Chin long chuen suet

Donnie Yen's debut as a director has taken a lot of criticism and was a fairly big flop upon its initial release. Is it a flawed film? Sure. But, is it worth spending an hour and a half watching? Yes.

Legend of the Wolf tells the tale, all in flashback (one of its unfair criticisms) of a how a mythic killer came to be who he is. The film belongs in the classification of 90's arty-swordplay dramas, like Ashes of Time or The Blade, heavy on atmosphere, style, lightweight philosophical musings, and blurry combat. One of the reasons, no doubt, that it was a flop was due to this particular Hong Kong genre already being tired by the time Legend came out. It looks great and has some fantastic cinematography. Although I am not a fan of the close-up, hyper paced fight scenes, Donnie directs them well and with more clarity than most directors of this style. There are two great fights, one inside a hut with a guy who has a huge length of chain wrapped around his arm, and another with a monkey or tiger claw fighter in the woods, the latter being one of the better duels I've seen. Based on those two fights and the cinematography alone, I can recommend Hong Kong action fans seeing this.

Where Legend of the Wolf fails is in its story. Unfortunately, like other films in the modern swordplay genre, it tries so hard to be dramatic, with overemphasized music, crazy camera work (though some very stunning), and ponderous plotline, it falls deeply into muddled characters and weepy melodrama. Donnie Yen should be commended for being as bold and as skilled as he is. Instead of making his debut with a straightforward no-brain action flick, he tries to tackle something of more weight. It is less than perfect, but it is admirable, just the same.

Visually, Donnie Yen's kung fu vehicle is quite stunning, with some classy location shots and smart uses of lighting and colour. That aside, its entertainment value is vastly hindered by the choppy fight sequences laden with cuts and rapid sound effects which are clearly an attempt at revolutionary film making, but just come across as annoying. The story bears little resemblance to the Bruce Lee classic, with Yen and his assistant recalling, in a series of flashbacks, a time when Donnie was a wondering hero with amnesia, in search of a girl and beating the crap out of evil bandit men. There is a pretentious feel to all this, but on the plus side, Donnie is at his usually stunning best.

The story is not that interesting so forget about it! The performances from the actors are quite well! There is no shortage of humor and there is even some drama. But this movie isn't about the drama it is about the fighting scenes! It may take a while to get used to the very fast display of action! But when you do you will be hooked. The martial arts performed especially by Donnie Yen is more than top notch! It is a showcase for him what he is capable of! He produced,directed and wrote the movie and choreographed the action! And in this he really excels!. The action is explosive! He tries to be different in filming the action scenes and we have to give credit to that! You will question if he used tricks or fast editing but somehow it all looks like they are really fighting that fast! The result is that he created action scenes you won't easily forget! "Legend of wolf" is a movie you will have to see for the wonderful action!

Legend of the Wolf is amazing. Donnie Yen made what is one of the best martial arts films from the 90's. Visually the film has a great colour-scheme (green/yellow, very saturated). The photography doesn't look low-budget at all, and there's a nice village and forest where the film takes place. The action is surreal and brutal. You must lose yourself in the mayhem to fully appreciate the action scenes. The story is simple and very direct. The narrative has a story-book feel to it. The music is quite brilliant too -- at times it forces certain emotional responses from you and other times it's simply haunting or furious. Do not miss this film, it's art.

I'm sorry martial arts fans, this is not good quality martial arts. Its good in some bits but thats about it. Its not Donnie Yen style which is good I reckon because its showing us that he is challenging viewers.

The storyline is pretty good, has a bit more of a plot. However the fighting just wasn't that good, too violent for someone like him.

Plus the ending was just shocking especially the fight scene with the Bandit leader.

Not bad if you wanna see something different from Donnie. And to the person that mentioned that this is the best film ever. No bloody way! Drunken Master 2 is way better, so is Armour Of God. Once upon a time in China is better, so is Enter The Dragon.