|
Righting Wrongs |
Plot:
Yuen Biao plays Jason Chan a lawyer, angry at the way the law seems to
protect the bad guys, he decides to take the law into his own hands when
a key witness and his entire family are murdered. but Cindy Si (Cynthia
Rothrock) is soon on his case and it all spirals into a situation only
a few will survive. This is without
doubt my favourite Yuen Biao film in a modern setting. It is very 80's
(think Yes Madam style) and that's one of All the cast are good in their roles Yuen shows genuine emotion in some scenes and shows he is a very competent actor of course many of the roles need and show little acting ability but that doesn't matter Corey Yuen also has a role in the movie and does so well he is quite funny in a few scenes, you may recognize a few people in the movie, many stuntmen appear in small roles as does Fan Siu Wong he is known now for playing Ricky in Riki-Oh (The Story Of Ricky) he is very young and plays a witness to James Tien's (another familiar face) murder this is obviously before Fan Siu Wong started pumping iron because he is half the guy that he is as Ricky he is competent in his role although inexperience shows.
Overall a tight well made action movie as said its made in a darker tone to other Yuen films but shines among his best and to me is his best modern actioner 5 out of 5
|
The Prodigal Son |
Plot: Yuen Biao is a spoiled martial artist-wannabe son whose wealthy father pays others to lose to Yuen during fights. When his father's scheme is revealed to him by a seasoned Peking Opera performer (Ying), Yuen vows to learn kung-fu for real. But first he has to persuade Lam to take him on as a pupil, then there's Lam's rival colleague (Hung) and a mysterious, fight-seeking challenger to contend with! A hugely popular
period mish mash genre of a movie actually seems even more popular in
the international market than when Lam Ching-ying although said not to be trained in Wing Chun is amazing his fights and Peking Opera performances are a pleasure to watch he is of course forever known for the Mr Vampire films and sadly typecast but was a talented performer who held great screen presence his passing was a sad loss to Hong Kong Cinema. Of course Yuen is awesome this one lives up to the hype he shows his skills to the max very traditional fighting style totally dance like choreography somehow brutal and beautiful, there are breaks of comedy and drama its hard to fix it within a genre.
Highlights during the whole movie are all fights and acrobats, the traditional Peking Opera scenes, the training scenes, alot is said about the end fight but i think many throughout the film are just as good. This really is a must see film i would recommend it as a first period movie or for anyone interested in getting into Yuen Biao make this your introduction.
|
On The Run |
Plot: Top assassin Yiu (Pat Ha) of Indochina is on an assignment to murder the wife of special agent Heung Ming (Yuen Biao). Hunter becomes prey as mastermind police superintendent Lui Jun (Chun Chueng Lum) tries to cover his drug ties. The fallen Yiu and Heung find love on the run. Revenge eventually joins them for the ultimate battle.
On the Run
is totally different to Yuen Biao's other work, when i first watched it
maybe 2 years ago i was expecting a righting This is a very gritty film quite a noir feel to it at times the camera work lighting etc very real and suiting to the premise, its a lower budget fare to the likes of Icemen Cometh or Eastern Condors but i feel more money would have diluted it and polished it to much this wouldn't have been half as good if it were made hollywood style. Stunt wise and acrobats wise there is only one where Yuen jumps out a window onto a long piece of wood maybe bamboo i can't remember and sails over to a lamppost and swings down, this is the only sight of the usual Yuen we get. Pat Ha is great in her role sometimes she is cast as the sweet woman with little dialogue although partly true in this role she also shows a harder edge and depth to her character unlike roles like in Flaming Brothers with Chow Yun Fat, Yuen Wah is present as in many movies as a bad guy but her also underplays it's such a joy to watch him normally the panto camp villain (and very good at it he is) this time a very real performance in his small but notable role.
|
Righting
Wrongs a.k.a. Above The Law (1986)
the
few downsides (if that bothers you) this movie is in a much darker tone
to most of Yuen's work apart from On The Run, it shows that even when
you are a good guy it doesn't mean your indestructible everyone's human
and good doesn't always conquer evil, the plot is thread bear but enough
to warrant the many awesome action scenes, Cynthia Rothrock does well
she is doubled alot by Yuen which is pretty obvious but just seeing the
parts she's not doubled for is impressive she can fight there's no doubting
that.
Action
highlights include Yuen getting stuck between 2 cars as they both try
to hit him and holding on while both are moving also virtually every fight
shows how nimble Yuen is and are very fast and exciting the end fight
really shows Yuen's skills off, also Cynthia's fight with female murdered
is very impressive (excluding the doubling) she's proves in many films
her martial arts talent.
.jpg)
The
Prodigal Son a.k.a. Pull No Punches (1982)
released
in Hong Kong it's certainly one of Yuen's best roles and best movies with
some of the best inventive action I've ever seen no flying around on wires
just straight up Wing Chun with mixes of physical comedy and Peking Opera.
This was the first period movie i ever saw (apart from the Bruce Lee movies
if they count as period) It was part of a BBC (uk tv channel) Kung Fu
Night when i was about 13 as well as the usual Bruce Lee films, documentaries
and talking 'experts' at around 2am this little gem came on and although
it was dubbed into english (at the time this didn't bother me) i was blown
away i was used to watching Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies but this
was totally unique also not knowing who Yuen or Sammo were (they didn't
look the same as in other films with Jackie, and i was rather a thick
child) this was part of the reason i looked further into the genre
Sammo
is very funny in his role, the guy must have worked hard what with directing
and co directing the action, a highlight for him involves him talking
to his daughter while doing calligraphy and flipping from the window to
a bench and back and forth the guys is so unbelievably agile. You notice
in this movie there are alot of goofy bit parts, one character seems to
have some bones in his mouth this is never explained and is so funny like
a asian Marlon Brando in the Godfather but obviously played for comedy
effect..jpg)
On
The Run (1988)
wrongs
kind of movie with martial arts and gunplay i was wrong this is a thriller
with gunplay and is one of the best showcases for Yuen Biao the actor
rather than Yuen Biao the action star, there are of course evidence of
his abilities but they are played down.
The
many gun fights in On The Run are not John Woo style bullet ballet more
Ringo Lam style shocks and realism