Dung fong tuk ying

If you only know Sammo Hung for his more happy-go-lucky roles, then Eastern Condors will be a massive shock to the system, going as far as to tread into John Woo's territory of heroic bloodshed. Taking the idea of The Dirty Dozen but setting it in Vietnam, Sammo got serious with this one, even cutting his trademark hair and slimming right down. There are no mincing words about how brutally violent Eastern Condors gets... Hands get chopped off, Vietcong kids play Russian Roulette and people are shot point blank with no hesitation, in the wrong hands it's distasteful stuff, but Sammo treats it all with sincerity, marking this film out as one of his finest accomplishments as an actor, martial artist and director.

Although the majority of the action is hyper-intense gun fights occasionally punctuated by a familiar moment seen in Western war films like The Deer Hunter or the Rambo franchise, there is a spectacular final bout of full-contact fisticuffs for the patient ones among you. The cast is populated by plenty of familiar names and faces, although I do wish they got a bit more characterisation outside of their nicknames and who plays them, they all commit often coming away bloody and bruised from the hyper-dangerous stunt work. For better or worse, Eastern Condors has a gritty edge that makes it truly stand out amongst Sammo's filmography often feeling like what Heroes Shed No Tears had originally wanted to be, it's an absolute must-see!

This movie is awesome, it's another one that takes my breathe away every time I see it! The action just flows, Sammo has never looked fitter, even as a kid he wasn't this slim! Yuen Biao shows why at one time no one could touch him in the acrobatic action. Again, I'm a little biased with this film as the first time I saw it was my first experience of Hong Kong action on the Big Screen (happy days at the Scala, Kings Cross, Thank you Rick Baker et al). From the very start, when the late, great Lam Ching Ying (RIP, he went too early) scales the Flag Pole to the final slow zoom out hillside shot this film will hold you to your seat (unless you hate action). It's an action film fan treat all the way. SEE THIS MOVIE NOW! (preferably in subtitled form as some humour gets lost in translation!!)

Just after the Vietnam War the U.S. Government decides to send a group of Chinese soldiers back into 'Nam to recover some munitions long stolen by the VC. Part of this group are convicted soldiers who are relieved of their sentence should they complete the mission. But when the mission is scrubbed at the point where half the soldiers have already jumped off the plane, the misfit crew must complete the unofficial mission regardless.

Fans of the kung-fu genre will certainly find other films with better martial arts, but the kung-fu within this film is superbly done. This is because of sequences put together by stars Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Sammon Hung (Magnificient Butcher, Warriors Two, Dragons Forever) stars and directs this military film and is probably in the best shape of his career here, looking very fit and limber as the leader of the crew. Yuen Biao (Knockabout, Prodigal Son, Dragons Forever) plays a villager who ends up helping the troops when they come to rescue his uncle. With Yuen Biao aboard you know that you are going to see some amazing martial arts action as one of the best of all time pulls off some amazing aerial moves.

For those who follow kung-fu film history, this film certainly is interesting as it brings together many from the Peking Opera House (the China Drama Academy) where Sammo, Biao, and Jackie Chan were schoolmates. Yuen Wah, the ultimate bad guy seen recently as Landlord in Kung Fu Hustle, and Corey Yuen (who went by Yuen Kwai in his old Opera House days - and rarely acts since he's an acclaimed director of such films as The Transporter) also went to school at the same time as Jackie, Sammo, and Biao. Yuen Woo-Ping, the acclaimed actor/action coordinator of films like The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Iron Monkey also attended the same school years earlier. Woo-Ping makes a rare acting appearance here and is pretty damn funny throughout the film providing some comic relief.

The film certainly isn't original with many plot devices from films like Deer Hunter and Dirty Dozen. However the action comes near non-stop and the great cast help push the film quickly along. The kung-fu moments do come few and far between but those fights are worth it to see Sammo and Biao performing some amazing martial arts.

Eastern Condors (1986) is an awesome movie from Hong Kong Cinema legend Sammo Hung. Hung, along with his crew of usual actors remake the classic Dirty Dozen along with Full Metal Jacket. The end results is one of the best action movies ever made. From the beginning until the end, this action packed film doesn't disappoint it's intended audience and will make converts out of the non-believers.

A group of Chinese-American soldiers are given a second chance at redemption. If they complete this dangerous assignment they'll receive a full pardon and compensation money. They have to take out a cache of weapons left behind by the U.S. Army in Viet-Nam. Can this bunch destroy the weapons depot and avoid detection from the local Vietnamese military?

Lam Ching-Ying is appointed by the government to lead the rag tag soldiers into combat. Sammo Hung is second in command. Yuen Biao is a local Vietnamese resident who joins the soldiers, Yuen Wah co-stars as the ruthless Vietnamese officer who purses the soldiers to no end. Joyce Godenzi also co-stars as the leader of a small unit of freedom fighters.

Like I said before, this is a no nonsense action packed film from beginning to end. The fight scenes are amazing and the direction from Sammo Hung is pretty solid. If you enjoy action films by all means grab this one immediately.

Highest recommendation possible.

This Hong Kong action film is set shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. The American forces have left behind large stockpiles of weapons and want them destroyed before the Vietcong get their hands on them. To this end an entirely deniable group of convicts of Chinese ancestry is recruited and parachuted into Vietnam where they meet with a trio of female Cambodian guerrillas and two Vietnamese men they have been asked to rescue. As they head towards the target they encounter several groups of Vietcong. It will be a tough mission for them and not all of them will survive.

This might not be the best film concerned with the Vietnam War but it is still rather fun. There are plenty of nods to other films; the plot is clearly inspired by 'The Dirty Dozen' and one scene is from 'The Deer Hunter'... this isn't a problem though. There is plenty of action; this includes shooting, explosions and lots of impressive martial arts. There is also a degree of humour, although this doesn't get in the way of the drama. The acting is solid; most obviously from Sammo Hung, who also directed. Other notable performances come from Haing S. Ngor as mad uncle Lung Yeung and Joyce Godenzi as the leader of the Cambodian guerrillas. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of martial arts action and war films.

These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.