Customer Reviews

Thundering Mantis [VHS]

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

 

 

As the somewhat hokey-named "The Thundering Mantis" I bought the movie on a goof, then as the opening credits began, I realized this was one of my most favorite kung fu movies of all time that I saw in THEATRES as "The Mantis Fist Fighter". HUGELY popular in the 70s Time Squares rounds, the movie stars the actor from "Cantonese Iron Kung Fu" along with the drunken mantis master --- an immediately recognizable spectacular actor who routinely plays the drunken master or the monkey master. There is intentional comic relief, but not to a distraction. The plot is fairly mundane --- the evil gang leaders are mad that they constantly getting shown up by a local fish seller who learns kung fu at the local Shaolin temple in his spare time. In spite, the gang members eventuually kill everyone associated with the fighter. Meanwhile the fighter perfects his skills by incorporating the mantis technique of a local con artist beggar and his boy protege. The evil gang member boss, an Eagle master, in the end is the fighter's only rival. The story is compellingly executed with tempered slapstick and comedy. Numerous fights populate the film, involving spell-binding mantis choreography. The final battle is extraordinarily memorable, so much so that I certainly remembered nearly every frame of the film since I saw it over 20 years ago. A MUST for classic lovers.

Obviously some of the reviewers here has lost their minds, or simply do not understand the genre. The last fight scenes of this film put it at the TOP of my list of Old school kung fu movies. The last time I saw this film was working as a projectionist at the theater in 1984. Have never forgotten this classic. I have no ideas why the dub may be "unacceptable" to some people, but this film is SIMPLY INCREDIBLE. If you do not understand the genre, and realize there will be bad dubbing and bad dialog, FIND another film genre to occupy your time. This film can only be appreciated by those who understand what a kung fu movie is all about! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. P.S. I wrote my master's thesis on martial arts films, so I might know what I am talking about...

First off, this is full-frame (poorly done) and English dubbed (again poorly done). This movie would have been 10x better if it were widescreen and subtitled. One can only wish I guess. Overall, the movie is good but it lacks in fight scenes. Sure there are a couple of incidents between folks here and there, but you never really get a good fight scene until the last fight. It is a very memorable ending, and is one that will remain in your mind for a while even after the movie is over. I can only imagine how good it would have been when viewed in it's original aspect ratio. I recommend picking this DVD up just because it's cheap and a relatively good Kung Fu flick. **3.5 stars**

My self being a Praying Mantis practitioner can honestly say this movie RULES! If you like the Mantis Fist, or martial arts period you have to see this movie

I don't usually write reviews as I own over 240 martial arts titles (mostly old school kung fu), but when one stands out from others, you just have to write about it. The plot to this film is what makes it. In most films, heroes usually triumph and in some they die, but this film is quite different from the norm. I won't spoil the film for those who have not seen it by giving away the plot, but be prepared for some awesome fighting and a somewhat disturbingly sad ending.

'Thundering Mantis' is like a lot of old school movies where the director would shoot films simultaneously or one right after the other. This movie is basically the companion to 'Sleeping Fist'. It has all of the same actors except that Chien Yuet San sort of replaces Simon Yuen as the old man character. It feels a lot like the same movie but the plot is just reworked.

Leung Kar Yan stars as Ah Chi and works at a place that sells fresh fish. He doesn't care about his job but loves to get into fights. He befriends a mischevious young boy and goes to learn kung fu from the boy's grandfather(Chien Yuet San). The 12 year old young boy you will for sure recognize from 'Sleeping Fist'. His flexibility is just insane and he can pull off some incredible moves, but he is a bit underused.

Because of his fighting earlier in the movie, Ah Chi is being chased by the boss of the town and his gang. When Ah Chi proves to be tougher than they expected, the head boss comes to take down all comers. If you thought Eddy Ko was good at all in 'Sleeping Fist' or 'Hitman in the Hand of Buddha', you can expect an even better performance. He is as ruthless as can be as the villian. He is so ruthless that in the final fight, Leung Kar Yan has reason to literally go insane.

Overall this movie is not as good as 'Sleeping Fist' but the final fight is better and the intensity in the finale will please any hard core kung fu fan. It is a very unique scene and has an ending you won't believe. DON't MESS WITH THE MANTIS!

The movie itself is somewhat of a bore but it does have a lot of good corny fun. Don't expect a great movie, but it has good fights. Chien Yuet San's mantis is good but it is the finale that makes this a true classic.

I have the Xenon version of this which is full screened and picture quality is bad but accetable. There is a widescreened version available from M.I.A. It is a Hong Kong release but the disc is all region meaning you can play it on any DVD player. Or at least you should be able to. ANyway you can see it, it is worth at least one watch.

This film, in my opinion, is one of the best kung fu films made in the 70s wave started by Bruce Lee. Eagle fist, shrimp fist, drunken-mantis fist, and perhaps the most lethal of any kung fu flick- the insane mantis fist, are all displayed. The final fight seen is alone worth the cost of the movie. It is simply incredible. A must for classic kung fu aficionados.

A very good movie. It was sad, but I loved it. It was very different.

I commonly look at the "listmania" lists of Amazon users for suggestions on Old School Kung Fu movies that I haven't seen. "The Thundering Mantis" showed up on two separate user's lists so I thought it would be worth buying. While it is defintely "Old School" with no wire-fu, it is weak on substance. I think they also tried too hard to make it humerous. The main protagonist does not seem nearly talented enough to carry this role. The fight choreography is slow like they are only going half speed. It does not compare to classics like Invincible Pole Fighter, Shaolin vs. Lama, Shaolin and Wu Tang, or The Prodigal Son.

all-out ridiculous kung-fu action in the style of classics such as 'mystery of chessboxing'. rudy ray moore's presentation leaves much to be desired ('check out my new movie'), but the feature more than makes up for it. one of the better kung-fu movies to be re-released in recent years. strangely homoerotic in one place, however.