Customer Reviews

Kung Fu Unleashed: Double Action Feature

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

 

 

LAST HERO IN CHINA-this is the unnoficial 4th entry into the 'Once Upon a Time and China' series. Directed by Wong Jing, and luckily it is also directed by the great Yuen Woo Ping. Instead of falling into the same old Wong Jing stupidness, Woo Ping makes this very enjoyable and it is loaded with wire fu. Alan Chui, Leung Kar Yan, and Gordon Liu star along with Jet Li who takes on the role of Wong Fei Hung for the 4th time. Gordon Liu vs. Jet Li alone makes this worth seeing. I am serious, they actually fight eachother! The music has to be pointed out also. Not as good as OUATIC, but still very good. It is a different version of the Wong Fei Hung song. Big bonus points for that, and the movie also gets points for the absurd comedy that actually works very well. The fights aren't on the level of OUATIC parts 1 or 2, but the final fight is definitely worth sticking around for. 4/5

This version from Videoasia is UNCUT, but in it's original language, not English dubbed which I prefer. I usually listen to the original language, but the British dub job they did for this is one of the best ever. Picture is in a 16:9 widescreen format with good picture quality and the subtitles can all be read, so this is an acceptable release.

The bad guy's voice on the English dubbing has to be heard and the ridiculous dialogue is another big reason to seek out an English language version.
Subtitles on this version-
Jet Li says-"What kind of stance is this?"
Bad guy (Alan Chui)-"It's Han's flute!"
Jet-"Wrong, it's the Drunken Crane".
English dub-
Jet says-"Do you know what kind of stance this is?"
Bad guy-"It's the I can't even get it up stance!"
Jet-"Wrong... you're wrong. It's the I stole your girlfriend stance."

SHAOLIN IDIOT-this movie is just about as idiotic as it gets. Stephen Chow stars and can't do anything with the lines he is given and every joke falls completely flat. Bill Tung from the Police Story movies stars as a ghost who has been killed and gets Chow to help him take revenge. The guy who killed Bill Tung is involved with an underground magician and they look to get rid of Bill Tung's ghost. Fung Shui-Fan teams up with Chow to save Bill Tung and they use magic to defeat the enemy. The end. 1/5

Picture is widescreened in a 16:9 format. The picture quality is below average, but still acceptable and the subtitles are easy to read. I just wish the movie was good, or had at least 1 good fight scene. The finale features some demon wire fu, but is not worth seeing. If you are expecting a good Stephen Chow comedy like I was, you will probably hate this. If you prepare yourself for a pure nonsense comedy, you may actually enjoy it. The movie is ultra low budget, so just don't expect anything too great.

I was disappointed with "Shaolin Idiot". Although there are some funny bits and the English translation can be quite unintentionally hilarious there is very little Kung Fu here. So if that's what you're looking for forget it. The story concerns a police detective who gets killed by the bad guys. WHen he gets to the Pearly Gates they tell him they can't fdo aythgin about him because they don't know "why" he died. So he comes back as a ghost and helps his nephew (Stephen Chow - who admittedly has some very funny scenes and doesn't really want to help his uncle) get the bad guys. Without giving away anything it all works out in the end. :-)

On the other hand "The Last Hero in China" has mind-boggling fight scenes throughout the film. Some stunts are unbelievable and the fight sequences are almost poetic. THIS is one of the most amazing Kung-Fu films I've seen. It's the typical Chinese cowboy movie but it's also very funny, not least because of the English translation. Jet Li (a Kung Fu master) moves to a small village to run a Kung Fu school and also be a doctor(?). And he has to deal with the monks who kidnap young girls and send them to various places in Asia as slaves. There is all kinds of spectacular fighting involving magic and such. Some of the scenes with the ladies from brothel next door are very funny. There is even a character who reminded me of Jerry Lewis in his early days. Highly recommended for the fight scenes.

Neither of these films is anywhere as funny as "Shaolin Soccer" but there is still loads of fun.

A very nice combo with two of the hottest stars in the genre.
Note that both films are in chinese language versions!!
And you can't beat the price!!