RONALD M
¡La primera pelÃcula de LOS TRES DRAGONES!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/01/22
Full Review
christopher c. m
The one plot that Marital arts and Westerns love to use a lot, the avenging a fallen friend or loved one. Even by 1976 it was cliché. Maybe it was the fault of the copy the streaming channel I saw it on but some of the subtitles were non existed. Plus mild character issues. Early role for Jackie Chan but even though his face is on the poster front and center. He's more of a supporting character. Slightly overused premise but it is still pretty good. And a never dull story.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
camille l
A l'époque où les films d'arts martiaux pullulaient, sort Hand of Death, réalisé par un tout jeune John Woo, qui s'y offre d'ailleurs un petit rôle. Et ça change beaucoup de choses. Avec un script plutôt basique qui met face à face une école de Shaolin et un mandchou très méchant, John Woo fait des merveilles et enchaîne les combats chorégraphiés par l'immense Sammo Hung (dans lesquels on peut y apercevoir Yuen Biao), offre à un jeune Jackie Chan un superbe rôle de bras droit. Le score est funky, les enjeux dramatiques sont clairs, les dialogues sont moins stupides qu'à l'accoutumée, Hand of Death serait un classique s'il n'y avait cette première demi-heure un peu trop explicative. C'est en tout cas un des meilleurs films d'arts martiaux des 70s.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Review:
For a movie that was made in 1976, the quality is brilliant and the vibrant scenery and amazing landscapes were great. The movie doesn't look dated at all but you can tell how old it is when you see the young Jackie Chan and skinny Sammo Hung, with some strange looking teeth. I was expecting hard hitting action from this John Woo movie but I was quite disappointed. You can tell that the actors knew exactly were the next hit was coming from and it all seemed a bit slow. The storyline was quite good and most of the actors put in a decent performance but the main character really needed to loosen up a bit. Anyway, an ex-Shaolin student, Shih (James Tien), leaves the temple and creates his own clan called the Manchu. He then sends his army to destroy all of the Shaolin members, including the master but there are still a few members left, who are in hiding. Yun Fei (Tao-Laing Tan), who is the most promising Shaolin student, goes on a mission to kill Shih but he knows that he can't do it alone because he is heavily guarded by the Manchu army, led by officer Tu Ching (Sammo Hung), who was also an ex-student at the Shaolin temple. Yun Fei recruits Tan Feng (Jackie Chan) who is seeking revenge after the Manchu killed his brother. He also recruits a brilliant Swordsman who is also seeking revenge after the Manchu killed his girlfriend. They then go into hiding and they plan the perfect attack to kill Shih and destroy the army. Its a well put together storyline which is pretty intense throughout but the action scenes really did let the movie down. There isn't any silly comedy throughout the movie, thank God but the sound effects were pretty bad during the action scenes and some of the fighting seemed to go on forever. With that aside, I have seen worse Kung Fu movies and I was quite impressed with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. On the whole, it's a watchable movie which won't go down as a classic but it's still quite enjoyable. Watchable!
Round-Up:
This is the 4th major release from John Woo, 69, who has become famous for his detailed action scenes and unique gun movement styles. He first came to light back in 1986 with A Better Tomorrow I & II, which was a worldwide hit and then he hit the big screens again with The Killer, Bullet In The Head, Once A Thief and Hard Boiled, which made Chow Yun Fat a household name. He then started to make films for the western market, like Broken Arrow and the great Face/Off. In 2000 he made Mission Impossible II, which does have some impressive action scenes and he made Windtalkers, with Nicolas Cage and the poor Paycheck with Ben Affleck. In 2008, he went back to his native country and released Red Cliff I & II and he seems to have gone under the radar since then. For the time, this movie was a great achievement as there wasn't any special effects or fancy camera equipment but you can definitely see a difference in his work today. Personally, I think that he is definitely one of the best action directors because of his unique style but now that he has been out of the picture for some time, I can't really see him coming back to the Western market anytime soon.
I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/martial arts movies starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen, James Tien, John Woo and Wah Yuen. 4/10
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I hated this at first, but it slowly grew on me as it went along. The weirdly slow, clunky fight choreography seems awful towards the beginning but it makes sense after a while, and the final fights are pretty fun to watch (if hilarious at times, and I'm not sure if that was intentional). The plot, don't ask me what the hell was happening there. Pretty average, but worth your time.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Terrific classic starring "Flash Legs" with Chan and Hung in supporting roles. Great zooms and fights. One of John Woo's early gems.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
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