Birth of the Dragon was designed as a way to pay homage to the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee and provide more insight into the film star’s early life. Released on Blu-ray towards the end of 2017, many fans of the Way of the Dragon actor will have been excited to learn things they may not have known before. But unfortunately, the film was heavily criticised by critics and is not considered as a good representation of Lee at all.
For lovers of all things martial arts, Lee is arguably the most important practitioner of all time. He appeared in some of the seminal films of the genre, such as Robert Clouse’s Enter the Dragon in 1973, and also helped to change the way Asians were represented in American film. When it was announced that there would be a fictional account of the young Lee’s life brought to film in Birth of the Dragon, some were sceptical while others were excited to see a new side to the man. It turns out that the scepticism was justified, and the film from George Nolfi was a poor representation of Lee’s early career with a large amount of theatrical embellishment added for good measure.
Birth of the Dragon has an extremely low approval rating of 26 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, a site which is usually reliable for its film scores. It got slated by many top critics as well, with some pondering over how and why the film got made in the first place. The picture was also received badly by Shannon Lee, the daughter of the late actor. She said it lacked a “complete understanding of his philosophies and artistry,” and also noted that “they haven’t captured the essence of his beliefs in martial arts or storytelling.”
The legend of Lee is still strong in popular culture, and if Hollywood was to release a proper biopic, it would open to a huge audience. Taken too early at the age of 32, Lee would have had great franchise potential today. There have been numerous spinoffs which have taken inspiration from the actor’s famous films over the years. For instance, online slots like Dragon Shrine and Dragon Ship have clearly used elements from the classic Lee films of the early 1970s. Lee has also featured as a special unlockable character in EA Sports titles UFC in 2014 and UFC 2 in 2015. This is a touching tribute to the man who would have taken the mixed-martial arts world by storm if it had existed during his living years.
It would be interesting to see if this latest inaccurate biopic of Lee inspires his daughter to collaborate with filmmakers and create something which does the martial arts man justice. She did say that her family had to generate their own material in order to “get audiences to understand the depth and uniqueness” of her father.
For now, those who want to keep their fond memories of Lee intact should stick to the classics that he starred in. Birth of the Dragon just doesn’t live up to the legend’s memory well enough.
Why go Double when you can go Maximum? Director Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die, producer of Showdown in Manila) is back with Maximum Impact(read our review), which is finding its way to theaters on September 28, 2018 from Unified Pictures – then On Demand, DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Video on October 2, 2018.
In Maximum Impact, the agents of the Federal Security Service of Russia and the U.S. Secret Service are forced to work together to prevent a full-scale international crisis.
If you’re fan of Tokyo Raiders (2000) and its sequel, Seoul Raiders ( 2005), then get your go-go gadgets ready for Europe Raiders(read our review).
Jingle Ma (Silver Hawk) returns to the director’s chair for the 3rd entry of this star-studded series. It should also be noted that Europe Raiders is produced by Wong Kar-wai (The Grandmaster), which is a departure from the arthouse-style projects his name is usually associated with.
In Europe Raiders (aka Paris Raiders), Tony Chiu-Wai Leung (Hard Boiled) reprises his role as a detective who wears a jacket full of neat toys and a mean umbrella. This time around, Leung is joined by Kris Wu (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), Tiffany Tang (The Storm Warriors), Du Juan (Lost in Hong Kong), and last but not least, Thai martial arts sensation JeeJa Yanin (Chocolate).
Europe Raiders is getting a domestic on August 17, 2018. Don’t miss its latest Trailer below:
Over the coming months, myself and other regular contributors here at cityonfire will be weighing in with what movie it was that first got us into Asian cinema. We’ll be breaking it down into 3 regions – Hong Kong/China, Japan, and Korea – in that order, with a month dedicated to each. First out of the gates, as expected, is Hong Kong and China. Most likely the gateway for many a COF reader to be exposed to the jade screen, the regions martial arts flicks of the 70’s flooded cinemas across the world, creating many a lifelong fan along the way.
“The Matrix” Japanese Theatrical Poster
My own story doesn’t go back quite that far, not least because I was still nothing more than a twinkle in my parent’s eye. Rather, it begins when I was still a (relatively) innocent 18 year old back in 1999. I’d been a film buff for a number of years already, enthusiastically spending whatever money I earned from a paper round or mowing the lawn on the latest VHS releases. When more movies started to be released than I could afford, I’d simply mow the lawn again, regardless of if it’d only been cut a couple of days prior, demanding the heavily negotiated fee of £5 from my Dad.
As a 16 year old I would spend my Saturdays going into the city centre of my hometown Liverpool, and excitedly peruse the shelves of the local HMV and Virgin Megastore. Back then, unlike many of my peers, the chances of me being passed off for someone who was 18 were slim to none. So it was such visits would also involve targeting another customer in the store who, to my eyes at least, looked both over 18 and trustworthy, which would be followed by the inevitable awkward approach to ask them if they’d mind buying an 18-rated movie for me if I gave them the money. I still remember doing this with the newly released widescreen version of Taxi Driver, to which my unassuming purchasing agent gave an agreeable nod of approval.
Such purchases were mostly met with bewilderment from my parents, not least because of my insistence on purchasing the widescreen versions of whatever title I was seeking. As the movie started after an endless number of trailers, I’d always be greeted by their frowned expressions as to why there were “huge black bars covering half the screen” of our cumbersome 4:3 television set. To suddenly find myself gainfully employed with a fulltime job, it felt amazing to readily have the money to purchase the latest movies, and there was even funds leftover to hit the cinema! It was during that fateful year of 1999 that one such cinema visit would set me on the road to discovering the world of kung-fu goodness, when my friend and I hit the local Odeon to watch a movie called The Matrix.
“Shaolin Temple” VHS Cover
The combination of Yuen Woo-Ping choreographed action, bullet time, and gravity defying spectacle left my jaw on the floor, and as we left the cinema it was agreed that we needed to seek out more kung fu action. Whether it was a coincidence or not is still a question I’m unable to answer, but around that same time a documentary (the name of which escapes me) was shown late night on Channel 4, about the Shaolin Temple in China. I distinctly remember a part of the documentary that talked about a movie which was filmed there in 1982 – ironically called The Shaolin Temple. The narrator calmly explained how the movie became famous for kickstarting a wave of wushu mania in the Mainland, who until that point had mostly been subjected to endlessly bland Communist propaganda.
