Even among kung fu flicks that tend toward action-comedy there can be a fair amount of variety. Some lean heavily on story, while others use a root scenario as mere foundation; some go all-out with expansive sets, effects, and stunts beyond the fundamental martial arts combat, while others zero in rather exclusively on the fights. In both cases this is a picture that fits into the latter categories - light on narrative, and tightly focused on an abundance of fights. With that in mind, 'Two wondrous tigers' knows very well where its strength lies, and I must emphasize and am extremely happy to observe how utterly outstanding the fight sequences are. Very few are those scenes that are anything except an excuse for more exhibition of the martial arts, and in this case I think the choreography and stunts are even better than in many other kindred titles. The fluidity of movement is simply dazzling, and within any such scene there is scarcely any pause in the action.
Just as much to the point, I'm tremendously pleased that this is an instance where the cinematography and editing pointedly serve the violence instead of trying to show off themselves or act as a substitute. This stands in sharp contrast with, for example, too many Hollywood action flicks, in which cuts and camerawork are employed to create the illusion of a blow landing. Here, the exquisitely smart work of Shou-Fu Fan and Kung-Wing Fan, not to mention director Sum Cheung, lets us see each and every stunning, invigorating strike and block, and jump and evasion, while furthermore following the action and keeping it centered in frame with the same smooth movement as the performers themselves. Sure, we tend to watch similar fare out of Hong Kong for the kung fu in the first place, yet I earnestly believe that element here is so fabulously rich that it makes 'Two wondrous tigers' even more worthwhile, standing out among many of its brethren.
Moreover, the hand to hand combat is so fabulously rich that it compensates for and ultimately well outshines the weaker aspects. The film even gives us a terrifically strong finish, to the point that those weaker aspects are all but forgotten, but it bears mentioning that for no small part of the preceding length the viewing experience is more uneven such that for a time the subjective faults stand out as much as the strengths. Primarily I speak to the screenplay, for while all other facets of the production are a lesser priority compared to the action, the scene writing and comedy, specifically, rather act to drain the energy from the proceedings. The root story is perfectly fine and enjoyable, yet a lot of the first two-thirds are somewhat characterized by what almost feels like sketch comedy - inserting the same characters into a variety of loosely conceptualized situations just for fun, including more playful illustration of martial arts skills. I'm not saying that these moments are outright bad, but it's readily discernible that less consideration was given to them in comparison to the central narrative, and the difference in quality with the major action scenes is significant.
Be that as it may, maybe I'm being too harsh, and in any event I repeat that the overall impression the feature makes is one that earns my very high esteem. And in all other capacities 'Two wondrous tigers' is splendidly well made, with beautiful filming locations, excellent production design and art direction, and carefully crafted costume design, hair, makeup, props, and weapons. Perhaps this is also a good time to note that if one finds themselves watching a dubbed version then be prepared for a woeful audio track of the sort that gives dubbing a bad name - but that's no fault of the title itself, and meanwhile, even the anticipated sound effects are pretty great. By and large I think this picture is altogether superb, and I wonder if I'm not nitpicking too much in criticizing the writing. One way or another, the fact invariably remains that the fight scenes are a marvelous delight, a feast for the eyes, and even if there were nothing else to especially praise here then they alone would make it worth watching. Him and haw about the details all you want, at the end of the day 'Two wondrous tigers' serves up fantastic martial arts action, and who could ask for anything more?
