. Long takes, complex action with large numbers of participants, but most importantly, absolutely stunning choreography and plenty of it. Even in intense action sequences Samo can add a moment of humour before the intensity starts again.

The plot is decent (for a martial arts movie). The comedy is slapstick orientated and thankfully mostly works.

As any fan of Asian action cinema knows, it's the fights that matter and these action sequences deliver in spades.

Samo Hung is a legend amongst fight fans, but sadly largely unrecognised outside Hong Kong aficionados for his absolutely massive contribution to action scenes that Hollywood slowly picked up on. Unfortunately, they still don't grasp many of the concepts Samo and his fellows, like Jackie Chan, created in the 80's Golden years of Hong Kong cinema. Fight editing is dire in Hollywood.

Sadly, every copy I can find is not of the best quality, even the DVD. I really wish someone would do a restoration job on it.

I've watched this more times than I care to think about. Every single time, the action makes my muscles tense and I hit the rewind too often. It really is that good!

A solid 10 for martial arts fans. Do not miss this one. 7/10 for others.

Chan-Wing (Sammo Hung) is an arrogant young kung-fu fighter who goes around testing random strangers to see if he can find someone better than himself who can be his Master. After some searching he finds passive Leung Chun-Yau (Ka-Yan Leung) who refuses to be Chan-wing's Master despite his undying and comical determinacy to get Leung to do so, until an ongoing family feud threatens to consume Leung's relatively peaceful life. The light hearted comedy of the first 30 minutes turns to a slightly darker, but none the less thrilling tone for the rest of the film. Excellent choreographed fighting sequences, an engrossing story, and a touch of humorous comedic moments make this a delight for even the most casual Sammo Hung fan. Not to discount Ka-Yan Leung in the least, as he's simply amazing in this film as well.

My Grade: A

DVD Extras: Commentary by Ric Meyers and Bobby Samuels; a compilation 'Martial Arts Theater' trailer; and Trailers for "Running out of Time", "Dragon Inn", "Armageddon", and "the Duel"

(1980) The Victim (In Chinese with English subtitles) ACTION

Directed and starred by Sammo Hung (Hung Kam Bo) which states the situation about a brother picked up when he was an orphan and at the same time hated by the father's biological son who even tried to take his wife away. And making things complicated they both have the exact same kung fu style of using the fists except that the star was a better fighter. This nonsensical plot is nothing more than a device to showcase some amazing acrobatic martial arts when Sammo was still in his prime. So basically this rating is for the "kung fu" and not so much for the plot.

If you are a Kungfu classic fan, you must get this film. Warning, you must be patient through the first 10 minutes of this movie. If you can survive the first five minutes, you will definitely be rewarded. This movie has absolutely great fight scenes and a cool story. As the movie progresses the fight scenes become more and more vicious. Why this movie is never listed among the great classics like, 5 deadly Venoms, Master Killer, Snakefist and the monkey shadow and so on, is baffling. Though the movie starts pretty silly, things get pretty serious and stay serious for the remainder of the movie. For Icing on the cake, Wilson Tong makes an appearance. I am absolutely positive that it has the best final fight scene in Kungfu cinema History. A Must See!

Brilliant action choreography, a story filled with twists and turns and an unforgettable ending makes this an all-time classic in the genre.

This is one of Sammo's masterpieces and Leung Kar Yan has never looked better fighting onscreen. Wilson Tong earns his nickname of the "Foot Doctor" in this classic.

Highest possible recommendation