More than the narration though, what remained lodged in my brain were the clips that played over it from the movie itself. Bodies flew through the air at each other from opposite directions, clashing against the backdrop of the sky, monks spun themselves up from horizontal positions to land on their feet, and a mass battle played out onscreen with everyone armed with every weapon imaginable. Despite not having any of the special effects or budget of The Matrix, I found myself sat there feeling that same sense of amazement that I had in the cinema, and knew it was a movie that I needed to track down.
As it happened, the expectation of tracking down what must surely be such an obscure title turned out to be a completely unfounded one. Shortly afterwards myself and a couple of friends found ourselves in the local Blockbuster Video, a store we’d haunt at least once a week. The 3 of us all loved movies, but you could say we loved them in very different ways, so settling on a title (or 2) to rent for the night sometimes took longer than the actual movies themselves. I don’t remember what we ended up renting that particular time, but what I do remember is, on that small selection of shelves dedicated to VHS tapes you can actually buy, was not only The Shaolin Temple, but there was The Shaolin Temple 2….and 3! I bought them all the following day.
“Shaolin Temple 2” VHS Cover
The composition of the VHS cover remains with me to this day – the image of a monk poised on one foot set against a red backdrop, with the title splashed in large yellow lettering, and the bold declaration written across the top “Jet Li – Hong Kong’s Hottest Action Export”. I guess that’s who the monk was. It was a bombastic name, and admittedly the only Jet I’d known until that point was the one I’d had a huge crush on from the UK version of Gladiators. Rated 18, there in the corner was the logo of the distributor – Eastern Heroes. Over the coming weeks my friend and I would watch the complete trilogy, but it was the original one that left the lasting impact. The sequence were Li goes through the seasons performing wushu routines, the scenes of the monks practicing on the lawn, and of course….Li in drag. I was hooked, and now close to 20 years later, I still am.
“Snake in The Eagle’s Shadow” Chinese Theatrical Poster
A lot happened in the 6 months that followed. The year 2000 introduced itself with none of the chaos many expected, I purchased some new-fangled piece of technology called a DVD player, and in February I picked up the debut release of a new DVD label called Hong Kong Legends, which went by the name of Snake in the Eagles Shadow. Jackie Chan’s breakthrough movie (which I confess to picking up not because it starred Jackie Chan, but because the sleeve declared it was choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping of The Matrix fame) would become the first DVD in a collection which I’m now fearful to count. Perhaps most ironically of all though, was that Jet Li himself would become a household name, thanks to his leading man role alongside Aaliyah in Romeo Must Die.
I recently decided to re-watch The Shaolin Temple for the first time since discovering it, not really knowing what to expect having devoured literally 100s of Asian martial arts movies since it first served as an introduction to the genre. It still hit all the right notes, but to my surprise I found the action scenes to be slower than I remembered them. Perhaps this is because the only real comparison point I had back then was The Matrix, so the moves on display blew me away with relative ease (not that they’re anything to be sniffed at either way!) But it still impressed where it counts – Jet Li’s training through the seasons, Yu Cheng-Hui’s drunken sword demonstration, and the mass battle scenes all had what I can now describe as that distinctive 80’s Mainland wushu feel to them.
Ironically, out of all the DVD’s (and now Blu-ray’s) purchased since then, I never did replace the VHS that I bought. Somewhere along the way it got hauled to a charity store, back when I’d been living overseas for several years, and my parents asked me what they should do with all the tapes. I didn’t stop to think that The Shaolin Temple was amongst them, so the very movie that got me into the genre is one that I don’t own. One day I’ll get around to hunting down the Eastern Heroes DVD, that way I can still have the English dub and enjoy the unique case the initial Eastern Heroes DVD releases came in. So while many have Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to thank for their introduction to Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, for me it was a young Jet Li. That probably also explains why I’m one of the few willing to forgive him for Badges of Fury. Forgive, and admittedly still trying to forget.
Get your eyes in FX-mode for Legend of Zu, the latest CG fantasy fest from first-time director Zhu Lingfeng. Cast includes Li Xizi (Realm of the Immortals), Ron Ng (Shock Wave) and Leanne Li (Love Is).
We’re not sure how – or even if – this new film is related to Tsui Hark’s seminal Zu: Warriors from Magic Mointain (1983) or less-seminal Legend of Zu (2001), but here’s the film’s plot for you to decide:
After claiming countless lives, the fairies won the great battle with the demons. However, the leader of their Kunlun sect Yu Qingzi died for his young apprentice Xiao He. 500 tranquil years later, Xiao He finds himself face to face with a resurrected Yu Qinzi.
Legend of Zu was recently released domestically, but Well Go USA will be distributing the film on an undisclosed release date soon. Stay tuned!
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Christopher McQuarrie Writer: Christopher McQuarrie Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Liang Yang Running Time: 147 min.
By Paul Bramhall
In the closing of my review for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, I’d mentioned how if Tom Cruise waited until 2020 to grace us with another instalment of the franchise, I’d still be first in line to see it. As it is, the sixth in the series has arrived a whole 2 years before, marking the shortest amount of time between any of the previous Mission: Impossible movies. The speedy arrival of M:I – Fallout, 3 years after Ethan Hunt’s last outing, isn’t the only unique aspect of the production. This is the first time both for a director of a previous instalment to return to the franchise, with Rogue Nation’s Christopher McQuarrie at the reins, and similarly Rogue Nation’s villain Solomon Lane (played by British actor Sean Harris) back for a second try at blowing up the world.
Indeed in many ways M:I – Fallout feels a little bit like McQuarrie’s attempt at a M:I – Rogue Nation redux. An established screenwriter (in between Rogue Nation and Fallout he contributed to the script of the ill-fated Cruise vehicle The Mummy), the fifth Mission: Impossible was his first real attempt at helming a full blown action movie. There may still be some people out there that argue the Mission: Impossible series was never supposed to be about being full blown action flicks, but let’s face it, that’s what they’ve evolved into. While it was an admirable attempt, McQuarrie’s biggest faux pas was making Rogue Nation’s showstopper stunt (Cruise hanging onto the side of a plane) a pre-credit sequence, one which was all but superfluous to the rest of the plot. It also completely disregarded the character of Hunt’s (now ex-)wife, making her a no-show and subsequently losing some of the humanity of the series.
