Fist Of Legend/Iron Monkey/Drunken Master II

[Psychocandy]

This trio of martial arts movies are, in my opinion, the very finest that the genre has had to offer in the last decade (that i've seen). The fact that they all came out around 1993/94 and haven't been bettered since is testement to the stunning action on display. Featuring a trio of martial arts movie stars that i've come to refer to as The Holy Trinity (Jet Li in Fist Of Legend, Jackie Chan in Drunken Master II and Donnie Yen in Iron Monkey) these are the sort of movies that fans of the genre should show to their skeptical friends if they ever hope to convince them that Martial Arts flicks can be as thoroughly entertaining as any other genre of action flick (often more so). They are also proof that despite having stolen many of Hong Kong cinemas premier action stars, Hollywood doesn't even come close to providing the sort of 'on the edge' thrills that are thoroughly evident in these three movies. Hollywood has squandered and stifled the talent of the stars of these three movies and many others besides (Chow Yun Fat and John Woo are just two prime examples). If you are a fan of the martial arts genre and have yet to see one of these movies then I urge you to treat yourself asap.

Iron Monkey - 5/5

Drunken Master II - 5/5

Fist Of Legend - 5/5

Oh...and it goes without saying that the western releases of Drunken Master II and Fist Of Legend have been saddled with dodgy dubbing and have been shorn of certain scenes. The only way to see them is to track down a complete copy with subs.

I have a question for any schmoes who have seen these movies. Are there any that you feel are as good as these that I may not have seen?

[Slim]

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[JCPhoenix]

I love these movies too, Fist of Legend the most. Jet Li is my favorite martial arts dude, though nowadays he definitely needs to start coming up with more original and cooler movies (please please please, STOP working with that HACK Luc Besson for god's sake...he did some good movies, but now teaming up with Besson and the writer of the karate kid for like every movie is NOT a good way to do well in Hollywood)

Fist of Legend is so realistically shot, so...I dunno, it's hard to describe. But an EXCELLENT remake of the Bruce Lee movie Chinese Connection.

[bob]

Bruce Lee is THE MAN when it comes to martial arts films. Enter the Dragon and Chinese Connection are his best, no doubt.

I think Jackie Chan is a poor pretender to the throne of martial arts master, but Drunken Master II was a hilarious film I really enjoyed.

I haven't seen enough of Jet Li's Hong Kong films to give a valid opinion, but his US films are horrendous.

[Psychocandy]

Originally posted by bob
Bruce Lee is THE MAN when it comes to martial arts films. Enter the Dragon and Chinese Connection are his best, no doubt.

I kinda agree (with slight reservations).

I think Jackie Chan is a poor pretender to the throne of martial arts master, but Drunken Master II was a hilarious film I really enjoyed.

I disagree most vehemently with regards to the 'poor pretender' comment. Police Story, Operation Condor, Armour Of God, Project A, Drunken Master 1 & 2, The Young Master and many more are testement to his brilliance.

I haven't seen enough of Jet Li's Hong Kong films to give a valid opinion, but his US films are horrendous.

I agree most definitely. Jet Li was a wonder in his Hong Kong movies. The Once Upon A Time In China series and Fist Of Legend are all stunning.

[JCPhoenix]

Jet Li:

U.S. movies overall: 4/10 (a rough average)

Hong Kong/Chinese productions overall: 8/10

Check out the entire Once Upon a Time in China series, Fong Sai Yuk 1 and 2 (aka The Legend 1 and 2 in the U.S.), Fist of Legend, The Tai-Chi Master (aka Twin Warriors in the U.S.), Hero (i really enjoyed it 8/10 but overall the buzz on the board here is that it's alright...can't wait for an extended version though, hopefully it'll be even better), and Swordman 2 for some of his best films.

Don't watch dubs either! They're horrible, get subtitled versions.

[arto_j]

I haven't seen Iron Monkey, but I agree on the other two. Utter brilliance. Fist of Legend is probably the best martial arts film I've ever seen...But unfortunately that's not too big of a selection. Once Upon a Time in China kicked some ultimate arse as well...Jet Li really needs to find some projects worthy of his talents in Hollywood, not a single good film so far.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by arto_j
Utter brilliance.

Best way to describe 'em. I love those flicks.

[pat00139]

Fist of Legend sports the best fight scenes ever put on screen. It's as simple as that. I've seen my fair share of HK flicks, and that's what I've discovered.

The other two are great, don't get me wrong. The only thing wrong with Iron Monkey is that stupid undercranking. Christ, you have Donnie Yen fighting Yu Rong Guang, why do you need to speed it up?!? Drunken Master 2 has awesome fight scenes. That last fight is spectacular. (Note to drunken boxing fans: see Jet Li do drunken boxing in Last Hero in China, and see Donnie Yen do drunken boxing in Heroes Among Heroes.) I still think Fist of Legend should have won best fight choreography.

