Audience Member
Written, directed and starring Lau Kar-leung (Executioners From Shaolin, Drunken Master II, Return to the 36th Chamber), Legendary Weapons of China has eighteen different weapons, including the rope dart, double tiger hook swords, double hammers, a battle axe, the snake halberd, Kwan Dao, twin broadswords, the double-edged sword, a Chinese spear, the three-section chain whip, double daggers, double crutches, a monk's spade, a staff, the tiger fork, a rattan shield, the single butterfly sword and the three-section staff.
Having been defeated by the gunpowder and bullets of the West during the Boxer Rebellion, multiple Chinese fight schools are trying to learn how martial arts can defeat guns. However, Â Lei Kung (Chia-Liang Liu) refuses to allow any more of his students to die trying to use their fighting skills to block bullets. In retaliation, the rival schools brand him a traitor and send their greatest fighters to kill him.
The foremost of them is Master Li Lin-ying (Chia-Yung Liu, the real-life brother of our hero), who has hired Lei Ying (Chia Yung Liu), Tieh Hau (Hsiao Hou) and Ti Tan (Gordon Liu) to get the job done. But if you're expecting a straight martial arts film, this one has voodoo martial artists controlling other fighters and no small dose of the supernatural.
It also has long segments of comedy which have led many to dislike it. I had no issues with it, as this is a big movie filled with big ideas that tries to break a lot of the mold of the form. Also, I'm always amazed at what gets cut in the UK, as every scene of throwing stars and nunchaku was eliminated in England.
This is worth it just for the final battle in which all of the legendary weapons are used in combat by a master so wise in their handling that he doesn't even need to defeat his opponent to win the fight.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
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Audience Member
Lau Kar Leung directed and stars in this kung-fu film about flagging martial arts and magic society seek to stop a former member who is now giving the group a bad name and who is responsible for their decline. Gordon Liu plays the former member in a "guest starring" role, so he's not in the film all that much, but he has one excellent fight sequence that's the highlight of the film. Like most of Lau Kar Leung's films, but fight scenes are well stages, though they're a bit old school and would probably come off as rather corny to casual viewers. Still, I thought this was a quite enjoyable martial arts film.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
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Audience Member
Some series action in this. The fighting is breathtaking, especially the one with Gordon Liu in the yellow robe. Carnage.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
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Audience Member
In my former role as martial arts cinema researcher for EL REY NETWORK, I have to say this is one of the most overrated films from the Shaw Brother's vault. Too many characters, too many storylines and the "spiritually motivated" puglisitis are way out somewhere in left field. Sorry, I prefer more realistic martial arts fare such as KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
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Audience Member
The name of the weapon showing up on screen every time it is introduced gives the finale a very video game feel. Lots of weapons, including one I hadn't seen before, and voodoo.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Latter day Shaw Brothers black magic martial arts-comedy in which seemingly everyone who is anyone is incognito: the narrative reveals and exposes characters throughout the film's 109-minute runtime and a scorecard may not be enough to help some audiences piece together the plot. But Liu Chia Hui has choreographed "Legendary Weapons of China" with a considerable amount of skill beautifully cut & pasted by veteran editors Lee Yim-hoi and Chiang Hsing-lung. And the film lives up to its marketing utilizing the 18 traditional weapons of Chinese martial arts that sooner or later find themselves in the hands of some of the studio's mainstays.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
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