HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  New Legend of Shaolin That's my boy
Year: 1994
Director: Wong Jing
Stars: Jet Li, Chingamy Yau, Xie Miao, Deannie Ip, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Chen Sung-Yung, Chi Chuen-Hua, Damian Lau Chung-Yan, Wong Jing
Genre: Comedy, Martial Arts, Weirdo, HistoricalBuy from Amazon
Rating:  7 (from 1 vote)
Review: Martial arts master Hung Hey-Kwan (Jet Li) and his equally skilled seven year old son Hung Man-Ting (Xie Miao) are Ming patriots, fighting for the Heaven and Earth Society against the tyrannical government. After avenging his wife’s death, Hung and his boy become fugitives eluding ruthless officials and Shaolin traitors until hired as bodyguards to a wealthy oaf and his bratty son. Also living under the rich man’s roof is comely con artist Red Bean (Chingamy Yau), who plans to fleece him of his wealth while her feisty mother (Deannie Ip) poses as a corpse in the barn. Red Bean beguiles the younger Hung even as she irks his morally upright dad, but soon grows enamoured with the stoic hero.

Meanwhile at Shaolin temple, five little boys are tattooed with portions of a treasure map. When assembled, the map reveals the location of a fortune in gold which the Heaven and Earth Society need to fund their efforts. Father and son, with would-be love interest Red Bean and squabbling mom in tow, try to protect the five children from ninja assassins led by a corrupt official (Johnny Wang Lung-Wei) and an evil monk, but come up against an old enemy reborn as the Poisonous Monster (Chen Sung-Yung), an incredible melting man who rides around in a hi-tech, projectile-shooting, silver shark-finned car!

After achieving stardom with Once Upon a Time in China (1991) and its sequels, Jet Li briefly fell out with his mentor Tsui Hark and signed with notorious schlock writer-producer-director Wong Jing. Their partnership got off to a strong start with the superb Fong Sai Yuk (1993) and Fong Sai Yuk II (1993) - produced by Wong but directed by ace fight choreographer Corey Yuen and scripted by comedy auteur Jeff Lau - but then lapsed into a string of goofy, albeit entertaining and hugely profitable movies. There was Last Hero in China (1993) wherein Jet donned beak and feathers to pioneer funky chicken kung fu, the near-incomprehensible spoof fantasy epic Kung Fu Cult Master (1993), and the infamous Speed (1994) rip-off-cum-snakes-in-a-skyscraper thriller-cum-anti-Jackie Chan satire, High Risk (1995). And then there was New Legend of Shaolin, a wild and wacky take-off of an oft-told historical yarn. Hung Hey-Kwan was a Shaolin folk hero while in another in-joke each of his young charges here grew up to be celebrated historical figures.

In typical style, Wong Jing dispenses with any pretence at a history lesson in favour of outlandish set-pieces where wild camerawork chases Corey Yuen’s edge-of-your-seat action choreography, childish humour in line with the Shaolin Popeye series of children’s films popular at the time, and cheeky rip-offs of martial arts classics. An early scene where Hung asks his infant son to choose between the sword and a wooden toy horse is stolen from Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) a.k.a. Shogun Assassin and there is the “poison drips down a thread” ninja trick pioneered in Shinobi no Mono (1962), though popularised by the James Bond movie: You Only Live Twice (1967). Wong also restages the celebrated “embroidery kung fu” bout from Yuen Woo Ping’s marvellous Dreadnaught (1981), albeit laced with flirtier banter between Hung and Red Bean. Jet Li lends his usual gravitas and exemplary martial skill to the rigidly upright, and frankly often uptight Hung, and is matched by remarkably stoic child actor Xie Miao. An astounding acrobat, young Xie looks like he could convincingly thrash men twice his age. He was cast again as Jet Li’s son in Corey Yuen’s My Father is a Hero (1995).

The film weaves fairly potent themes about brotherhood and betrayal, with Hung repeatedly sold-out by his more morally pragmatic compatriots. It contrasts the father and son team, who live by an inflexible code, with the mother and daughter who live by their wits, but while avaricious are capable of decency. Once again Wong Jing cast his then-girlfriend Chingamy Yau in a pivotal role. She may have been his casting couch favourite, but luckily Yau had a charismatic screen presence and deft comedic skills to go with her girl-next-door sex appeal. Her flirty heroine is quite a delight and, as always, she throws herself into the action with gusto. Stealing the show however is singer and actress Deannie Ip, who gives a poignant tragicomic performance as an aging martial arts heroine given one last chance to strut her stuff.

Wong Jing’s approach to filmmaking is to throw whatever he can at the screen in the hope some of it sticks: costume drama, movie parody, action, horror, bad taste. There is even a surreal interlude where the heroes hide out in a village populated by life-sized (and seemingly living) wax dolls made by an insane puppeteer with a secret to hide. While the end results are inevitably hit-and-miss, the film has some funny gags, the action is top-notch (ninjas burst from giant flying silver balls or ride flying buzzsaw shields) and Wong redeems himself with an incredible finale that finds Man-Ting stood on daddy’s shoulders battling the Poisonous Man while Red Bean and the children are suspended over a vat of boiling oil. Wong also cameos in the closing scene as the token fat kid’s equally clumsy father.

Reviewer: Andrew Pragasam

 

This review has been viewed 4883 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: