Xing mu zi gu huo zhao

Not a bad little kung fu comedy. Steven Tung Wei is an acquired taste as a star, but give him credit that, at a moment when everyone was trying to figure out how to imitate Jackie Chan, he chose to develop his own quirky comic film personality.

But the other star of this film, Sammo Hung, steals the show with a breezy yet solid performance as Wei's teacher, oozing confidence and irony. The film would probably be lost without him.

The direction and general appearance of the film are perfunctory. The story is put together fairly well, but there's no doubt the comic bits are hit or miss - some are very funny in a Three Stooges sort of way, others fall pancake flat. The fighting is good, but only gets above average when Sammo is involved.

No classic but certainly entertaining.

Fat Kung Fu Master/ The Seven Deadly Leopards/ Don't waste your time here/

Hero Kung Fu Ching/ Rejects five style fist form for/ The style of Hung Food/

Dubbing is so bad/ Half way through you'll wish for/ An end to your pain/

Forget Kung Fu Ching/ Sit down with Drunken Master/ Watch some Iron Chef/

Sammo Hung did everything right with this movie. Where shall I begin to pile on the praise? I'll start with the little guys, the minor characters who briefly do their thing and never come back. Even these guys resonate and stay in my head adding another layer of fullness. There's actually a plot that gets developed so I had something to think about before the good fights start and the beer buzz kicks in. The fights are all well done and that's why I'm watching. Each fight perfectly fits the characters fighting and reveals character and advances the action on top of being just plain entertaining. All the fight choreography was creative and the execution excellent. Is there anything wrong with this movie? Yes. If you are not a fan of old school kung fu movies, if you cannot read subtitles or cannot turn off in your mind the bad dubbing, there's no sense watching this - you just won't "get it". This is not one of those movies that "transcends the genre" as the cliché goes. So just between me and the rest of the fans that "get it" this movie rates no less than a 7.8 .

One must forgive the indelicacy if the only version of this available to watch is the dub, for the use here is the type of dubbing that gives dubbing a bad name. More substantively, an overload of plot is thrown at us within just the first few minutes - though to the credit of the filmmakers, as messy as it all looks on paper, in execution the rapid-fire exposition is made much more clear. One will also readily observe that this is very much an action-comedy in the truest sense, with both flavors predominant in turn and with the latter mostly garnishing the martial arts sequences, too. This in no way diminishes the value of any action, though for purists expecting a serious kung fu flick, such scenes may not entirely carry the same power as part of the viewing experience. However, all such nitpicking is entirely beside the point, because 'The incredible kung fu master' only wants to have a good time, and it does that very ably. More than that: from top to bottom the silliness belies brilliance, and while it doesn't seem like much at first, ultimately I think it's a must-see for all fans of the genre.

It's hard generally to go wrong with kung fu films out of Hong Kong, and with certain folks like Sammo Hung or Yuen Biao involved, in any capacity, fun is all but guaranteed. Have no doubt, the stunts and fight choreography are utterly outstanding - fast, crisp, fluid, and artful, even at the same time that such moments are bent toward tomfoolery. In fact, while it's broadly true that the martial arts demonstrations and combat take precedence in such features, that might be even more true in this case. The sets, costume design, and props are all terrific, of course, and the cinematography is pretty much just as active, sharp, and vivid as the kung fu, instruction and violence alike. A complete, cohesive, worthy tale is told; the cast give fine performances, even setting aside the physical demands thereof. But all this distinctly pales in comparison to the vibrant discipline of movement that most prominently defines the movie, whether in hand to hand melee or just instances of training and exercise. 'The incredible kung fu master' knows its strength, and doesn't hold back.

With that focus firmly established among otherwise fine craftsmanship, all on hand can just let loose and enjoy themselves. Plot is relatively unimportant, even as it's present, and everything looks and sounds good, but the main thing is for a steady stream to flow of exquisite but mirthful martial arts, filling as much of the runtime as possible. It can all too easy for a title to fall flat if it zeroes in on one concrete, special element without equal care for the otherwise construction, yet the stunts and action sequences we get here are so superb that they really do make this worth watching for that element alone. Just as much to the point, one may enter with expectations that the picture will be balanced, as most any cinematic fare is; I know I did. Yet though it is not balanced, after all, between all its component parts, it's so tremendous in what it does well that I think it's better served that way. How many films can one say that about?! I can understand how this won't appeal to all, but when all is said and done its quality speaks for itself, simply because of the action.

No matter how it might seem from the outside looking in, or the first impressions it might make, long before the finale rolls around this 1979 feature handily proves its worth. At length, to be frank, this quite demands viewership as far as I'm concerned - maybe not for one and all, but absolutely for audiences who appreciate the martial arts. Don't let the frivolity fool you, for underneath that superficial appearance is a veritable wonderland of kung fu mastery that far exceeds our assumptions and many other kindred flicks. If you have the chance to watch 'The incredible kung fu master,' this is an exceptional, invigorating movie that's well worth one's time!

Others who reviewed this movie failed to realize that this isn't a hollywood movie where everything has to have $million budget, keanu reeves acting, and and stupid sexual inuendo's with corny sappy stories. This is a Kung Fu Flick, and you can either take it very seriously, or very not-. This movie, you would not. And if you did, you'd probably end up in writing a nasty stupid review like the others did. This is a movie where the writers/director didn't have to actually make fun of kung fu movies to be funny and have satire. A very delightful cast of characters, with traditional cartoonish acting, a good story, and well-mapped/inventive fights; what more can be asked for? I gave it an 8. ~Side Note: I love the bald eyebrow guy, he so cute n' cuddley, I just wanna pet his bald noggin ^,^ .