La víctima

In the hope of finding someone worthy of being his teacher, portly fighter Chen Rong (Sammo Hung) challenges random strangers to fight him. After easily beating several opponents, Chen Rong is finally defeated by martial arts expert Chun Yao (Ka-Yan Leung) but is unable to convince him to become his sifu. Not one to give up, Chen Rong follows Chun Yao everywhere, even to his home, where he meets his unwilling sifu's tasty wife Yoo Yi (played by the amusingly named Fanny Wang), who takes pity on the eager young man.

When some really bad men turn up to cause trouble, Chen Rong is amazed to see Chun Yao and his spouse seemingly running scared. Curious, Chen questions Yoo Yi and discovers why Chun Yao flees when he could fight: on his wedding night, Chun discovered his older adoptive brother Chong Ming (Yi Chang) making unwanted sexual advances towards Yoo Yi. Rather than fight the son of the man who gave him a home and raised him as his own, and feeling just a little guilty about being responsible for accidentally blinding Ming in one eye, Chun opts to keep out of his brother's way. Unfortunately, Ming hasn't given up lusting after Yoo, sending countless hired help to try and dispose of his brother and make off with his wife. Soon enough, Chen Rong finds himself involved in the familial fracas, with bloody consequences for all.

The Victim kicks off in classic kung fu comedy mode, with Chen Rong's search for a sifu resulting in some very silly moments against several comical opponents; the broad humour continues when Chen's pursuit of Chun Yao leads to a brawl in a steamy bath house against several naked men. Even when the film enters darker territory, the zaniness persists, with perhaps the film's most tragic moment weakened by an inappropriate gag featuring Sammo Hung dressed as Dracula. The movie's iffy comedy is easily forgiven, however, thanks to the brilliantly choreographed fight action which is frequent, fast and furious, with Hung displaying his incredible kung fu skills and agility to the full, and Ka-Yan Leung performing some amazing moves despite having had no formal martial arts training.

The final fight between the two 'brothers' is bloody, brutal and brilliant, and would have been the perfect way to end matters; unfortunately, the film closes with a bit more silly buffoonery courtesy of Hung which makes no sense whatsoever.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

N.B. All character names in my review come from my DVD's subtitles and are more than likely wrong.

Brilliant action choreography, a story filled with twists and turns and an unforgettable ending makes this an all-time classic in the genre.

This is one of Sammo's masterpieces and Leung Kar Yan has never looked better fighting onscreen. Wilson Tong earns his nickname of the "Foot Doctor" in this classic.

Highest possible recommendation

I just watched this movie yesterday and it just might have been the best kung-fu movie i have ever seen!

It was funny and had lots of really great choreography!! Even Jackie and Jet couldn't do any better than this.

(1980) The Victim (In Chinese with English subtitles) ACTION

Directed and starred by Sammo Hung (Hung Kam Bo) which states the situation about a brother picked up when he was an orphan and at the same time hated by the father's biological son who even tried to take his wife away. And making things complicated they both have the exact same kung fu style of using the fists except that the star was a better fighter. This nonsensical plot is nothing more than a device to showcase some amazing acrobatic martial arts when Sammo was still in his prime. So basically this rating is for the "kung fu" and not so much for the plot.

What a fantastic film. I really wasn't expecting much, it just seemed like a run of the mill 1970s Kung-fu flicks, but boy was I wrong. Chung Yao (Leung), a martial arts expert, has long been on the run from his step-brother who he caught trying to rape his wife on their wedding night. His brother has never given up the chase however, and Chung Yao lives in constant fear that he and his wife will be murdered by the vengeful step-brother. On one of his visits to the village, Chung meets Fatty (Sammo) who is insistent on becoming his servant. Sammo's attempts at winning Chung's favour takes up the first half hour/ forty five minutes of the film, and it's hilarious. Chung has got no patience for a fool like Fatty, and he tries to dodge and lose him in a number of comical and exciting situations including a hilarious set-up at a sauna.

As the film progresses, a really strong story develops, and even though it may initially seem like one of those typical kung-fu vengance movies of that period, it really isn't. There was not one dull moment throughout, and the last half an hour both fight-wise and plot-wise was just mind-blowing. You really wouldn't expect such an powerful and intelligent ending, but watch it and be bowled over. There are some excellent fight scenes between Fatty and Chung, and Sammo gets to do many of his trademark stunts with all the usual wit and energy. But the real icing on the cake has to be the closing fight between Chung Yao and his step-brother, top-notch stuff. From someone who really isn't a fan of the period Kung-Fu flicks of the 1970s/early 80s all I can say is: See it now. 10/10