El Puño del Cóndor

This reviewer started watching the original Shaw Bros martial arts films in the 1970s, in our Chinatown, without subtitles. So, not my first rodeo. A younger viewer checking this feature out might instantly notice that it does not follow any typical arc or maintain the usual rhythm. And that would be incorrect. It is, in fact, true to the internal pacing of the original Kung Fu Tv series and even mentions that show in the script, as an homage. The larger question is, does it entertain? Answer: barely. If this is a favorite genre of yours, it contains enough interesting tropes to justify a look. Whether it justifies a sequel, on the other hand, is another question entirely. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

A Latin American film about a martial arts book supposedly based on Inca secrets and stolen by Spaniards. With a premise like that, you'd have to work hard to mess it up.

And they do. The main character can't act. At all. Low monotone murmuring to pretend you're super serious isn't acting. Neither is refusing to change your facial expression, or even have one.

They try putting on a traditional Native headdress to make the guy seem Native. Doesn't work. He would fit right in over in Spain.

70 minutes long and only five of them have fighting. The fighting is dull. D U L L.

Instead we get training montages lifted from dozens of other films. I kept fast forwarding.

Skip this.

Not even in the same style. But, horrible in its own ways. I really did not have a good reason to watch it, and this is what I get. From the very first scenes, it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOOOOW. It is full of itself and its metaphysical, mystical gobbledygook.

And there is a Chinese martial arts guy who found his way to South America to be trained by oh-who-cares. And the Chinese guy got his butt kicked by some lady, cuz in 2023, women always have to be stronger than men are. YAAAWWWWNNNNN.

This is low budget and they wasted what they spent. I did not watch the whole thing, so I never got to the "Great Reveal" about why the twin brothers need revenge on each other. Could not care, either.

First of all, this is more like an art installation than it is a movie.

It's art. More precisely Martial Art.

The low ratings are probably fair if you expected a movie as we have come to expect movies. However, if you are a lover of Martial Art, you may appreciate this film.

Assuming you're a martial arts fan, you have seen Marko Zaror before. He was the guy breaking Boyka's leg in Undisputed 3. He was the guy getting beat up by Alita the battle Angel in the bar fight. He was the guy giving John Wick a hard time in the 4th installment.

Needless to say, Marko Zaror has the moves, and this movie is a testament of those moves. It is a travelogue through Chile showcasing the land and Zaros's skills.

It's not Boyka or Battle Angel, so don't expect to be dragged into the story. It is a visual experience of the art known as martial art.

Cool protagonist and good action. Marko Zaror is a badass martial arts warrior in this film. The training sequences are an awesome callback to films like Snake in Eagles Shadow and Way of the Dragon. People that enjoy martial arts classics would enjoy this. The best part is the uniqueness of it being representational for Latin America, which is desperately starving for a Martial Arts hero. Marko Zaror proves he is that and more but also brings a cool mysticism to this role with the historic fiction of the titular style. Hopefully we get more from Zaror soon. There seems to be setup for a sequel of some sort.