Dian tang lang

One of the best old school kung fu flicks ever. Watch for the "eating scene" at the end. You will not forget this flick! Lots of these action sequences are being co opted by new filmmakers (see: Matrix,Charlie's Angels, Crouching Tiger....) as if they are something new. These fight scenes have been around for some time in Chinese martial arts films, and this film is at the head of the class. Compares favorably to "Shaolin Vs. Ninja". EXCEPTIONAL!RIVETING!

`I call this my Shrimp Fist, I designed it to beat idiots like you,' says the happy-go-lucky Ah Chin, a trouble-making scamp with an eye on helping the needy. His misadventures lead to all kinds of trouble with the Jade Horse clan, who set their mind on wiping out Ah Chin and all who knows him. God knows what triggers the brutal assault, but needless to say Ah Chin must hone up on his kung fu skills (by learning a crazy form of Mantis Fist) in order to defeat these evil scoundrels. Fists perched, legs balanced and beard on full display, Leung Kar Yan truly shines in this somewhat lacklustre kung fu quickie. Culminating in a memorable if truly insane finale, we watch as Ah Chin becomes so bitterly twisted and vengeful, he takes on a new deranged form, dribbling down his beard and occasionally collapsing into lapses of Mantis convoltions, before breaking his opponents to pieces and eating their sweet raw flesh. Hmm, tasty.

"Thundering Mantis" gives you what you expect from a Chinese kung fu movie--poor dubbing, lots of fighting (much of which is obviously fake), and a fairly predictable plot. The main musical theme is like something you'd find in "ChiPs", not really belonging to the movie, but rather amusing. And the introduction, oh boy, if you like cheesy fighting, you'll be rewinding like anything.

This movie does do a few things right, better than most kung fu movies. I actually wanted the villains to get their butts kicked. The movie does a good job of showing how Hsia and his henchmen are increasingly cruel and sadistic. Moreover, I actually cared when the good guys suffered(!), especially the boy. "Thundering" even has some pretty funny scenes which are actually supposed to be humorous.

Overall, it's worth viewing at least once. Some people may be repulsed by the ending, and there is a bit of swearing, but I still give it 6/10.

As the movie starts, you rapidly become aware of the fact that it's supposed to be a comedy. Not from any perceived attempts a humour, but from the ridiculous faces that are pulled by our protagonist as he gets into 'wacky' situations. Plot? Well, not really. Our bearded hero goes through the traditional ritual of making friends, beating up some bad guys, watching his friends die horribly and revenging them in a long and tedious manner. The kung-fu, while not as stilted as it would be in, say, a Chang Cheh movie, is nonetheless unconvincing and unspectacular. Even by the lowest of standards this movie has nothing going for it, and it should be avoided at all costs.

This has got to be one of my favorite old school Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks. There are a lot of clichés in both the writing and the characters' mannerisms, but for someone who enjoys this genre of film those things are par for the course. On the other hand, there are a few things that make this film stand out. The protagonist style (mantis) is one that is already one of the weirdest (and most vicious) systems of Kung Fu in the martial arts world, and has been given an even weirder twist in this film. Secondly, the boy in this film is one of the stars and nearly steals the show; he has some impressive training sequences, does some impressive acrobatics (some of them wire assisted) and has at least one solid fight scene. The last thing that really makes this film stand out is the ending. The whole film up until the end is pretty happy-go-lucky and predictable, but the bizarre and brutal nature of the film's conclusion has caused it to stand out in my mind. For fans of the genre who don't mind a dark twist here and there this is a gem, but if you're easily shocked, please turn away.