1981) Hit Man in the Hand of Buddha
DUBBED
MARTIAL ARTS HISTORICAL DRAMA
This review is only intended for readers who don't mind watching the occasional 'chop socky' flick since it's nothing but another cheesy 'retribution' movie. It's always those 'you killed my father, and best friend' therefore you will have to die' and instead of the main bad guy killing the star off, they would always give them a freeing chance, long enough for them to train more and get better just so s/he can get another fighting chance to get even'. There are so many of those movies that recycle this very same premise, that it can get tiring after awhile for the average person. But if you know your chop-socky martial art stars, it's always to ignore the plot and just check out how the fights are like or the comedy routines. Made in 1981, which was during the time when these historical chop-socky movies was beginning to lose it's momentum on it's Chinese audience, the plot device seems to be the same as all the others before it, for instead of the main bad guy attempting to take over many marital art schools, in this one the main baddie would be trying to take control over many rice selling shops. It stars Hwang-Jang Lee, an actual Tai-Kwan Do martial artist, who was synonymous for being the main bad guy for Jackie Chan's first successful movies by the names of "Snake In The Eagle's Shadow" and then "Drunken Master" both movies directed by Yuen Woo-Ping who went on to choreographed the action for "The Matrix" movies. It was those two movies that changed how 'chop socky' movies should be made forever since the hundreds made before it had many fake looking fight scenes with zero acrobatic stunts. Actually, it was "Broken Oath" that really changed the fight genre except that it wasn't funny enough, but the action was still full contact, meaning that they really hit each other. Anyways, anyone who don't know it's history, Hwang Jang Lee was (at that particular time) known as the guy who seriously hurt Jackie Chan by physically hitting him. He complained to Yuen Woo Ping, and as a result hired him again to do another movie since it was so successful. And at that time, Jackie had no power over the movies he was starring in and had to let it slide. He even tried to not have Hwang Jang Lee work in martial art films for as long as he's in the business. Notice, by looking at Jackie Chan's filmography, that those two films that made Jackie famous that he would never worked with neither Yuen Woo Ping and Hwang Jang Lee ever again. Anyways, written and directed by Yun-Kyo Park, the simple-minded plot is as follows, Hwang Jang Lee plays Wong Chin who's visiting his sister and brother-in-law to find some work. Except that his brother-in-law was causing some trouble since the 'rice shop' he was working in wasn't doing well, and was losing a great deal of business to his other competitor, who was offering free draws for each bag of rice that's being sold. And after a few more unfortunate circumstances, Wong chin somehow ended up training with Chinese monks since he had just faced someone who happens to be tougher than him. The next thing you know this very same bad guy who is going around threatening other rice shops for protection money, and so forth, which at the beginning he was only was supposed to be a hired killer. Basically, you're watching this simple-minded movie just for the fights since nothing else works, and let me just say, that although Hwang Jang Lee doesn't star in many good guy roles, I have to say that the fights done on this film are not the best I had seen Hwang Jang Lee had ever done. And although, they're fighting each other in 'full contact', at the same time, much of the fights looked too stiff to actually feel it's authenticity- almost like a very bad sparring partner where one opponent makes one move and is waiting for the guy to respond accordingly or that they're too slow to react- it's sometimes looked really bad. I don't think it's stars fault, I just think he should've gotten someone who's much more experienced in that sort of thing such as Yuen woo Ping who may have parted ways after doing some successful martial art movies with one another.
