Jimmy Wang Yu becomes the master of the brawl

The narrator speaks of war atrocities. Our girl, Gwok Siu-Chong, only in seven films, fights the soldiers alone. She talks to groups of men about the revolution and meets others grateful that she has freed them. They try to make plans but argue then fight. At another meeting Jimmy Wang Yu speaks up. Soldiers come to arrest them all and fail. After more talk they leave Japan and return to China, knowing it is a trap.

The movie starts a tad heavy on the politics and drama but the action is still there. The fights start with fists then by the second half of the movie it is mostly fights and mostly swords. Most of the action is not one on one but brawls.

I define a "brawl" as fight sequence with many fighters going at it. It can be long shot in which no actor in particular is the center of attention. Or it can be a sequence where one actor in particular is going against a ridiculous amount of opponents. Brawls put a lot of action on the screen but often that action is just a lot meaningless movement. To someone who is not a fan of these movies a brawl sequence can often lead to "Change it, I am not watching this crap!"

I respectfully call Jimmy Wang Yu "The Mad Man of Martial Arts Movies". This is mostly because of his masterpiece "Master of the Flying Guillotine" a.k.a. "One-armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine". He is the man who got the brawl right. An excellent example of what I mean by that happens at about the 16 minute mark in this movie. Jimmy and crew take on a gang of Manchu soldiers in white. Somehow he takes all the ridiculous amount of opponents and crazy amount of movement and makes it look good.

My copy is the Kung Fu Theater DVD. It is dubbed in English by the good voice over team. Though physically a DVD it is really the VHS tape converted to a digital file. The picture resolution is good but the format is 4:3. Flash Legs Kung Fu has a version that claims to be wide screen but this group makes that claim often and it is really fake wide screen. I cannot confirm the wide screen either way but will revise this if I can confirm it.

You can't call yourself a fan of this genre if you haven't watched this one. I rate it a tad above average and it is on my list to watch again sometime as appropriate.

Mandarin-language cinema across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore explores historical reflection, cultural identity, and personal sacrifice, often expressed through poetic visuals and sweeping narratives. In Mainland China, this takes the form of allegory and large-scale epics that reflect on national history. Taiwan emphasizes intimate modernist realism, generational change, and the search for identity. Singapore contributes stories of migration, multiculturalism, and the negotiation of tradition in a globalized city.

The action genre features fast-paced, thrilling, and intense sequences of physical feats, combat, and excitement. The characters of these stories are involved in daring and often dangerous situations, requiring them to rely on their physical prowess, skills, and quick thinking to overcome challenges and adversaries.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

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Jimmy Wang Yu in Jing tian dong di (1972)

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Jing tian dong di

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