Tai yang zhi zi

Without ever having heard about the 1990 movie "Tai Yang Zhi Zi" (aka "Prince of the Sun"), as I stumbled upon it here in 2025, of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance. Sure, I didn't know what I was in for, for better or worse. But in a sense, I suppose writers Abe Kwong and Chun-Wai Lau, as well as directors Wellson Chin and Shan Hua, had every opportunity to entertain and impress me.

The narrative failed to entertain me. The contents of the storyline was just too silly and childish, and it didn't help that actress Sheila Chan spent most of the movie wailing and whining in a high pitched frequency.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with Ching-Ying Lam and Cynthia Rothrock. The acting performances were okay, but it was hard to sit and listen the silly characters on the screen.

My rating of "Tai Yang Zhi Zi" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

While this movie is not a classic, nor is it even on my top 50 martial arts films of all times, comparing it to Kung Pow seems ridiculous. It is a Hong Kong style martial arts film, with strong doses of mystical Buddah- like powers thrown in. I do not recommend it to any except hard-core martial arts fans. It is good for laughs, and as with almost any Cynthia Rothrock film, you are sure to see a lot of high energy, well executed action sequences. If you really liked this film, rent "Tiger Claws 3". But really want to see a kung fu film that is not silly, watch "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" or "Legend of the Drunken Master" Note that a lot of martial arts films titles are purposely similar, so do not mistake these films for "Tiger Claws 1 or 2" or "Drunken Master"

Found reference to this movie on YouTube and just had to check it out, so glad I did too. So yeah, this movie has some similar aspects to the Golden Child and I am a fan of that movie, but I think this beats it in both comedy and action. If you like great kung fu action with old school Hong Kong/Chinese movie comedy, then this is the movie for you. Please don't miss out on this gem of a movie. I love these types of movies, so for me it's an easy 7.5/10

Prince of the Sun has to be one of the funniest films I've seen in a while. From the horrendous special effects, to the horribly done attempts at comedy ("I'm invisible, you can't see me!"), to how everyone has a quaint grasp of the Queen's English despite never quite matching the mouth movements...it's silly, and it's a pity MST3K never got a hold of this thing.

I can't rate it a one. Oh no. It's too entertaining for that. But don't expect it to win any awards, unless they have "Raspberry" somewhere in the title. Prince of the Sun is so bad, it gives a whole new meaning to trash cinema - so rent it if you can!

Much like the "Inspector Wears Skirts" series, also directed by Wellson Chin, "Prince of the Sun" is a mix of broad comedy and wild, over-the-top action. The first hour or so belongs mostly to Sheila Chan, Conan Lee and the little boy who is the reincarnation of Buddha; these three are sometimes funny and Sheila is cute. Cynthia Rothrock pops up for a fight here and there, but doesn't really take charge until the last 30 minutes; from then on it's all action, as the good guys, helped by the spirit of a martial arts master, fight the bad guys who want to kidnap the little Buddha and use him for their own purposes. Cynthia is in good form, but the film often gets cheesy, especially when the head villain/demon with the maniacal laugh appears. Unfortunately, the current DVD version of this movie is a total rip-off, featuring atrocious dubbing, poor full-screen framing, and even off-synch sound! And, perhaps needless to say, Cynthia NEVER appears in the sweaty tight top that the cover shows her in. (**1/2)