So it is with Fallout, all of those issues have attempted to be addressed. The action is more evenly spread, escalating rather than flat lining, and Michelle Monaghan is back as Cruise’s love that he had to let go of. McQuarrie has also decided to keep the stuff that did work – everyone loved the car chase from Rogue Nation that eventually segued into a motorbike chase, so here we get the exact same thing, only this time it’s bigger and even more hair raising (try not to grip your seat as Cruise rides against traffic around the Arc De Triomphe in Paris). More than anything though, Fallout feels like it’s found the right balance between the double crossing espionage antics that dominated Brian De Palma’s original, and the action driven aesthetic, that could be argued to have become the focus since Hong Kong action maestro John Woo directed M:I-2.
This time around Cruise and his cohorts, that feature returning team members Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg (whatever happened to the female contingent like Maggie Q and Paula Patton!?), need to stop 3 nuclear bombs that a group of terrorists for hire called The Apostles plan to use to blow up the world. Complicating matters is the revelation that there’s a double agent operating in the CIA, and the return of the British agent from Rogue Nation (played by a returning Rebecca Ferguson), who’s come to discover that leaving MI6 comes with a few unexpected terms and conditions. Double crosses, questionable allegiances, and backstabbing aplenty all come together to make Fallout feel like the most espionage-centric Mission: Impossible since De Palma’s original, and sure enough McQuarrie sprinkles in a few subtle nods to the first instalment for those looking for them.
Outside of the stunts, now as much a part of any Mission: Impossible marketing strategy as its star, is the inclusion of Superman actor Henry Cavill, here playing a CIA agent assigned to partner with Cruise on his mission to retrieve the 3 nuclear bombs. Cruise, Cavill, and the Mission: Impossible franchise have an interesting history. Cruise was originally set to play Solo in 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., however had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Rogue Nation, which led to Cavill taking the role instead. Cruise was so impressed by Cavill’s performance, that he suggested to McQuarrie to bring him on-board for Fallout, which he gladly accepted. On a side note, the moustache Cavill has in Fallout is the reason for his sometimes odd appearance in Justice League, as he had to go back for reshoots after filming on Fallout had already started, leaving the effects team on Justice League with the job of giving him a ‘digital shave’.
The pair have good chemistry, and as much as any of the large scale stunts, a 2 vs. 1 fight in which they have to team up against stuntman Liang Yang, is one of action highlights. Taking place in the bathroom of a Paris super-club, the fight was scheduled to be shot in 4 days, but due to its complexity ended up taking 4 weeks, and it was time well spent. Yang is a beast, and goes at Cruise and Cavill with a ferocity reminiscent of Yaya Ruhian’s Mad Dog from The Raid, as the pair attempt to sedate him so they can make one of the infamous masks. Some seriously heavy punishment is dished out, with plenty of collateral damage being inflicted along the way. If someone was to ask me to make a top 3 bathroom fight scenes (and why wouldn’t they?), this would be right up there with Won Bin vs. Thanayong Wongtrakul in The Man from Nowhere, and Jet Li vs. Mike Lambert in Unleashed.
As for the stunts themselves though, Fallout crams in a whopping 4 major set pieces, perhaps the most out of all of the current entries in the franchise. Apart from the aforementioned vehicle chase through Paris, which is right up there with anything found in John Frakenheimer’s Ronin, we also get a HALO (High-Altitude Low Opening) jump through a lightning storm over Paris, an epic foot chase across the rooftops of London, and a helicopter vs. helicopter showdown (which I’m sure will have given Wu Jing a few ideas for Wolf Warrior 3). We may live in an era were green screen effects work is so good there’s no longer any need to do these kind of things for real, so it’s entirely admirable that everything was done for real. The HALO jump alone took 106 takes (which means, yes, they jumped 106 times), which doesn’t include the practice jumps before filming and the year of preparation it took to arrange. Jackie Chan would be proud.
Similarly for the rooftop chase, on one of the jumps Cruise had to make between buildings, his foot hit the side of the building so hard the impact smashed his ankle, delaying filming for 2 months. In true Hong Kong action cinema style, it’s this shot which remains in the final cut, which includes him standing up and limping past the camera (before breaking into the classic full speed ahead run in the next shot). With so much physically visceral action on show, the only real fault I could place on Fallout would be that the helicopter chase goes on for slightly too long. I mean yes, we’ve seen Cruise jump out of a plane, throw down against various assailants, and be chased every which way, which is all great, and yes that’s also him piloting a helicopter. But watching someone in a helicopter isn’t quite as exciting as any of the previously mentioned activities, and McQuarrie keeps it going for just a little longer than needed. But hey, this is nit-picking.
Whichever way you look at it, the Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the most consistently entertaining action franchises not only in Hollywood, but the world. While Rogue Nation felt like a step down from the adrenaline rush that was Ghost Protocol (which remains my favorite of the series), Fallout propels it back to the level of a series which always punches above its weight. While the 007 franchise has struggled to maintain the relevance that put it back on the map with Casino Royale, Cruise has kept to the formula of ensuring the amount of espionage and double crosses are complimented by an equal amount of action and ridiculous stunts, and it’s proving to be one that works. With Fallout on track to be a solid box office success, Cruise has said he’s open to making more, so for now, all that’s left to do is for someone to hook him up with Gareth Evans for Mission: Impossible 7. Too much to ask?
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for The Guillotines, directed by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs).
In The Guillotines, an elite crime-fighting unit that relies on flying swords to defeat their enemies. The film is a homage to the classic Guillotine movies of the 70s (i.e. The Flying Guillotine, Master of the Flying Guillotine).
