Chunyong-ran

Hwang Jang-Lee and his partner are traveling musicians. They get their drum and trumpet back from the protection guy and defeat his gang. A girl is added to the team and they travel to perform and sell a cure-all medicine. On a pier they encounter another protection gang and have a fight. A Chinese guy is added to the story. He has returned from school to find his father's martial arts school has been converted to a bar for gangsters. Things escalate with the gangs and then Hwang Jang-Lee gets involved with a girl and the pace drags.

Early South Korean martial arts movies are a breed to themselves. They were made not to show the uniqueness of the Korean martial arts culture but to copy Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts movies. To copy meant to profit. In some ways this was Hwang Jang-Lee's introduction to the world. He had made many movies before but Taiwan and Hong Kong just wanted him as the villain not for the leading man. In this movie, made in his adopted home country, he was a leading man ready to take on the world. It was too little too late. His career was already 60% over.

Contemporary martial arts remake of "the good, the bad and the ugly", although with a wooden, unlikeably incompotent hero, and little morality of any kind. A gold shipment is hidden, the requisite map detailing its' location split into three pieces, and the cast spend the film scrambling about looking for it. Hwang Jang Lee portrays an immoral card-sharp with a strong sense of self preservation, and kicks his way through a few dullish fight sequences. Unremarkable, but reasonably high energy film with more emphasis on betrayals and double crosses than on conventional kung-fu action.

PROS; -Hwang Jang Lee's fight scenes are the best in the film -Plot borrows heavily from "Good, the bad and the Ugly" – finding parallels is amusing, but it's also a sound basic storyline. -Good music throughout -Pre-credit fight scene, featuring Phillip Ko is superb

CONS; -Generally unlikeable characters -Most fights are poorly choreographed and speeded up -The hero is a terrible actor, with only one expression, no character and few good moves -Jumpy plot line in places -Hwang Jang Lee seems miscast as a cardsharp who is beaten up early on -Very serious effort for a Korean movie, with virtually no humour of any kind

I bought this film for 2 reasons the first being it was 3.99 and secondly just the title Hard Bastard (Which I'm not sure is the actual translation) looking at the DVD cover now still makes me cry with laughter. Then again I suppose you can make that 3 reasons as I knew Hwang Jang Lee (Drunken Master) would have a few tricks up his sleeve and he does. Although the production values on the DVD were appalling and the dubbing gave the impression that this was a carry on film a few beers or whatever your poison may be and you will laugh so much you will nearly crap yourself.

"Where are you going?" "to kick sh#t out of them"

The last fight is quite good I just wish it was in widescreen and not the poor pan and scan one that makes you miss the occasional kick to the face.

Also if anyone's ever seen 'the postman fights back' (Ronny Yu 1985) they will recognise the bad guy with the face like a lattice fry as one of the assassins after chow fat...... 10 points going to the person that can tell me his name.

If you see this film in your local off licence pick it up along with a crate of beer sit back and enjoy.