Fistfull of Talons

A combination of old school kung fu and new style ala Jacky Chan. The director, recently from the Shaw studios lends a seasoned hand while the action is geared more to the "smash the anonymous stuntman" school made popular by Chan and Sammo Hung.

The Chings are trying to make a comeback and restore the Manchu dynasty in early 20th century China. Billy Chong plays a youthful tormentor of Ching sympathizers. He likes to chop their pony tails off. A Ching traitor comes through the tavern Chong's father runs and Chong decides to join up with the revolutionaries and help defeat the Chings. Along the way he promises to marry the police chief's daughter who raises eagles (!). She's unmarried because men think she's "too fierce". Chong is trying to escape the daughter and find the traitor who's on the run from the Chings since he's stolen the emperor's seal from them.

The best part of this film are the plentiful fights and wacky stunt work. There are some incredible acrobatic stunts during some fights. The actors are all good movie fighters. The plot is a little weak and the acting is good for a cheapie but not exceptional. Chong seems to base his acting style more on Fu Sheng than Jacky Chan but without the needed intensity for the final scenes. Director Sun Cheung keeps the film moving and has his usual intense action style. The fights look exceptional fierce at times. Unfortunately the last fight isn't as good as some of the fights before. The trained eagles are unusual but not used very well in the plot.

A warning to animal lovers, the last scene has a brazen example of real cruelty so I would advise you to avoid this film.

Better then average HK independent film. Might be worth a try.

A FISTFUL OF TALONS is a star vehicle for Indonesian kung fu artist Billy Chong, who had a pretty good run in the cinema. This isn't one of his best movies, but it's a more than watchable revenge thriller and it has some good sets created effectively on a definite low budget. Once again a hotbed of political intrigue serves as a backdrop to the production and Chong plays a hot-headed young man with a hatred for the Ching, so he goes around chopping their long ponytails off!

There's a plethora of bruising action here, alongside the requisite training sequences and the like. Other plot elements include Hwang In-shik who is great fun as the ruthless villain and Bai Ying as the love interest who keeps a menagerie of eagles as pets (hence the title). Cheng Kang-yeh (SNAKE IN THE MONKEY'S SHADOW) plays in support as one of Chong's friends. The climax is lively and entertaining, although unfortunately the film ends on a freeze-frame of animal cruelty which leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Fistful of Talons is the best Billy Chong film I've yet seen. Chong was set out to become "the next Jackie Chan" of the chop-socky period; unfortunately, the chop-socky period came to a close just before he started making movies; thus the majority of his films (most which are actually quite enjoyable) did not accumulate to a box-office reputation for Chong, who soon became a TV producer.

Like Jackie Chan at the end of his own chop-socky period, Chong usually plays a very cheerful young man who is out on a mission. Usually this mission is revenge - but not in this film. Talons actually situates Chong's character in a politically difficult moment Chinese history when the fledging Republic was threatened by the dethroned Ching (Manchurian) dynasty. This seems to be more than mere plot convention; Chong's character is eager to bury the ways of the past. (Modernization and Westernization comprised the heart of Republican ideology at the time; which is why it didn't endure. Even during revolutionary change, it is necessary to respect the customs of the past, keeping the revolution on political issues alone.) At any rate, this is neatly written and filmed, and the kung-fu is grand. The only quibble I have is that all the actors indulges in theatrical histrionics that are as much of the past as the Ching dynasty.

I first saw the handsome Billy Chong (real name, Willy Dozan) in the epic Crystal Fist many moons ago. He was the ultimate blend of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, with amazing moves and a fantastic on-screen persona that I just loved. It always has annoyed me why we never got more from this Indonesian martial arts star, as pretty much every film he did way back when, was well worth the watch!

Opening with Billy Chong washing a horse much like Yuen Biao does with his laundry in the great, Dreadnaught, we quickly get an idea of what kind of character he is - much like that of Jackie's in Young Master, Dragon Lord and Drunken Master. Working at his dad's inn, he soon meets a stranger (Pai Ying) and before we know it, trouble kicks off. I love seeing Billy fight! He has such cool kicks and power, and always looks like he's having fun doing it. Legendary fight director Robert Tai (along with Tony Leung Siu Hung) creates some tight, violent and wild fight scenes, as Chong and his friends chase down every Manchurian they can find just to cut off their ponytail's.

Those Manchurians are led by the fast-kicking Whang In-Sik who was just fresh off the set from Jackie Chan's Young Master, and Dragon Lord (aka Young Master In Love), which is ironic given that this film reminds me very much of both of those movies - more-so the latter in many ways. To add to that, Tien Feng, who plays Billy Chong's dad, also played Jackie's master in the same two films, as well as character actor Cheng Hong Yip who played Chan's school brother and friend also. Although A Fistful Of Talons carries as much comedy as the aforementioned movies, and with Billy being almost a carbon copy of Chan the man; Taiwanese director Sun Chung (who was behind many hits with Shaw Brothers), brings almost a gritty and dark version of Dragon Lord that often comes across like a kung-fu western...

Much like it's Jackie Chan counterpart, the film spaces its fight scenes out allowing for a fuller story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The fights are fantastic when they do come about, leading to a kick-ass and powerful finale. Of course, I can't end without mentioning that harrowing last shot as a battle-scarred Whang In-Sik tears an eagle in half with his bare hands in a fit of rage! Ultimately though, this would be Billy's swan-song, going on to have a brief stint in Aces Go Places 5: The Terracotta Hit before ending his film work in Hong Kong. He has however, stayed involved with film and television back in Indonesia, and has started to make a comeback recently in action films. I only hope it's not to late...

Overall: The end of an era, but a fantastic way to go for the great Billy Chong and one of the last and best chop-socky films of its time!

In 'Hu ying' a.k.a. 'A Fistful of Talons', Billy Chong portrays a young misfit who becomes an apprentice to a kung fu master who is trying to stop Ch'ing Dynasty loyalists from throwing The Republic of China into a civil war. Billy Chong is one of the better known "Jackie Chan" clones created the wake of 'Drunken Master'. At times, Chong tends to overact in this film, but he is one amazing martial artist! Hwang Ing-sik is terrific as the main antagonist who wants to re-establish the Ch'ing government. The fight choreography, cinematography, editing, and direction are excellent. The performances are quite good, but not excellent. On the other hand, this film isn't perfect, but then again, no film can be too perfect.