Director: Muk Baak-Ji Producer: Chow Pei Hok Cast: Fan Siu Wong, Leung Kar-Yan, Carisa Yan Wing-San, Ricky Ng Kwok-Sing, Hoh Hung-Kwan Running Time: 93 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Director Lam Nai-Choi’s 1991 splatter fest, The Story of Ricky, is one of the movies that got me into the wilder side of Hong Kong cinema. An almost relentless barrage of eye ball popping, intestine strangling, stomach exploding goodness, it quickly achieved cult status in the west, and understandably so. However its native audience wasn’t so impressed. Adapted from a hyper-violent Japanese manga, it was a flop in Hong Kong upon release, and effectively marked an end to Nai-Choi’s career. Even more of a shame though, was that Nai-Choi’s unintended swansong was planned to be a launching vehicle for Louis Fan Siu-Wong, the son of Fan Mei-Sheng. Having been a child actor in the likes of Descendant of the Sun and Righting Wrongs, The Story of Ricky should have been an explosive debut for the buffed up 18 year old, but instead it left him blowing in the wind.
Siu-Wong is good natured about his role in The Story of Ricky, and talked candidly in an interview contained on the Hong Kong Legends DVD, released in 2002, of its impact on his career. While his profile never reached the heights of contemporaries like Jet Li and Wu Jing, Siu-Wong came to be a reliable presence in whatever he appeared in, with a particularly memorable role as a bandit in 2008’s Ip Man. It’s interesting then, that tucked away in the darkest recesses of his filmography, is an unofficial sequel to The Story of Ricky. Coming 13 years after the original, Super Powerful Man takes the form of a direct-to-video Taiwanese production, and is so far off the radar I imagine even the most avid fans of Siu-Wong and The Story of Ricky may not be aware of its existence.
Taking place in 2200, Super Powerful Man opens to a disjointed sequence of stock footage and bland onscreen text (that rambles on for a whopping 2:30 mins), explaining how in the 100 years prior the earth was ravaged and clean water has now become a sought after commodity. So far, so post-apocalyptic Filipino flick. Most of the water supply is controlled by an evil general (the legendary Leung Kar-Yan) and his trio of color coordinated spandex wearing henchmen (think a less intimidating version of The Wiggles). A morally upright professor (Ricky Ng Kwok-Sing) has been studying water purification techniques in a secret factory, but when its location is discovered, Kar-Yan and his lackeys ruthlessly kill everyone. Thankfully the baby Ricky is hidden away, however his brother is taken by Kar-Yan and raised to be his ruthless right hand man (Hoh Hung-Kwan). Several years later, and I’m pretty sure you can guess the rest.
Story wise Super Powerful Man is actually closer to the original manga than Story of Ricky, however that’s the only compliment I can give it (and it’s arguably more of an observation at that). Apart from Ong Bak, there wasn’t a whole lot going on for martial arts cinema back in the early 00’s, and in 2004 we were still a year away from the genre reinvigorating Sha Po Lang. The expression “the night is darkest before the dawn” constantly sprung to mind as I suffered through each of its torturously long 80 minutes, because make no mistake about it, Super Powerful Man is bottom of the barrel filmmaking in every respect. Marking the debut for director Muk Baak-Ji, he’d go onto make one other movie the following year called Game With a Rich Lady, and then fade into obscurity. Unfortunately by then he’d already inflicted the world with 2 productions.
Super Powerful Man looks like it was made with some leftover pesos from whatever production Philip Ko had most recently wrapped in the Philippines. It’s that bad. Filming is restricted to a handful of limited locations – there’s a reservoir, a gravel pit, and some deserted buildings, all chosen most likely because there weren’t any other people around. The camera constantly wobbles in such a way to make everything look like it was filmed by a kid with a smart phone, only smart phones weren’t around in 2004 (and had they been, honestly it would probably look a little less cheap). Flashbacks are shown in strange color choices like sepia and purple, and frequently shown more than once. One flashback of Siu-Wong meeting his girlfriend for the first time is repeated three times, and during the second and third, the scene in which the first flashback occurred is also played as a flashback. Seriously.
Siu-Wong himself looks like he hasn’t aged a day since starring in the original, and let’s face it, when you have a physique like his all you need to do is switch the camera on and he’ll look the part. But such is the incompetence of everyone involved that even this can’t be done right. His characters iconic camouflage poncho is the wardrobe of choice for most of the runtime, however careless oversights, like having the poncho’s label blatantly on show in a couple of shots, only serve to take the viewer out of the story. Actually, I guess that’s a merciful positive. Anyway, nobody wants to see the Walmart laundry instructions in a post-apocalyptic movie about some guy that can punch right through people.
At least, he could in the original. Here he doesn’t do much of anything. The fight scenes are horrendously filmed, almost entirely in slow motion, with the only requirement being for Siu-Wong’s opponents to have a mouthful of water to spit out once they receive a light tap from his fist. Hoh Hung-Kwan, who plays Kar-Yan’s head henchman, would also choreograph the action (although it’s a stretch to call it that), and much like director Baak-Ji, Super Powerful Man and Game With a Rich Lady are the only productions he’d choreograph himself. Characters flip from kicks which make no contact, have cuts painted on them before they’re inflicted, and generally look hesitant to commit. For fans of grounded kung fu, the best I can say is that there’s no wirework, but then, that’s likely because they couldn’t afford them.
The rest of Super Powerful Man manages to draw occasional smiles, more out of pity than anything else. Kar-Yan’s experiments on Hung-Kwan consist of a kitchen sieve being lowered onto his head by someone just off-screen, complimented by some early-90’s special effects. Meanwhile, Siu-Wong takes inspiration from Sonny Chiba in Soul of Chiba, with electrodes attached to his chest as he attempts to pull a bulldozer uphill in the gravel pit. For some reason while he’s doing this, an effect is awkwardly overlaid onto his body that looks like circular ripples in the water. My personal favorite part though has Kar-Yan and Hung-Kwan talking to each other via small metallic rings stuck to their foreheads. A somewhat jarring reminder that proceedings are supposed to be taking place in 2200, this futuristic piece of telecommunication will hopefully be introduced with the iPhone 20, but don’t hold your breath.
Baak-Ji isn’t just content with offending an already broad audience with Super Powerful Man, so even takes aim at anime fans, with a soundtrack blatantly lifted from the Macross and Gundam franchises. The themes frequently feature quietly in the background of many scenes, almost as if they’re embarrassed to be there. Frankly Super Powerful Man’s existence is a mystery to me, and plays more like a Chinese telenovela than a legitimate feature film. Thankfully we’ll always have the original Story of Ricky, and much like the warden’s fate in the finale of Nai-Choi’s classic, the best place for it would involve a particularly zealous meat grinder.
