The Prodigal Son

This is my favourite marital arts film. A brilliant blend of fighting prowess and slapstick humour.

What makes it so good? Well, I admit that doing (a little) Wing Chun makes me a bit biased, but the training sequences are impressive and informative. The choreography is top notch and more than any other martial arts film I've seen, when the punches and kicks land they actually look painful.

It's also funny with the strange slapstick that only Chinese martial arts films can manage. Even the over-the top make-up (bright purple bruises!) adds to the charm. Basically if you like Martial Arts films this is a must-see.

Yuen biao is the man. I think he's one of the best actors in Hong Kong whether it's martial arts or not, it's just ridiculous that he's never been nominated in the best actor category at the Hong Kong awards. I've seen this film about 30 times now. It's one of the few kung-fu films that i can watch from beginning to end, as usually i go straight to the fights. The kung-fu is brilliant, very fast, very realistic, and very precise. The end fight is pure genius, fast and furious. The fight between Frankie Chan and Lam Ching Ying is brilliant too, and the training sequences... this film is just perfect. Brilliant camera work, slick editing and great music. More people should see this film to see the pure genius of Sammo Hung,Yuen Biao, and the brilliant Lam Ching Ying. It doesn't have as many fights as the other old skool kung-fu movies, but believe me this movie rocks. 10/10

Just a great movie. Never mind the slapstick beginning, when Lam Ching Ying appears as a cross-dressing Chinese opera star, it takes off. (He trained as a Chinese opera singer and used to act as a stunt double for female film stars.) The English dubbing adds rather than detracts, giving him a snide, camp voice. So sad he died young of cancer.

I cried from laughter at the pair of marbles they put in Yuen's sidekick's mouth to make him look stupid. Go watch every movie you can that has both Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, I'm going through them as quickly as I can, and I have yet to be disappointed. I particularly recommend "My Lucky Stars" and "Knockaround." In this movie they clearly pay tribute to their Peking Opera heritage (where they and Jackie Chan received their earliest training). Really, these guys made far better movies after Jackie Chan came to America to make unbridled steaming piles of "oh look, I can hurt myself!" I do realize, however, that these movies aren't for everyone. However, if you're even reading this, your interest must be great enough that you've searched out this movie on purpose, in which case, you must go get it.

This movie has all: kung fu, comedy, a good story,chinese opera, sammo hung doing calligraphy, trainings... The fight scenes of this movie are jaw dropping!! The fight between Lam ching ying and Frankie Chan is simply wonderful. The end fight is good also but Yuen Biao's wing chun is not as good as Frankie chan's. Overall, a masterpiece.....................................10/10