The Prodigal Son

This movie is what every old school kung fu should be about. The action is unpassable. With Yuen Biao, Lam Ching Ying and Sammo Hung in excellent form.

Also the acting is top class, Sammo and Lam Ching work perfectly as feuding brothers and Yuen Biao is convincing in his role as the prodigal son.

The movie is well balanced between humour and drama. Sammo is at his funniest when impressing his daughter (and the audience) with his calligraphy skills, Sammo at his best!

Unlike most Kung Fu movies the story in this one makes some sense and is seamless, there are parrallels between each person and is balanced perfectly between action and moving the story on.

The musical score is also top class, Frankie Chan does a wonderful job, the final fight music is perfectly suited.

A must for any Action fan.

Excellent period Kung-fu film. It features outstanding Kung-fu scenes, beautiful cinematography, and amusing and clever dialogue.

We follow the "Street Brawler" (Yuen Biao), as he strives to learn martial arts from a master he has selected. The master is reluctant to teach, and the "Street Brawler" must prove his worth somewhat to learn.

Although *slightly* over-plotted, this film has a unique balance of all the important elements one looks for in a Sammo Hung film. The comedy, the innovative and savage Kung-fu, and the unusual dramatic structure.

It is never boring, particularly the start of the film. It is so well made that I could watch at least another hour of this film if it were possible.

Yuen Biao certainly rivals Jackie Chan in this film. It is his second starring role, but it is played with such ability you would never know.

Sure, the ending's a little "syncopated", but the overall effect of this film is too much for any niggling details to harm it. A must-see in this genre.

Review: This is a classic, old school Kung Fu movie with a lot of silly jokes but a dramatic ending. Its about a boy called Leung Chang (Biao Yuen) who things that he's a Kung Fu master because his friends pay people to take his beatings. When he finally comes across someone who is not willing to fall down, he realises that his skills aren't that great and his friends tell him about what they have been doing behind his back. He then seeks training from his opponent, who is reluctant on taking him on as his apprentice. After much persuasion, he finally teaches him Wing Chun, along with his brother who has a different style. When he returns home after some intense training, his master gets murdered by a man who wants to challenge all of the Kung Fu masters, so he steps up to revenge his teacher and friend. Basically it's the old concept of "You Killed My Master" which we have seen many times in this genre but I never get bored of it. Although this film is extremely authentic, with some great action scenes, Sammo Hung's script was quite silly and camp, which was a bit weird for films in this genre in the 80's. I did chuckle at a few scenes, especially the funny English dubbing and it reminded a lot of when I used to watch Kung Fu movies on VHS. Anyway, it's definitely one to have in your collection, if your into your old school karate movies and it's one that I will never get bored of. GREAT!

Round-Up: This movie was directed by Sammo Hung, 63, who brought you movies like Project A, Wheels & Meals, Dragons Forever, Moon Warriors, Evil Cult, Mr. Nice Guy and One Upon A Time in China and America. He's starred in over 160 movies and he's starred in the lead of a successful series called Martial Law, which made him a household name around the world. He has a comedic style, very much like Jackie Chan, who he has starred alongside for many years and he is highly respected in his native country. This movie, which has become an all time classic, pushed him major stardom in the 80's and his chubby stature proved that you can still pull of some amazing moves, no matter what your weight is. He hasn't directed a movie since 1997 but he is still starring in movies like Once Upon A Time in Shanghai and the Last Tycoon. Personally I find his jokes a bit too silly at times, like I did in this film but it still worked. Anyway, the bonus material on the DVD was as interesting as the movie so it's one worth purchasing.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/comedy/martial arts movies starring Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung. 7/10

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

Prodigal Son takes the traditional historical setting and standard kung-fu revenge story and creates an amazing comic masterpiece. If you enjoy Jackie Chan, don't miss this. Even the dubbed version I saw (I usually hate dubbing) worked very well. The final fight is one of the greatest in celluloid history.