Yong zhe wu ju

Dreadnaught features Yuen Woo Ping's extreme talent for choreography and action direction. Fan's of any of his other work will no doubt be very pleased to sit through this oddly titled film. Also, fans of Yuen Biao (that's me), will also be very happy to pick this one up, (although, like "Circus Kids" his role in the film could be argued as criminally underused).

Again, set in Ming Dynasty China, this film sees the plight of Mousy (Biao), who happens to be a very shy, in-confident, and even cowardly laundry worker. His nature is revealed when we witness him trying to collect laundry debts from various townspeople - they push him around and give him nothing.

All the while, an evil and eccentric killer "White Tiger" takes pleasure in terrorising anyone who happens to be around, and, unfortunately for Mousy, he seems to be high on Tiger's list. But, again, like most Kung Fu films, it's not so much what is done, but rather how they do it. Thankfully, Dreadnaught does well in it's direction and choreography, but it does not excel.

Credits list Biao as the star, but I believe Leung Ka-Yan (who is Mousy's older brother in the film) deserves equal billing - they certainly have equal screen-time. "Foon", played by Ka-Yan, is a more well-rounded martial artist, and a student of the legendary Wong Fei Hung (played brilliantly and hilariously by Kwan Tak-Hing a la "Magnificent Butcher). The scene involving a rather violent tailor is worth the sitting alone.

Dreadnaught seems more of an unfocused film as compared to Woo Ping's other work(s). "Drunken Master" for example had a clear, snappy and balanced screenplay. We knew where we were supposed to be at in terms of all the plot elements. Dreadnaught fails on these grounds, and it's action sequences do not mesh pleasurably with the dialog as they do in Drunken Master.

I was expecting a "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" for Yuen Biao, but rather, I see this film as three main action sequences starring various cast, tied together with the broad characterisation of Mr. White Tiger. It is by far one of the better Kung Fu films out there, but I'm afraid Yuen Woo Ping's other works do the same thing but better.

This film begins so similarly to Young Master that I almost felt I was rewatching it. However, to my surprise, it matched and surpassed the classic Jackie Chan movie by miles. The Dragon/Lion fight scene is worth the admission price alone, and it only gets better after that. The comedy is almost Martin/Lewis, and the fighting is amazingly choreographed. Anything less would be your standard Kung Fu fare.

Highly recommended.

This movie is fantastic. Don't be put off that Yuen Biao's character is completely annoying, and that some of the comedy is of the "guy with crossed eyes getting hit in the face" variety. This movie has at least for of the most memorable scenes I've ever enjoyed in a movie, including tailor-fu, laundry-fu, and doctor-fu. The lion dance is easily one of the coolest and most enjoyable set pieces in any kung fu movie. I saw this in a theater, and at the end of the lion dance, the entire room applauded. Both Kwan Tak-hing as Wong Fei-Hung and Sunny Yuen as White Tiger really stand out in the acting department. I've seen more powerful villains, but never one this psychotic and aggressive. Now that I think about it, I can't remember if White Tiger ever even speaks in the movie. His presence is so strong he certainly doesn't need to. This is an odd movie that doesn't fit the usual patterns. If you're not a fan of the Yuen Bros more goofy fare, like Taoism Drunkard, Drunken Tai-Chi or Young Taoism Fighter, see this anyway, it's much less random and silly, and the production values are very high. Don't miss it.

If I'm being honest, this movie peaks right near the start and fails to completely live up to the insanity of that first action scene. It opens with such a simple, brutal, thrilling, and kind of darkly funny brawl, and I was prepared for something genuinely masterful if it maintained that energy.

The rest of the action is good, but never as great as at the start. The whole movie gets more ridiculous, surreal, and even fantastical as it goes along, and I thought most of the ride was decent. It made things pretty unpredictable, and that snappy Yuen Woo-Ping directed action is always fun to watch.

If you're looking for a slightly less cartoonish and slightly more brutal Kung Fu Hustle kind of film that also has a premise you might find in a slasher movie, I could recommend Dreadnaught.

Aug 21

Yep Dreadnaught is a fantastic martial arts comedy action film, it stars Yuen Biao and Leung Kar Yan.

Some amazing stuff here especially from Yuen Clan actor Yuen Shun Yee as the villain of the piece, Yuen Cheung Yan is also in the film along with plenty of regulars.

I love this film, it is extremely rare and expensive to buy, but its worth it, trust me.

Apparently the Steven Seagal film Under Siege was going to be called Dreadnaught but they had to switch titles due to this film.

9.5 out of 10.