With the exception of Kung Fu Hustle, 2004 was a barren wilderness for many of yesteryears kung-fu stars, and any look at the other titles in Siu-Wong and Kar-Yan’s filmographies from the same year will surely draw plenty of blank expressions (Fairy Legend anyone?). But we all do what we can when bills need to be paid, and this is as good of an explanation as any for their appearance in this atrocity. Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room though, is Super Powerful Man’s other English title – Dint King Inside King. Ranking up there as one of the more nonsensical translations, if anyone can explain it, I’m all ears. For the rest of us, regardless of how curious you may be to see Siu-Wong reprise his role as Riki Oh, the best advice I can give is to resist at all costs.
Director: Chang Cheh
Producer: Runme Shaw
Cast: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Cheng Lee, Guk Fung, Chan Sing, Cheng Miu, Wong Chung, Yeung Chi Hing, Yuen Wo Ping, Yen Shi-Kwan, Yuen Shun-Yi, Yuen Cheung Yan, Chan Chuen, Lau Laan Ying, Tong Dik
Running Time: 102 min.
By JJ Hatfield
In 1971 Chang Cheh took Ti Lung and David Chiang to Thailand to film a Muay Thai boxing tournament movie/travelogue. That may not be the Shaw Brothers description, but it’s accurate. It might have worked as one or the other, but the mix is annoying, tiresome, and a waste of talent.
A young up and coming engineer and martial arts expert learns a long-hidden secret at his father’s deathbed. Before he passes father informs son he once had an affair with a woman in Thailand which produced a male child. With only vague clues to follow the loyal son sets off to find his Muay Thai fighting brother as it was his father’s dying wish. By the time the long-lost brother is discovered, he is in a fight for his life.
David Chiang (The New One-Armed Swordsman) is Fan Ke, the dutiful son who exchanges his suit, tie, and glasses for brightly colored early 70’s polyester threads while he searches for his brother Wen Lieh played by Ti Lung (The Pirate). Fan Ke finds a ditzy date (Pawana Chanajit), and they promptly forget about searching for his brother and go sightseeing around Bangkok instead. Meanwhile, Wen Lieh is discovering the reality of being a Muay Thai fighter with less than ethical associates. He has risen to a position of being a top fighter in Thailand only to learn his talent and skills in the ring may not be enough to win the tournament or keep him alive. When Wen Lieh is not fighting, he spends time with his girlfriend, Yu Lan (Ching Li) who is teary-eyed for most of the movie.
The primary cause of Yu Lan’s weeping is Cannon the killer Muay Thai boxer. Cannon (Ku Feng) will fight Wen Lieh for the championship. Despite Yu Lan’s pleas Wen Lieh has no intention of quitting because this is a Chang Cheh movie and real men never back down even if they are about to be served their heads. That and Wen Lieh must fight because he needs the money for… well it is such an original idea I don’t want to give it away.
Too often the camera is trained on Chiang and his hyper-happy girlfriend pretending to look at a well-known tourist spot. I could understand if Chang wanted to include the brothers going to a temple to offer incense for their deceased father, but the travelogue episodes were like having to watch your neighbor’s home movies of their summer vacation. Momentum was lost, and so was the film.
Muay Thai boxing received respectful treatment by Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaai when the fighting was in the squared circle. Ti Lung and Ku Feng are passable as Muay Thai boxers. Editing creates the illusion that the actors are performing extensive Muay Thai boxing pre-fight rituals and bouts. However, the two are on-screen less than it appears. In contrast to the two men ‘dueling’, the fights that occur outside the ring are chaotic brawling with multiple opponents. Neither style produces much in the way of memorable matches.
Duel of Fists should have focused on Muay Thai boxing and the search for the brother story. The two female characters were wasted (and Chanajit may have been wasted on something). The travelogue should never have been used in an action film. The two stars do not exert themselves acting, and I think Chang was off enjoying the sites as there is little sign of his direction.
The only reason I ranked Duel of Fists as high as I did was that it is one of the first movies to have a tournament as the focus of the film as well as being one of the first to showcase Muay Thai boxing.
There are many excellent movies with the “Iron Triangle,” and most offer better action than Duel of Fists. If you are working your way through Chang Cheh, Ti Lung or David Chiang movies save Duel of Fists for later. This one barely kicks a 6/10.
On October 2, 2018, Switchblade Pictures will be releasing the Blu-ray for 2017’s Corpse Prison: Part 1, the first of a two part movie series directed by Hideo Jojo (Siren X).
Corpse Prison: Part 1 stars Moemi Katayamax (Gun), Anna Tachibana (Skirt Gang), Shin’ichi Wago (Lady Ninja: A Blue Shadow), Nagomi, Reimi Fujishiro and Ren Fukusaki.
From the moment she and her fellow students arrive in the mountain village of Yasaka, Mikoto knows that there is something very wrong with this tiny town. Can it really be true that, for 50 years, not a single girl has been born in this isolated community?
Despite the fact that Mayor Amano and the other all male residents have enthusiastically welcomed her and the other three coeds attending Professor Ashihara’s overnight seminar, Mikoto can’t shake the sense of increasing dread that consumes her. Something horrible has happened here. Something that is about to happen again. Because the town has been waiting for her. And the other girls. From the pages of the hit online manga published in Web Comic Gamma, the nightmare is about to begin!
Brace yourself for some exciting news from CJ Entertainment. In a nutshell, expect a number of “Elevated Thrillers and Supernatural Horror Films” with the launch of their new subsidiary. Check out the official Press Release below:
July 30, 2018 – Los Angeles, CA / Seoul, South Korea –CJ Entertainment, Korea’s leading entertainment conglomerate, today announced the launch of a new specialty genre label – 413 Pictures.
All CJ Entertainment genre films, both English-language, as well as local-language Asian movies, will be released under 413 Pictures going forward. The label will have a broad appeal to both Asia and Western markets as its contents will incorporate horror elements from both cultures.
The name ‘413 Pictures’ is derived from ‘4’ being an unlucky number in Asia and ‘13’ being an unlucky number in the U.S.
