Birth of the Dragon (2017)

Director: George Nolfi

Notable Cast: Phillip Ng, Xia Yu, Billy Magnussen, Jin Xing, Jingjing Qu, Simon Yin

When the word started spreading around online that the latest Bruce Lee focused film, one surrounding the events of his fight with Wong Jack Man and entitled Birth of the Dragon, it was not good. Fans were upset that the film seemed to treat the entire thing like an excuse to exploit Bruce’s fame and fortune and worst yet, neither Bruce Lee nor Wong Jack Man were the protagonists. It was actually a young white guy that was driving the story forward. Fast forward to a month prior to its release in theaters and producers stated that the film shown at festivals was just an early cut of the film and that this one, which was getting a wide release thanks to WWE and Blumhouse, would take fans’ concerns into account for a better movie. If that was the case, then I have no need to see the first cut of the film because Birth of the Dragon suffers from the exact same problems that fans were concerned with originally. The entire concept is flawed and no amount of Phillip Ng charisma, Xia Yu deadpan seriousness, or Corey Yuen fight work can save the film from simply being awkward. There are certainly moments when one can see some appeal to Birth of the Dragon, but it’s hard to get around the glaring flaws of the film on its foundational levels.

Thundering Mantis, The (1980) / Born Invincible (1978)

THE THUNDERING MANTIS (1980)

Director: Teddy Yi Wing-Cho

Notable Cast: Leung Kar-Yan (Beardy), Cheng Feng, Eddy Ko, Wong Yat-Lung, Chin Yuet-Sang, Lee Kwan, Fang Mian, Ma Chin-Ku

Also known as: Thundering Mantis, Mantis Fist Fighter

After seeing Sleeping Fist, it seemed only natural to revisit Thundering Mantis for review. It has the same director and two so the same stars and, generally speaking, I remember it being a better film overall. Those comparisons are legitimate too. The first two-thirds of Thundering Mantis even retain some of the same tone and fun, off the cuff vitality. Beardy plays an arrogant kung fu student who crosses the Jade Horse Gang while trying to prevent them from bullying, but to defeat their boss he will have to go to the older hermit and his trouble making grandson (played once again with the over energetic screen stealing appeal by Wong Yat-lung) to learn Mantis Fist. There are plenty of hijinks along the way as our main hero learns to be more attentive to his friends and it features plenty of strongly choreographed fights and the balance of action to drama to comedy is decent. There is even a sequence where the young kid gets plastered and tries to fight some thugs…so I guess that counts as humor. It falters in a few ways to really establish some secondary characters that could have built up to add to the emotional impact of the film, like his old teacher’s daughter who seems poorly utilized considering she has a fight sequence in the credits. However, the film is efficient in its narrative and has just enough silly slap stick humor and impressive fights to make the more mundane parts of the story entertaining.

Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So (2017)

Director: Jian Yong Guo

Notable Cast: Zhi Hui Chen, Jun Cao, Mei Ying Wang

When HBO Asia announced that they would be getting into the exclusive content trend with a couple of films based on Chinese folk heroes, I must admit that I was pretty excited. Not that I was expecting these films to be award winning or even all that great in quality, but the idea that martial arts films were going to be a growing commodity and even get a US release was one I can get behind. The first of the two films for this double header was Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So, based on the folk hero that serves as an origin story of sorts. The film itself is a mixed effort, suffering from its low budget and some cheesy stylistic choices, but all in all it remains an entertaining film that has enough charm and fun moments to not be a total bust.

She Shoots Straight (1990)

Director: Corey Yuen

Notable Cast: Joyce Godenzi, Carina Lau Ka-Ling, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Yuen Wah, Sammo Hung

For me, there is something magical about late 80s/early 90s Hong Kong action films. Just like any other era and/or genre there is still a 3 to 1 ratio of mediocre crap to genuine awesomeness, but the look, the energy, and the feel of this era has always held a special place for me as one of the first non-mainstream film styles that I latched onto. One of the kings of this style and era is Corey Yuen, who, to this day, continues to offer his services as an action director and choreographer to inferior directors for a plethora of various films. One of the films I had not had a chance to dive into is the gimmicky – and oddly titled – She Shoots Straight. While the film has some issues with melodramatic plot set ups and narrative hiccups in the second act, I found myself very impressed with the ballsy twists and often shocking violence that She Shoots Straight uses to deliver its story. This may not be Corey Yuen’s best, but it’s one of his more chancy films that earns a lot of respect even if the execution is a bit patchy.