Chu long ma liu

Hearing that "Monkey Kung fu" had almost non-existent plot, I did not expect to like this one, but the fact is, this is a highly enjoyable film, thanks mainly to the leads, Ching Siu-tung & Hou Chao-sheng, who together, bring an incredible energy to the screen. Not so much a comedy, but the sheer insanity of the kung fu action is enough to make any viewer laugh and shake their head in amazement. The story is simple; a pair of convicts escape from prison, to discover the mystery of "Gibbon fist," a kung fu technique thought to be lost. They each hold one half of a wooden amulet, and when it it is pieced together, it will lead the pair to a mountain top, where an ancient scroll is hidden. Of course there is a rival clan bent on destroying them and claiming the scroll for themselves. Along the way we join this crazy pair for some off the wall situations; like when Wei Chun (Ching) must battle his way out of a whorehouse after short changing the prostitute, (who kicks his ass with some truly eye-popping kung fu of her own.) In fact, you will see some of the absolute finest kung fu ever captured on film. Also known as "Stroke of Death," this one is a bit reminiscent of "Hellz Windstaff" in how the two friends seem to become one when fighting, working off each other to bring down their opponent. The more involved story and character development of Windstaff makes that one superior, but "Monkey Kung Fu" is a very worthy entry in the history of 1970's kung fu classics; Recommended.

Ching is an cocky, under-achieving crook that ends up in prison, where he meets an old man who schools him in a prison kung fu duel. However the old man is sufficiently impressed with Ching as to give him half of a wooden amulet. The other half is possessed by a fellow inmate, and the two go off on a rollicking kung fu adventure to find an ancient scroll.

Monkey Kung Fu delivers fast paced action in a variety of backdrops - courtyards, mountain meadows, and tea houses where the furniture is predictably, and satisfyingly, reduced to firewood. And the brothel full of kung fu prostitutes was pretty fun. While most of the comedy is cheesy, there are so good one-liners ("Are you tired yet"? "No, I have a date with your sister tonight!"), and it keeps the movie light and entertaining.

The fight choreography starts off not too good in my opinion - moves kind of choppy and slow - but by the 38 minute mark, during the fight in a courtyard, it improves vastly. By the end, with a frenetic fight to the death in the mountains with a skilled bo (staff) master, it is some of the best in the genre. Very much recommended.

Unlike the the back of this DVD, which looks like it was written by a 4 year old, Monkey Kung Fu is a typically late 1970's kung fu comedy that offers plenty of kung fu fighting, training and some chuckles along the way!

Hot on the heels of Jackie Chan's kug fu classics Snake In The Eagles Shadow and Fearless Hyena, this fast moving flick stars Chan Muk Chuen as the comedic star who can't stay out of trouble. He eventually bumps into a kung fu master, played by Sun Jung Chi, during a fight that results in him being took on as a student - albeit a very annoying one.

Fight choreographer and co-star Chi gets the majority of fight scenes in the film, playing a barber who refuses to pay his protection money to Chang Yi and his thugs. One of those thugs is played by a young Eddie Ko who gets to throw a few kicks more than usual. One stand out fight comes right after Sun Jing Chi defeats Ko, as he then faces off against Chang Yi in a great display of monkey versus snake. Its pretty much end battle stuff, but happily fits in half way through which shows how much kung fu this wee flick has going on.

Ironically, in saying that, Shaw Brothers star Yuen Hwa struts his way through the film in an almost comedic fashion, as if playing a farce of his usual top-fighter self and avoiding as much fighting as he can...

After his initial defeat, Chang Yi trains hard in his snake fist in a bid to beat the monkey master. This includes using a strange wooden device that can only be described as a wooden treadmill, to help him run faster. Its around the same time (just before the hour mark), that lead star Chan Muk Chuen gets to let loose a bit more in a tea house fight. I haven't seen much with him as an actor, but in this role, I find him very hard to enjoy. He gets on as if he has special needs mixed with an unhealthy dose of ADHD! As good as his kung fu is, I'm just glad more of the attention is on his master, Sun Jung Chi. Once the monkey training kicks in properly with him though, he delivers some incredible shapes and moves that he quickly puts into use and starts to tone down the childishness.

Even with the bad video-quality print of the Vengeance release, it can't be ignored that Monkey Kung Fu is absolutely packed with kung fu action. I'd say a good hour of the film is training and fighting scenes which never tires! The final fight scene is worth the price of admission alone!

Overall: Packed full of fight scenes, Monkey Kung Fu is a bizarre experience but definitely one to watch.

The story is as always not important in these old kungfu movies, but it's about a young boy that's being bullied and eventually learns the secret of monkey style kungfu so he can face the bad guy of the movie.

It has some fun spots, and overall it's a good movie if you like the old kungfu stuff :)

My version of the movie was dubbed to English, but the dub was alright. Actually some of these movies are better when they are dubbed, comments like "My Tiger will eat your snake" before they start to fight can make me laugh so my stomach hurts.

The opening credits had one of the funniest music tunes i've heard, combine this with two men playing monkeys and you have a great opening of a funny movie about monkey kungfu :)

Lo Mar's "Monkey Kung Fu" does not have much of a story but the action and performance by martial arts choreographer Tony Ching Siu-Tung ("House of Flying Daggers", "Chinese Ghost Story") is absolutely amazing. His athletic stunts, wireless jumps and kicks are a joy to behold. The new Shaw Brothers DVD is the best deal to watch this incredible action.

However, it seems there is a little mix-up in the names and the user comments of the film. The time I'm writing this, the IMDb picture shows "Monkey Kung Fu" aka. "Monkey Fist, Floating Snake", a vastly inferior movie. But the cast refers to the Shaw film, which is also listed as "Stroke of Death" (1980) - its alternative title.

"Monkey Kung Fu" by Lo Mars starring Ching Siu-Tung tells of a small time crook who gets sentenced to prison. He meets a one-eyed master in the cell who gives him a mysterious object. Ching breaks out of prison with another guy and searches for the answer to the riddle which will lead him to "Gibbon Fist Clan"'s kung-fu technique.