Xiao zi ming da

There is not much of an story. Only the usealy kung fu revenge plot, and, also quite common for these kind of movies very thin, characters. But what's even worse, there is a lot of very dumb and simple "humour" in the first hour of the film. After the first hour however the movie gets beter quikly! The last 30 minutes are just great fightscenes which make up for the disapointing first hour. And an absolute highpoint is ofcourse the last ficht in which Shao Long and Shao Ling team up to fight the contractkiller who killed Shao Long's father, this fight is staged in an old barn and reminded me a bit to the last fight in Once upon a time in China ! Only for kung fu fanatics I think.

Recently re-released in the UK under the US title, "Method Man", FEARLESS YOUNG BOXER is a prime example of old school kung fu that I saw years ago on VHS video. It has the standard plot of a wandering assassin Wa Pa Fong (Ca Sa Fa) who's searching for the surviving members of a rival kung fu school. The father of hero Shao Lung (Peter Chen) is killed in the opening sequence of the movie, but manages to pass on the gold emblem of the school to his son. Much confusion then arises when pickpocket "Stumpy" swipes the emblem and is seen by Wa Pa Fong.

The middle section of the film gets bogged down is some pretty broad 'comedy" routines that include a chubby guy disco dancing, but it's back to solid action in the final duel between Ca Sa Fa and Peter Chen. Ca Sa Fa in particular is a superb martial artist and offered a pretty good turn in the earlier Sammo Hung movie WARRIORS TWO.

Worth a look for the skills of Ca Sa Fa, but if possible avoid the terrible UK DVD which is the dubbed version.

Opening in the first 5 minutes with a battle between Lung Fei and super-kicker Casanova Wong, we see the set up of the plot as star Peter Chang just catches the end of the fight, witnessing Wong killing his father. In an odd move, we jump forward (an unknown amount of time) to find Chang in training with 2 masters - Chan Wai Lau (Fearless Hyena) and Chai Kai (Of Cooks And Kung Fu) - in a host of great kung fu training scenes, along with the impressive kung fu mistress Hwa Ling.

As part of their touring acrobatic troupe, Chang soon recognises his fathers killer and almost gives himself away in an attempt to kill him. With his masters insisting that he should train more before getting revenge, Chang sets out on mission to be the best he can before his ultimate showdown.

Along the way, our hero runs in to a host of recognisable faces such as the hilarious Lee Kwan (Fantasy Mission Force), Ma Chin Ku (Sleeping Fist) and more showcasing a marathon of incredible kung fu fights and acrobatics! As one of his last productions, director Jimmy Shaw and fight choreographer Gwok Chue Wong have delivered an absolute classic that stands alongside the likes of Fearless Hyena in terms of kung fu action, comedy and acrobatics.

While probably not as well known, Method Man deserves a place in any kung fu fans collection. With sweeping shots, a big cast, and great set-pieces, this little gem stands out with its incredible action scenes and cast more than anything.

Peter Chang reminds me of a young Jackie Chan with the acrobatics of a young Yuen Biao, in what could possibly be his best role of his career...

Obviously, and rarely disappointing, Korean star Casanova Wong kicks his way through the film with ease, looking like he's just stepped out of a Head & Shoulders advert. His character isn't really evil as such - playing a hitman for the Magistrate - and has plenty of fights on-screen to keep fans happy. Personally, I think its one of his best roles!

The last 30 minutes of the film is just flat-out fighting and incredible, getting more and more brutal towards the end. As usual, the Vengeance Video quality print is far from perfect, although in widescreen which makes for a better experience. It would be incredible though to see Method Man completely cleaned up with a new HD release in its original language and cut. And hopefully someday we will...

Overall: One of the best! Should be in every kung fu fans collection!

Father and son (Peter Chang Chi-Long) are walking and father spots his enemy, Casanova Wong. CW wants a gold plate and information. They fight and dad is killed. The son has no kung fu. Soon after the kid is learning kung fu along with a girl. While street performing the kid spots CW. His teacher warns him it is too soon for revenge and to keep training. Later Lee Kwan does a disco dance to win the affection of the girl but she is not interested. Going for wine our guy meets Stumpy who picks his pocket for the gold plate. CW suspects our guy but needs to provoke him to fight as if that would establish his identity. After being kicked out of the troupe he hooks up with the fortune teller to continue to learn martial arts.

There is inconsistency regarding how Casanova Wong could possibly know Peter Chang and vice versa. Since this is dubbed in English that might be the problem instead. Regardless the viewer easily can see it will all come down to a final fight between the two and the incidences in the middle seem to only delay the confrontation not build any suspense or other plot structure. Despite that it never gets so far as to drag as many small fights keep the action going.

Chan Wai-Lau gets killed off by Casanova Wong before the final fight but he is an actor worthy of mention. He played in over 100 movies mostly as a fighting stunt man (including a good Simon Yuen knock off) despite his small size. In fact, because of his small size he even played an old lady.

The fights in this movie were all good. In addition to the good choreography and execution each fight had moves emphasizing the personality of the fighters and the story situation. That extra bit makes the difference between just another fight scene and something memorable.

This movie goes even further with the use of the set in the final fight. Typically the final fight in a martial arts movie would be on top a dusty hill or some other featureless landscape. In years to come Jackie Chan would use set pieces for his final fights. I now wonder if this movie was the first use ever. Here the barn is used as part of the fight, the bags of grain, the ropes, the poles, the rafters, and such are all part of the fight choreography.

I rate this above average and recommend it for all fans of the genre.

A young man (played by Peter Chang) watches his father die and grows up wanting to revenge. The story is pretty basic here. Its a bad movie for the most part, but luckily there are some incredible fight scenes.

Lung Fei makes a cameo at the start and takes on Cassanova Wong. Some nice kicking by Cassanova, and Lung Fei is defeated easily. Only a warmup of what's to come.

After like an hour of no good action, Cassanova gets to fight again. He fights Chan Wai Lau who has a good role as one of Peter Chang's 2 teachers. Chan Wai Lau is a great comedic actor with decent fighting skills, and he performs about as well as he can against Cassanova. He makes good use of a pipe as a weapon, but Cassanova is too much for him.

Next up is what I figured would be the highlight of the movie, Wong Wing Sang vs Chia Kai. I am a big fan of both actors, so I was expecting greatness, and that's exactly what I got. Chia Kai does an AMAZING stunt at the beginning where he jumps off of a wall and lands on a table. Awesome fight with good acrobatics and good fist work. Also look for the part where Chia Kai dodges a knife that Wong throws at him. For real.

Next Chia Kai takes on Cassanova. Its possibly even better than the Chia Kai Wong Wing Sang fight.

Just when I thought the action couldn't possibly get any better, they somehow turn the choreography up a few notches in the final fight. I have only seen Peter Chang in a few movies and this is the only one I have seen where he has a leading role. You may recognize him as the guy with the gun who fights with Wang Chung in Shanghai 13. His acrobatic skills are up there with just about anybody. Its a shame he was only in a handful of movies because he could have been a big star. Major talent completely wasted. Anyways, the final fight is 12 minutes long and one of the best fights I have seen in awhile. I have watched this movie every night for a week and I just can't get over how good the choreography is. Not only will Cassanova Wong fans love this movie, but any kung fu fan will be blown away by the final 30 minutes.

I have the Phoenix DVD and the picture quality is a bit above average and its partly widescreen. Sound is decent. English and Japanese tracks, no original language option. For some reason Chan Wai Man is on the cover of the DVD, but he isn't in the movie.