Customer Reviews

Fist of Fury - Sworn Revenge

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I know stalwart Bruce Lee fans won't like this movie, and after discovering that this is, in fact, a 25+ TV episode series crammed into a 4-hour movie, it explains a lot. I'll be looking for the VCDs if I can find the entire series. Donnie Yen is a bloody kung fu god.

Criticize the story. It's long and drawn out. But if it's a TV series, it makes more sense. The theme-- revenge and more revenge-- goes on and on. The story in Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge prequels the story in Bruce Lee's classic film, and tries to pay homage to Bruce Lee's memory. Thematically, it does this, discussing things like freedom from rigid forms and stances. The movie as presented on this DVD/Video sets up the story that we are more familiar with-- death of master, Japanese incursion on Chinese turf, etc..

I'm still trying to figure out if Fist of Fury and Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge are actually separate DVDs here in the States. My take is that Fist of Fury (no Revenge) is the actual remake of Bruce Lee's film. I haven't seen that yet.

Martial arts-wise, what can you say? Numerous, long fight scenes. Donnie Yen is fabulous. The supporting cast is very strong kung fu-wise. The choreography is wonderful. The action is fast, sped up a little, but not so much that you can't follow it-- as in some HK-based kung fu films. And I suspect they didn't speed it up THAT much. Donnie is just plain fast.

Some reviewers claim the fight scenes aren't realistic. Hello? The movie isn't about realism. Few kung fu movies are. Heck, Bruce Lee's movies aren't about realism. It's about movies-- showmanship. But drink up the kung fu. It's gorgeous to behold. If you actually study kung fu, watching practically any "classic" kung fu movie is a treat-- you understand why they emphasize the flying leaps, or how a kick sends the opponent skidding backwards along his feet, without losing balance. It's all cinematic interpretations of ideal principles. Donnie Yen is just plain fabulous, and the other principals are premiere kung fu masters, too. I was salivating and jealous over their skill.

I don't expect these types of movies to be awesome storywise. You want that, you can compromise your kung fu standards with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero gives both story and kung fu. This was great for seeing Donnie and Co. strut their stuff.

Nobody can be Bruce Lee. Some of the reviewers critiqued Donnie for trying. Give me a break. Donnie is BETTER in terms of kung fu. Bruce had his own style, his own way of doing things. Bruce couldn't do what Donnie does. Donnie can't quite be Bruce. In fact, I liked less the fight scenes where Donnie starts bouncing around like a boxer, and trying to imitate Bruce's more boxing-based JKD. But I loved Donnie just plain kung fu fighting. Give me a DVD with Donnie just doing forms, and I'd be in heaven.

I finally got my hands on Donnie Yen's Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge, which was pushed as a prequel to Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection and his own version of Fist of Fury, and I was breathless behind the storyline, the colorful characters, the Cantonese w/t English subtitles setup(authenticity), the special affects and the action. What we have here is an awesome foundation for the storyline feautured in Bruice Lee's Fist of Fury(Chinese Connection). However, the only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 was because: (1)to quote another post, it did look more like a day time soap than an actual kung-fu flick, but with all the action, the setup becomes obsolete(lol), (2)Sworn Vengeance is somewhat of a prequel and companion to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury, but is a much better companion to Donnie Yen's Fist of Fury considering the fact that Yen's FOF features more prior to the death of Chen's master before the famous burial scene(TEACHER! TEACHER!!!), and (3)While I enjoyed the efx, it DID look like they were fast fwd'g the action to make it look like Yen was faster than he was. Nonetheless, we have a REAL, modern day tribute to Bruce Lee's work in Fist of Fury. However, Sworn Vengeance is more of a companion to Yen's FOF than to Lee's...for a TRUE companion to Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection(Fist of Fury) I STRONGLY recommend Bruce Li's Chinese Connection 2(Fist of Fury 2). I also recommend Fist of Legend(Jet Li) which is another modern remake of Fist of Fury, but with a different twist. But to make a long story short...Fist of Fury:Sworn Vengeance + Fist of Fury = SUPERB!!! Bruce Lee would be proud!

It;s supposed to be an awesome TV series about Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" ( "Chinese Connection" in US) played by Donnie Yen. I saw the whole series on TV. But cramping it into one 2 hour movie?!! it's not easy at all. The story line is still good (of course it's still way far if you compare it with the real 27 series/ episodes) but you can catch the resumed story. Fighting scenes are awesome but I agreed that they fastforward it as about 2-3XX on your DVD. Donnie is fast but not that fast. He was a world Tai Chi Champion. I love him in certain way he's better than Bruce Lee, in other ways, Bruce Lee is much better than him, so he just did that movie coz he appreciate Bruce Lee and Chen Jen legend. It's a tribute to Bruce Lee. Not trying to make a copycat at all. So just enjoy it as the movie itself, don't compare it to Fist of Fury by Bruce Lee (Chinese Connection), Jackie Chan (The New Fist of Fury) or Jet Lee (Fist of Legend). They all have their own positive and negative side.
I just dissapointed with the back cover of this DVD, the show the scenes which is not in the DVD at all. They are the Korean kickboxer and Chen Jen's senior who is jealous to Chen Jen. That was two great fighting scenes in this movie but the just hook me up on the back cover, I didn't find it at all in the movie.
Overall if you don't see the TV series, don't judge Donnie Yen and this movie, this is a pretty good movie. Thanks.

