![]() ![]() This film is ripe for an action re-make as the plot is a great foundation, but it needs better writing, more efficient plotting, and some better characterization to bring out the interesting themes just ripe for exploration.Ĭommentary: The trivia section of IMDB says this is the first Hong Kong movie to be filmed for 3-D cameras and it shows from the opening sequence. It's a showcase for Jackie and his skills and one of his better finale fights in these traditional kung fu films. The finale sequence sees Jackie Chan take on the leader of the Black Dragon clan in the movies best fighting sequence. On the other, we get far too many fights of varying quality that they often feel redundant with the story stretched far too thin. On one hand, it stays simple and we get a lot of fights. This simple setup proves to be a blessing and a curse. This is a simple setup for a lot of fight sequences as kung fu clans challenge him (and each other) for the book (5 different fights in the first thirty minutes alone). We then meet a young Jackie Chan (in an unusual wig) and learn that he somehow has acquired the book and is on a quest to find a mysterious figure for an untold reason. They wrote their techniques down in a book and have since disappeared. The plot here is simple, there are eight masters at Shaolin Temple who have combined their skills together into the Snake and Crane Arts. For those who don't know, this martial arts demonstration tradition is a bit like western historical epics putting an entr'acte at the beginning of the film or a Bond film's gun barrel sequence. This film has one of those traditional martial arts demonstrations in its openings and I think it's nice to see Jackie Chan in one of these roles. Commentary: This early traditional kung fu film from Jackie Chan was produced by Wei Lo, the producer/director behind many of Bruce Lee's biggest films. ![]()
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