The first films to be released under the 413 Pictures label in the U.S. will be Hide and Seek (going into production this fall – read cityonfire.com’s review for the original here) and The Housemaid (going into production next year). CJ Entertainment is developing, financing and producing both films.
Joel David Moore (Avatar franchise) is directing Hide and Seek – a remake of the hit Korean social horror-thriller written and directed by Huh Jung and released to wide critical and commercial success in 2013. The movie builds upon themes related to the widening gap between the upper 1% and the lower class. As population in urban areas balloon and real estate prices skyrocket, lower-income segments of society are finding themselves continually getting pushed out. This film explores the question of “what if” when those left marginalized decide to take matters into their own hands.
The Housemaid is an English language remake of Vietnam’s highest grossing horror film of all time. Academy Award® winner Geoffrey Fletcher is writing the adapted screenplay for CJ and 413 Pictures. The original “Housemaid,” directed by Derek Nguyen, was a massive hit with a story that explores racial and social themes through a period/romance/horror film. The remake stays true to this concept, taking place in the deep South during the Reconstruction Era.
The movie pipeline for 413 Pictures will be fully loaded as parent CJ Entertainment plans to develop, produce and finance 2-4 English-language genre films a year, along with 4-5 local-language Asian genre films a year for the label. The label is working on both original projects and remake projects and is interested in working closely with talents who have original ideas for genre films. The focus will be on elevated thriller and supernatural horror films.
CJ has been expanding mightily in Southeast Asia, making local-language films that have connected with local audiences and spurred strong box office performance. Given the success of this tailored business model, CJ has remained aggressive in pursuing local-language productions and currently has a number of films in development across territories throughout Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, that will be released over the course of the next two years. These include the Thai horror film A Portrait of a Beauty.
Portrait of a Beauty, which will go into production at the end of this year and be released in 2019, is being financed and produced by CJ Major Entertainment, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Major Cineplex Group, Thailand’s largest cinema company. The adapted version will be written by Eakasit Thairaat, one of the most prominent horror screenwriters in Thailand (4BIA, 13 Beloved). It will mark the feature debut of Surapong Ploensang, one of the top commercial directors in Thailand.
The company’s move to launch the standalone genre label 413 Pictures comes at a time when horror films, in particular, are drawing audiences to theaters in record numbers worldwide, and reinforces CJ Entertainment’s commitment to strengthening its leadership position in global feature film productions and targeted local-language films.
Said Francis Chung, “Our vision for 413 Pictures is to produce unique and original genre films, globally and locally, as well as identifying and evaluating IP that can be remade in other territories around the world.”
Francis Chung added, “Beyond the tremendous commercial upsides to having a dedicated, branded genre label, an important aspect of 413 Pictures will be to discover and nurture emerging genre voices in Asia for both local and US markets.”
2018 has been a very active year for CJ Entertainment. In addition to closing the aforementioned deals with Geoffrey Fletcher for The Housemaid and Joel David Moore for Hide and Seek, the company optioned rights to the haunting, non-fiction best-selling book, The Vanished and signed Academy Award® nominee Phyllis Nagy to direct and write; and closed a deal with Drake Doremus to direct the internally developed Aurora – a sweeping romantic drama with a supernatural element and a big “what if” question at its core, which Salvador Paskowitz is writing.
“Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” Teaser Poster
Director: Kim Yong-Hwa Writer: Kim Yong-Hwa Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Ju Ji-Hoon, Kim Hyang-Gi, Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Dong-Wook, Lee Jung-Jae, Jo Han-Chul, Kim Myung-Gon, Il-woo Nam Running Time: 141 min.
By Paul Bramhall
It’s been less than a year since Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds hit cinema screens, and already the second part of the consecutively filmed pair is upon us with Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days. Director Kim Yong-hwa took a huge gamble to plough so much money into what’s easily Korea’s most ambitious CGI heavy production, and it was one which paid off, with The Two Worlds becoming a box office success domestically. However the second instalment hit some decidedly unexpected bumps in the road on the lead up to its release. At the beginning of 2018 the #metoo movement, which saw actresses coming forward with their experiences of sexual harassment, hit Korea hard, and two of the productions cast members found themselves embroiled in the allegations.
First up was returning cast member Oh Dal-soo, an actor who’s practically come to embody the bumbling everyman role that’s a fixture of many a Korean production, and a new character play by Choi Il-hwa (The New World). Knowing that it wouldn’t sit well to have such actors (who both admitted their guilt) feature in a morally upright blockbuster, the decision was taken to re-film their scenes with new actors, with Jo Han-chul (Heart Blackened) replacing Dal-soo, and Kim Myung-gon (Steel Rain) replacing Il-hwa. While it was a decision that no doubt added a few extra zeros to the franchises already lofty budget, onscreen the modifications are for the most part seamless, a credit to the technical expertise of those working behind the scenes.
The plot of AWTG:TL49D (as I’ll refer to it from here on in) is significantly broader than its predecessor, fitting in 3 parallel storylines into its equally epic 140 minute runtime. Having secured the reincarnation of Cha Tae-hyun’s firefighter at the end of ATWG:TTW, the leader of the trio of guardians, played by the returning Ha Jung-woo, turns his focus to Kim Dong-wook (The Concubine), also returning as Tae-hyun’s murdered brother. Despite being the vengeful spirit that caused so much chaos in ATWG:TTW, Jung-woo believes he’s deserving of reincarnation, so pitches his case to King of the Underworld (Lee Jung-jae) to allow him to stand trial. Permission is eventually given, with various conditions attached, one of which takes the form of the second storyline.
A Household God has been causing trouble in the real world, by keeping an old man alive far longer than he should be, and even making himself visible to the point of being a part of the old mans daily life, which has him taking care of his abandoned grandson. The God is played my Ma Dong-seok (Champion), and one of the conditions is for Jung-woo and his fellow guardians to ascend the old man within the next 49 days, and ensure the Household God is duly punished. The roles of the guardian trio are somewhat reversed from what we saw in AWTG:TTW, with this time Jung-woo left to navigate the afterlife, and returning guardians Joo Ji-hoon and Kim Hyang-gi sent to the real world to deal with Dong-seok. However when Dong-seok reveals his connection to the pair when they were alive a millennium ago, we also get to witness the trios backstory (cue the third storyline!), and how it came to be that they’re bound to each other.
