Seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death (Huo Yuanjia) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious ... See full summary »
A hot-headed inspector takes on a small but powerful Vietnamese-Chinese gang, after a series of crimes and murder attempts committed and putting an undercover cop and his girlfriend in great danger.
In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-Sen visits Hong Kong to discuss plans with Tongmenghui members to overthrow the Qing dynasty. But when they find out that assassins have been sent to kill him, they assemble a group of protectors to prevent any attacks.
The story of legendary Guan Yu crossing five passes & slaying six generals. He played a major role in the civil war that led to the collapse of Han Dynasty & the establishment of Shu Han of the 3 Kingdoms, making Liu Bei its first emperor.
A kung fu thriller set during the Ming Dynasty and centered on a secret service agent (Donnie Yen) in the emperor's court who is betrayed and then hunted by his colleagues.
A papermaker gets involved with a murder case concerning two criminals leading to a determined detective suspecting him and the former's vicious father searching for him.
A cop goes undercover in a ruthless underworld organization to stop a gang leader, only to put himself in great danger after being exposed by his former protégé and best friend.
A near retired cop and his unit are willing to put down a crime boss at all costs while dealing with a replacement inspector who is getting in their way. Meanwhile, the crime boss sends his top assassin to kill the cops.
An imperial guard and his three traitorous childhood friends ordered to hunt him down get accidentally buried and kept frozen in time. 400 years later passes and they are defrosted continuing the battle they left behind.
A martial arts instructor from the police force gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.
Seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death (Huo Yuanjia) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss. That man is a disguised Chen Zhen, who intends to infiltrate the mob when they form an alliance with the Japanese. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese. Written by
Kokken Tor
The first Hong Kong/Chinese film to be mixed in the "Dolby Surround 7.1" encoding system. Coincidentally, Wai-Keung Lau's movie The Avenging Fist (2001) was the first Hong Kong film mixed in the "Dolby Digital EX" 6.1 surround encoding system. See more »
Goofs
The movie is set in 1925, most of the cars are from late 1940s to early 1950s. See more »
Ip Man was an uplifting movie that showed how the spirit of martial arts and national pride overcame oppression from the Japanese military. Legend of The Fist on the other hand is an ugly, mean spirited mess.
A historical drama like Farewell My Concubine or John Rabe is suited for dealing with heavy subject matter like the Japanese occupation of China. Not a movie marketed as a martial arts extravaganza. Especially when the first action scene shows Donnie Yen defeating German Soldiers with the precision of Spider-Man and Daredevil. He pretty much demonstrates that he could end World War I by himself.
I would have been fine with more of that. But the focus of the movie is not on the action scenes or Donnie's crusade against the Japanese military. The main focus is how evil the Japanese military is, and what atrocities they commit. Thankfully it's not as detailed as say Schindler's List, but it's shoved in the viewers face nonetheless.
There are a ton of subplots which also get in the way and ruin the narrative.
Certain characters are also poorly written despite the best efforts of the actors portraying them. They exhibit traitorous behavior but then go back and fourth in their alignment, so it's hard to sympathize with or hate them.
One of the characters even gets raped just to tastelessly move the plot forward and motivate revenge. It comes across as very cheap and does not make the viewer want the hero to beat the bad guys.
If Ip Man could be a good drama with appropriately placed action scenes, why not this movie?
On a 1 to 5 scale, it deserves a 1.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Ip Man was an uplifting movie that showed how the spirit of martial arts and national pride overcame oppression from the Japanese military. Legend of The Fist on the other hand is an ugly, mean spirited mess.
A historical drama like Farewell My Concubine or John Rabe is suited for dealing with heavy subject matter like the Japanese occupation of China. Not a movie marketed as a martial arts extravaganza. Especially when the first action scene shows Donnie Yen defeating German Soldiers with the precision of Spider-Man and Daredevil. He pretty much demonstrates that he could end World War I by himself.
I would have been fine with more of that. But the focus of the movie is not on the action scenes or Donnie's crusade against the Japanese military. The main focus is how evil the Japanese military is, and what atrocities they commit. Thankfully it's not as detailed as say Schindler's List, but it's shoved in the viewers face nonetheless.
There are a ton of subplots which also get in the way and ruin the narrative.
Certain characters are also poorly written despite the best efforts of the actors portraying them. They exhibit traitorous behavior but then go back and fourth in their alignment, so it's hard to sympathize with or hate them.
One of the characters even gets raped just to tastelessly move the plot forward and motivate revenge. It comes across as very cheap and does not make the viewer want the hero to beat the bad guys.
If Ip Man could be a good drama with appropriately placed action scenes, why not this movie?
On a 1 to 5 scale, it deserves a 1.