Ba dao zong heng

The first thing you'll notice about this one is that despite being a relatively recent film, the DVD copy stinks. It's fuzzy and was washed out--and they should have put a warning on the DVD that this was the case. However, in addition to the rotten print, the DVD producers wanted to be deceptive. You see, this was marketed as a Sonny Chiba film--but he's barely in the movie! So, unsuspecting folks who LOVE Chiba are left frustrated and angry because of this false marketing ploy. Thanks Navarre for going out of your way to mislead your customers.

As for the story it's about cops and assassins and mobsters. Much of it takes place in Hong Kong and stars a lot of Japanese actors. Frankly, because Chiba was barely in the film and the production values so very low (ooh, that crying Japanese lady was annoying), I lost any desire to finish the film as it progressed. And, in a rare case, I turned it off towards the end--it was a HUGE disappointment.

First of all, let's clear some things up: a) Sonny Chiba has what amounts to a cameo, b) Sibelle Hu has a secondary role and virtually no action to herself. So the DVD cover could be classified as misleading. The lead of the film is a Japanese undercover cop who (at the request of his superior, Chiba) goes beyond the law and assassinates three family members of a gangster in Hong Kong. Looking for revenge, the gangster kills a Hong Kong cop and his father, thinking they might be connected to the assassination. The cop's partner (Sibelle) travels to Japan and teams up with a local policeman to bring down the gangster and his organization, while the lead is planning HIS revenge. This is apparently a Japan/Hong Kong co-production, but the flavor is mostly Japanese. Not only because all the dialogue is dubbed in that language, but also because most of the film takes place in Japan, and the violence is EXTREME and ritualistic (severed heads, chopped-off ears, geysers of blood, etc.). But there is not enough action for my tastes, and much of what action there is, is poorly directed (though the lead is unmistakably skilled). It's not a terrible movie, but beware of the misleading marketing. (**)

Anybody who tries to promote this as a Shin'ichi "Sonny" Chiba vehicle is going about it all wrong, as the legendary martial artist makes just a couple of fleeting cameo appearances. He plays a superintendent who sends a deep-undercover cop to assassinate the kin of an underworld figure, knowing this will prompt the kingpin to make some sort of move. But what the kingpin does is send his goons to kill a different cop and his dad, mistakenly thinking that they were involved. And the different cops' partner, Julia Cheung (Sibelle Hu) goes about seeking revenge.

"Sonny" Chiba fans will seek this out due to his involvement, and inevitably feel ripped off when he's in it for so little time. But if one does stick it out regardless, they'll find that "Fighting Fist" kills time (and bad guys) adequately enough. It's a decent, entertaining story that scores some points for being rather mean-spirited and gory. It's gory enough to have some people chuckling, if not cheering. The action is not first-rate, but it's watchable, providing enough entertainment to keep the viewers' attention from wandering too much. There is some pathos to the material, as certain characters' deaths do have some impact. The mute informant who speaks through sign language is a pretty endearing character. There's even some comedic approaches at times, so this little movie does cover a fair amount of bases in terms of Asian action flicks.

A Japanese / Hong Kong co-production, directed with competence if not great style by Casey Chan.

Six out of 10.