Credit has to be given to Yong-hwa for juggling so many elements with such a skilled hand. If you want a fantasy adventure filled with monsters and spectacle, you got it. If you want a modern day melodrama that pulls on the heartstrings, you got it. Not satisfied? Well how about a period piece battlefield epic? You get that as well. The talent in Yong-hwa’s handling of each of the 3 storylines lies in the way he’s able to keep each one relevant to each other for the entire duration, never allowing one to overshadow the other or to feel like unnecessary padding, all of them play an integral part to the other. This structure allows plenty of space for us to get to know the trio of guardians. While in ATWG:TTW they were defined more by their personality traits than anything else, this time we get to know their histories and who they really are, making them an integral part of the narrative rather than just enablers of it.
After a final scene tease in AWTG:TTW, here Ma Dong-seok makes for a welcome addition in an extended supporting role. As the kind hearted Household God, he’s been keeping the old man alive so that his young grandson isn’t left alone, taking on the role of the friendly uncle and keeping the loan sharks at bay. The setup is a literal tick box list of Korean melodrama tropes: House set to be demolished for new apartments – check. Father heavily in gambling debt and has run off to the Philippines – check. Mother died at birth – check. If a Korean mainstream movie wants you to know that life is tough, trust me, you’re going to get it. However for the most part it works, and Dong-seok is his usual endearing self as the protective (literal) guardian of the family. He also gets some of the biggest laughs, with his failed attempts to raise money through the stock market leaving him as possibly the only God committed to film who has debt worries.
Another element that the expanded scope of the story allows for is a greater variety of action. From Ji-hoon and Dong-seok’s hyper-speed face off when they first meet, that takes place while various plates and vases fall to the floor in slow motion, to the epic battlefield scenes set in the past, to Jung-woo’s one man rampage against a legion of hell ghouls made of lava and rock. While it was disappointing to see Ji-hoon’s oversized blades teased but never utilised this time around, the fact that AWTG:TL49D feels like a more well-rounded effort than its predecessor more than makes up for it.
Indeed as bombastic as these movies are by nature, AWTG:TL49D feels much more reigned in and mature. There’s a genuine sense of world building, and aspects like the onscreen text appearing every few minutes are utilised more sparingly. There’s also less focus on the many cameos by various familiar faces from the Korean film industry, with the appearance of Sung Dong-il being the only obvious nod at the audience. The downside of this is when a scene does appear which throws in velociraptors, a T-Rex, and a mosasaurus, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Such a scene may have belonged in Jurassic World, but even with the context it takes place in here it seems out of place, feeling more like a calling card for Yong-hwa’s visual effects company Dexter than a necessary part of the plot. However if you want to see a meaningful conversation take place in the stomach of a mosasaurus, you’re in the right place.
Interestingly, as the subject who has his reincarnation on the line, Dong-wook feels like a very different beast from the first instalments embattled firefighter. Rather than being overwhelmed, Dong-wook’s approach is one of curiosity, with his interest laying more in why Jung-woo is so determined for him to be reincarnated than if he actually succeeds or not. It makes for a very different dynamic, allowing for Jung-woo’s seemingly cool exterior that we took as a given from the previous outing to be constantly challenged and questioned, pushing some unexpected millennium old truths to the surface. The focus in the afterlife stays very much with the relationship between Jung-woo and Dong-wook, moving away from the trial structure of AWTG:TTW (here the first doesn’t get underway until 80 minutes in), further subverting expectations.
While still every bit the commercial blockbuster it was intended to be, AWTG:TF49D is a sequel that clearly has big ambitions, expanding and building on the characters we’re introduced to in AWTG:TTW via some bold and unexpected ways. What seemed like throwaway details in the previous instalment, like Ji-hoon and Hyang-gi having no memory of their past, here carry significant weight, which shows signs of a skilled storyteller at work. With another pair of Along With the Gods movies greenlit, it looks like we’ll be seeing more of Jung-woo and co. in the near future, and as long as we don’t get any more dinosaurs, I’ll be there.
Director: Jeong Ji-woo Cast: Choi Min-Sik, Park Shin-Hye, Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Lee Honey, Park Hae-Joon, Lee Soo-Kyung Running Time: 125 min.
By Paul Bramhall
The current trend of Asian movies being remade within the region shows no signs of slowing down, with most recently China remaking the Korean movie A Hard Day into Peace Breaker, and Korea returning the favour by remaking Drug War into Believer. In Believer, Korean actor Choi Jin-woong stepped into the role that Sun Hong-Lei played in the Johnnie To original, and Heart Blackened finds another of Hong-Lei’s leading turns receive a Korean makeover. This time it’s his other 2013 production, Silent Witness, and filling his shoes is another Choi, but this time it’s one of the most respected names in Korean cinema, in the form of Choi Min-sik.
Much like Fei Xing both directed and wrote the original, the remake goes for the same approach, with Jeong Ji-woo also sitting in the director’s chair and penning the screenplay. Ji-woo and Min-sik have worked together before, when Min-sik headlined his debut Happy End back in 1999, so to see them collaborating again after almost 20 years is a welcome sight. As a leading man, Min-sik is one of those actors seemingly incapable of putting in a bad performance, even if recently the material he’s been working with doesn’t necessarily match his own talents (The Mayor and The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale both spring to mind).
I confess at this point that I haven’t seen Silent Witness, so in terms of passing judgement based on how it compares to the original, this won’t be the review to do it. With that being said, I’m certainly curious to check out the source material in the near future. The plot concerns the difficult relationship that exists between Min-sik’s wealthy businessman, his new partner who’s a famous singer (Lee Honey, Tazza: The Hidden Card), and his daughter (Lee Soo-kyung, Coin Locker Girl). After a leaked sex tape from one of Honey’s previous relationships goes viral, she gets into an alcohol fuelled argument with Soo-kyung, and the following morning is found dead in a parking lot. With his daughter insisting she can’t remember anything of what happened, Min-sik digs deep to hire a lawyer (Park Shin-hye, My Annoying Brother) capable of clearing her name, and get to the bottom of what took place on the fateful night.