After a long wait, I finally had the chance to watch another remake of Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" (aka Chinese Connection) this time starring a worthy Donnie Yen. However, I was a bit disappointed understandably that this 25+ episode TV show being compiled into a 2 hour movie. If you did not see the original movie or Jet Li's "Fist of Legend", you'll be asking yourself many questions such as "huh?" and "who is this guy?" throughout the movie. Character development is nonexistent and there are tons of missing plotlines. The fighting is obviously sped up and seems more comical than realistic. I'm not sure why they did this, but the fight scenes at regular speed would've been just fine. The "Enter the Dragon" opening theme music gets annoying since they keep playing it before or during a fight scene.

I hope Tai Seng or another company will release the entire 25 episode series on DVD to fill in the plot holes.

3 stars for Donnie Yen doing his best Bruce Lee impersonation.

My goodness!! I expected more than this from Donnie Yen after seeing 'Iron Monkey' part 1. Just too much camera tricks to enjoy the beauty of martial art physical skill. In closing,you cant redo the famous painting "Sun Flowers" buy Van Gough,and expect to resell it as the original.I know its harsh,but there is only one 'Fist of Fury" ,also done by an original master in his field.

Even if you don't consider Bruce Lee, this is one of the most disappointing martial arts movies I have seen. A couple of fights scenes are okay, but the overall quality of the movie is simply . . . bad! In fact some of the fight sequences look as though they have been sped up. They're like older movies, where everyone moves faster than they would normally would (when it looks unnatural) - that's this movie.

I'm a big Donnie Yen fan (based mainly on his IP Man movies) and bought this without seeing it. A big mistake. After about 20-30 minutes of watching this, I found myself fast-forwarding to the action sequences because it was so bad. Then I was disappointed in those as well.

Cinematography, story, acting, action, sound, music . . . all poor.

Watch another martial arts movie and STAY AWAY from this "stinker."

Honestly, i think it's been shot by a cam corder, or even on my Iphone thats how crap the video quality was, the fight scenes its like watching them in fast forward, does not even come close to the Original by Bruce LEE. I am the biggest Donnie Yen Fan, but mate, embarrassing. One kick and 15 blockes fly off come one man really.

Just So You Know This is a 3 hour movie and is the prequel to Fist Of Fury The Legend Lives On This Movie SWORN REVENGE just focuses about Chen Jun Having revenge for his sister's death and finds A teacher named Fok Yun Gap AND DOES NOT INCOULD the death of Fok yun Gap or Chen's revenge to the Japenese. That Movie Is Also On Amazon And is called Fist Of Fury The Legend Lives On.



This Is A great Movie with lots of long fight sequences.
I recommend this to any martial artist or Bruce Lee Fans

This is actually an edit of the 25 episode TV series Donnie Yen starred in called Fist of Fury. I wanted to point that out because the previous reviews thinks this is a standalone movie or gives that impression. This is not the case. This is essentially a part 2 to condensing the TV series. Think of the recent 'recap' DVDs put out for shows [most noted, Heroes]. Part 1 is Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge. I give this 4 out of 5 because the series was a stage for Donnie Yen's range to shine through early in his career as an actor. I recommend this for any recent Donne Yen fan [especially in light of recent films SPL, Dragon Tiger Gate and the upcoming Flashpoint formerly called City With No Mercy] or fans that haven't seen his TV work. The commentary is a nice bonus for fans of hearing how scenes were put together and the ideas for doing what they did. If you can, try to get ahold of the actual full 25 eps. Pretty sure eng subbed versions are really rare.

I think Donnie Yen is a kung fu god but this movie falls so far short it is a huge disappointment. The movie is based on a television series in China and the story is actually not that bad, although it seems a little crammed together. The fighting is great, full of style and power, but what ruins it and the rest of the movie is the horrible production of the film. I think every fight scene is sped up to the point of ridiculous(I am NOT exaggerating at all). It is as if you had your DVD player on 4x fast foward. What could have been an awesome fight scene when Donnie Yen wields some nunchuks and works a room full of bad guys is ruined by this! Also, if you watch it dubbed in english, when Yen fights he never shuts up! He will literally yell Woo, woo, woo, woo... for 60 straight seconds! The most evident flaw is the type of film that is used. I am not joking, it is the same film quality as a soap opera. It doesn't even look like a movie! It looks like it belongs on TV during the day when only your mom is home to watch her stories!
(and it is full screen)

If you can get passed all I just said it could be a really cool flick. Too bad I can't and you probably can't either.