Tiger Claws III

First of all, i watched this movie in 2010, so yeah i do get the part where special effects seem to come up from Mortal Kombat Conquest... the lighting stuff was kind of goofy sometimes, but thats just one part of the movie. The story itself was average, if your OK with supernatural stuff. Personally i can't stand Asian movies with people flying in the air or stuff like that, but i don't mind a supernatural aspect in a fighting movie if the fights looks real and good. And sure they did look good in this one. I saw better sure, but i saw way worst and overall i was pretty much satisfied. I saw people complaining that Cynthia wasn't that much in the movie... I have yet to saw Tiger Claws 1(cause its not on DVD) but in part 2 it was way more Jalal than her that had the lead. It seems to me the lead was always Jalal anyway and Cynthia was a good sidekick. They sure probably put her on the cover for publicity, but everybody that saw the first 2 movies, or even just the second will know she is NOT the lead actor. Then the other popular thing people like to complain... "the superman 2 rejects". Just because the bad guys are 3 and "stronger" than normal people dosen't mean it copy Superman 2... Except being 3 they have nothing in common with the superman 2 guys.. (Zod and his guys, yeah i do like Superman) Thinking this way you could say that every movie release since the original Die Hard with Terrorist taking over something would be a copy... Lets just say that overall Tiger Claws is a fun martial arts movie, not a big one that would be remembered like Bloodsport or something like that, but a fan to enjoy movie for fans of the style.

After a less than mediocre 1991 "Tiger Claws" and an even worse 1996 sequel "Tiger Claws II", then I should just have steered clear of the 2000 "Tiger Claws III: The Final Conflict" movie. But still, it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I ended up sitting down to watch what writer and director J. Stephen Maunder had to throw at me as a viewer.

And let me just be the first to say that what J. Stephen Maunder had to offer wasn't much to write home about. And just as I had expected, then "Tiger Claws III: The Final Conflict" was even worse than the preceding two movies.

The movie didn't have Bolo Yeung in it, whom was essentially the core reason for why I watched the first two movies. And I can't claim to be a fan of neither Cynthia Rothrock or Jalal Merhi, whom starred in this third movie. Well, Cynthia Rothrock wasn't really in the movie all that much, so fan of hers are striking out on this 2000 movie.

The storyline in "Tiger Claws III: The Final Conflict" was just not interesting and it was a sluggish movie to sit through. And it was downright abysmal to see the direction in which J. Stephen Maunder took the movie. I wasn't sure if I was watching an Asian parody of the old Christopher Reeve movie "Superman II" or if J. Stephen Maunder was so inspired by that movie that he was doing an homage. I mean those three magically resurrected Asian villains were just so far out there that it was difficult to take the movie serious. All hail General Zod, I suppose?

What does carry the movie and makes it barely watchable is the action and fight scenes, though the gun fights are rather cheesy. But hey, being 22 years old already, the movie hasn't really aged all that well.

My rating of "Tiger Claws III: The Final Conflict" lands on a generous two out of ten stars. This movie was bad.

Where do I start. I think this is probably the worse Tiger Claw movie of them all. Why? For several reasons.

1) Cynthia Rothrock is suppose to be the star, but Jalal Merhi ends up being the lead. Now go back to the cover of the box art. Who do you see? Cynthia Rothrock and the 3 freaky Superman 2 rejects, right? I don't see Jalal on the cover, so why is he the lead star? Cynthia appears at the beginning, in the middle (dream sequence) and at the end of the film. She only fights in the beginning and it's very lacklusted. Not to take anything away from Jalal, but he's no Jet Li or Jackie Chan.

2) It good to see Carter Wong & Loren Avedon, but they are just totally wasted in this movie. Both are extremely talented martial artists. See No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (Loren Avedon) and Carter Wong's earlier work like, Hapkido, Kids of Shaolin or even Big Trouble In Little China. All these movies are better then Tiger Claw 3.

3) Stupid plot. A student of a great master decides to resurrect 3 evil Masters from the undead to help him take over the underworld of New York. Extremely hokey!! Watch these Superman 2 type rejects deflect hundred of bullets from a bunch of underworld thugs was a big laugh. Special effects were even worse.

4) Even with the story this bad, you would hope the fighting would be at least up to par. Nope!! Just awful. The choreograph was terrible. Richard learns Black Tiger technique from Master Jin (Stryker's Sensai) to stop the 3 evil Master. O.k., so why doesn't he claw them and leave bloody scratch marks on anyone? It's just stupid.

I'm not sure how much Cynthia Rothrock got paid for this movie. It was quite obvious that she didn't want to do a 3rd movie, which is why she's barely on the screen. The producers knew it wouldn't sell well at retail unless she was on the cover or involved in some way, so that's why she's there. Bad move if you ask me. Many Rothrock fans will be totally disappointed and seeing her as a sellout for making this crap.

Stay away from this film. Glad I watch it on cable and didn't pay a cent to view it.

Where do I start? First, the three villains from Superman 2 come back to life to do this movie. But now they're asian! They still wear their black outfits and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting population, though.

Second, this is a Cynthia Rothrock film, so you expect some female fighting action, right? Wrong. As a matter of fact, Cynthia Rothrock is barely in the movie.

Third, this movie sucks in every conceivable way. I keep waiting for Cynthia Rothrock to do a decent movie. I'll be damned if I haven't been waiting for a long time. Now, they're putting her name on a movie simply as a publicity stunt. Next time her name appears on a movie, I'll wait for it to come out on cable.

Fourth, I want my $3.50 back.

Great movie. Movie Strengths: Fighting arts. Fighting choreography. Directing. Under its "fictional" story front lies a unique and literal purview of the Kung Fu Underworld in the heart and soul of where it all happens: Chinatown. Movie Weaknesses: Dramatic Acting. Budget constraints.

If you can get past the fact that this movie didn't have the luxury of Chow Yun Fat's endless budget, you'll see that it DOES have what Chow doesn't... Pure fighting arts at it's best. The fighters are real. The fights are real and true to the art... revealing an ancient, yet rarely (if ever) seen denomination of high-precision Kung Fu....

The slick black, soggy streets of the Chinatown "slums" embody the ghost district's pungent heart and soul... reminiscent of that banshee-type taste and feel you get in Michael Mann's THIEF.