Matters get messy when it’s revealed one of Honey’s diehard fans (Ryu Jun-yeol, A Taxi Driver) was able to download CCTV footage from the parking lot before it got destroyed, capturing the moment of her death, resulting in an increasingly frantic Min-sik attempting to get his hands on the files before anyone else. In many ways I found the story of Heart Blackened to remind me of Bong Joon-ho’s murder mystery Mother. Both tales concern a parent attempting to clear their child’s name of a murder they’re the main suspect of committing, without knowing the full truth of if they are indeed innocent or not. However while the events in Mother unravelled against the backdrop of a rural Korean town, Heart Blackened sets itself against the backdrop of the affluent Gangnam neighbourhood, its skyscrapers and office suites captured in cool blue and grey tones thanks to being filmed in winter.
Despite the strong potential for intrigue and mystery in its storyline though, Heart Blackened feels remarkably one dimensional. Its biggest weakness comes in the decision to have the limelight somewhat shared by Shin-hye, as the lawyer Min-sik hires, and the rival prosecutor (Park Hae-joon, Believer). Shin-hye fails to convince as an authoritative lawyer, and the role would likely have benefitted from casting someone a little older. What begins to feel like a terminal number of shots watching people looking at computer screens gives a lethargic feel to the pacing, and when we’re already an hour in its randomly revealed that Shin-hye and Hae-joon used to be in a relationship. While this most likely seemed like a sub-plot that added extra layers of characterisation on paper, onscreen it comes across as an unnecessary detail that detracts from the actual story at hand.
Min-sik also finds himself working with a script that does little to endear his character to the audience. He doesn’t even bother grieving over the fact that the woman he was going to marry was discovered dead, instead only showing interest in getting to the bottom of what happened. With a seeming unlimited bank roll, he’s soon attempting to bribe Hae-joon into dropping the case against his daughter, and hiring heavies to intimidate Jun-yeol into handing over the footage. He even jets off to Thailand on a business trip in the middle of the case (which has about 20 seconds of screen time dedicated to it), and insists on more than one occasion that “money is everything.” Indeed the more proceedings progress, the more it feels like his real concern is saving his own face as someone in a position of power, rather than caring about if his daughter was involved in the death or not.
The courtroom scenes fail to add anything that we haven’t already seen countless times before. Twists and reveals bubble to the surface, however they all feel like they’re there just to get us to the big one, which we assume will be the actual footage of Honey’s death. Unsurprisingly, this is exactly how things play out, and while it would certainly be a spoiler to go into any details of what the footage shows, needless to say it attempts to provide a moment of truth that will leave the audience in shock. What did turn out to be a surprise though, was that after laying the truth on the table and finally having justice prevail, I realised the movie was only 90 minutes into its 2 hour runtime. Where we really going to have an extended epilogue drag on for another half an hour?
As it happens, the answer was thankfully no, in that it certainly wasn’t an extended epilogue. Rarely has a movie I’ve resigned myself to writing off been able redeem itself so late in the game, but Heart Blackened did just that. Much like the final verdict in the courtroom, to go into any kind of details would be a spoiler, but needless to say Ji-woo does a daring bait and switch which he just about pulls off. With the guilty party now serving time behind bars, the last quarter of Heart Blackened allows the audience an insight into exactly what Min-sik got up to on that business trip to Thailand, showing just how deep his pockets really are. It’s a bold move that likely not everyone will buy into, but for myself at least, the final scenes give a new context to everything that’s gone before, which will no doubt be a rewarding experience on a re-watch.
As redemptive as the finale is, there can be no doubting some of the criticisms still hold true. The relationship between Shin-hye and Hae-joon remains a needless add on, and the runtime could have done with a bit less of spending time with them, and more time with Soo-kyung. Despite playing the accused daughter, she often feels more like a peripheral character rather than one who is central to the plot. As the morally ambiguous lead though, Min-sik once again puts in another outstanding performance, one which anchors the movie in a way which can’t fully be appreciated until the end credits are rolling.
With Heart Blackened Ji-woo has crafted a tale which operates in increasingly murky shades of grey, one which feels distinctly Korean despite its source material, which is a testament to his own talents. The tale goes into some dark places, which I’ll be interested to see are also present in Silent Witness, considering the level of censorship Chinese movies are subject to. However as a standalone tale, Ji-woo’s decision to play with the audience for so much of the runtime was certainly a risky one, but in this case, it was one which paid off.
Later this year, U.S. label Massacre Video will release the 4K restoration Blu-ray for The Devil (aka Devil’s Express), a 1981 cult classic directed by Cheung Yan-Git (The Idiot Swordsman).
If the following plot for this film doesn’t strike your interest, you’re not human: In The Devil, a hideously ugly witch casts spells on her victims which turns their insides into snakes and worms.
The Devil stars Au Da (Kung Fu Kids Break Away), Sherman Chow Shiu-Dung (Monkey War), Chen Hung-Lieh (Cloud of Romance), and Wang Pao-Yu (The Prodigal Boxer).
We’ll keep you updated on this release as we learn more. Until then, enjoy the Trailer for another cult classic we love – Human Lanterns:
The Trailer for Devin Hume’s Making a Killing, starring martial arts sensation Michael Jai White (Accident Man), has been released.
Making a Killing involves three morticians who get caught in a web of greed and deceit, involving buried treasure and a tangled love affair, in this modern day crime mystery that is based on a true story.
The film also stars Mike Starr (The Last Dragon), Sally Kirkland (Best of the Best) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future Trilogy).
From the looks of it, White is “Making a Killing” doing nothing – in other words, don’t expect the ass-kickery White is known for, unless the final product proves otherwise. Regardless, there’s always Triple Threat, which promises to make up for any lack of action in this one.
Look out for Making a Killingin 2019. Who knows? It might be a good movie.
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Over the coming months, myself and other regular contributors here at cityonfire will be weighing in with what movie it was that first got us into Asian cinema. We’ll be breaking it down into 3 regions – Hong Kong/China, Japan, and Korea – in that order, with a month dedicated to each. First out of the gates, as expected, is Hong Kong and China. Most likely the gateway for many a COF reader to be exposed to the jade screen, the regions martial arts flicks of the 70’s flooded cinemas across the world, creating many a lifelong fan along the way.
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