Bruce Lee is Bruce Lee. I have nothing else to say about that.

To Psychocandy:
Only a few movies come to having fights as good as the three you mentioned. Try finding In the Line of Duty 4, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, and with Donnie Yen and Cynthia Khan. The fights are tremendous. This is one of my favorite martial arts movies. Another one with great fights scenes, but isn't quite as good, is Tiger Cage 2. Again directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, and with Donnie Yen (and Cynthia Khan in a cameo), this has great fight scenes. There's a swordfight scene in here that's to die for. This movie also has Rosamund Kwan (of Once Upon a Time in China fame), David Wu and Robin Shou (Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat).
(Okay, I know Mismatched Couples has Yuen Woo-Ping directing Donnie Yen, but trust me on this one, avoid it. It's just plain embarassing.)


I can recommend some more. (Tokyo Raiders and So Close have nice actions scenes, for example, but they're more fun than anything else. Storm Riders and A Man Called Hero have great-looking fights, but they're fantasy fights.) So if you're looking for great fight scenes, those two are my choices.

[Wurms]

I totally agree with you on the undercranking, Pat. Man, two awesome martial artists and you speed it up :(

I think Tiger Cage 2 is just incredible. That sword fight is drool material, still the greatest sword fight I have ever seen.

If you want some kick ass fighting check out the thai movie Ong Bak. You can get it at ethaiCD.com for $12 on dvd (shipping included) but it doesnt have english subtitles but I hear the fights are the best since fist of legend. HK dvd of Ong Bak is probably coming later this year with subs though.

Donnie Yen's movie Legend of Wolf is decent as well. It is undercranked and has some extreme close up stuff but Donnie (who directed it also) did something right because it is some great adrenaline pumping stuff. It even has a fight while he is running. Yea, running and fighting!!! :)

Check out some Sammo Hung movies too. That guy is a genius at choreography. Odd Couple has some of the coolest weapons fights (mainly staff/spear vs sword).

Wheels on Meals has one of the greatest fights with Jackie vs Benny the Jet. The movie is a comedy with hardly any action till the end, but that fight is worth it.

Jackie Chan's "Miracles" is superb. It is set in the 1930's and is filled with beautiful cinematography, sets, costumes, and of course fights.

Jackie Chan's "Gorgeous" sucks as a movie, but the two fight scenes with Jackie vs Brad Allen (a guy shorter then Jackie) are awesome.

Jet Li's "My Father is Hero" has good ol Yu Rong Guang (The Iron Monkey Himself) and is fantastic. If you liked Jet Li kicking the crap out of the dudes with sticks in the police station in Kiss of Dragon, well, this movie has a scene just like that.

Also, as mentioed above, Fong Sai Yuk is a fun silly ride. Has some cool action pieces too.

And for good ole Shaolin monk coolnest, check out Shaolin: Wheel of Life. It is a real on stage performance of REAL shaolin monks. HOLY CRAP IS THIS AWESOME!!!

Note: The movie "So Close" licks donkey balls.

[pat00139]

You're right about that Tiger Cage 2 swordfight, Wurms, I haven't seen a better one out there. The one in Heroes Among Heroes was good, but nothing compared to that one.

I'm not much of a big fan of Donnie Yen-directed movies. Legend of the Wolf had some pretty bad undercranking. He knows what he's capable of, I don't know why he decided to do that. He does have some nice kicks, though, even if they are sped up.

I prefer the movies he's choreographed better than the ones he's directed. He did the fights for Highlander: Endgame and they're pretty nice. Adrian Paul can't hold candle to Donnie Yen but he's still better than Keanu. The fight those two have together is pretty nice. The fights he did for Blade 2 (the beginning fight and the ninja fight) are a lot of fun, and it's a shame he didn't work more on that flick.

If you really want to know what Mr. Yen is capable of, check you Princess Blade. Absolutely incredible action sequences. All the fights are pretty much swordfights, and they're very well done. Too bad the star wasn't the most athletic person in the world. The rest of the movie's very good, also. I'm waiting very impatiently for Twins Effect to come out on DVD. I can't wait to see what Mr. Yen did with that.

I need to check out more Sammo Hung stuff, but I've seen Magnificent Butcher and I love that one. The brush scene is very fun. He's working on Stephen Chow's new movie so that should be a lot of fun. Miracles is basically Capra's Lady for a Day with fight scenes, and they are well done, you're right. I personally prefer the Operation Condor movies to that one, but to each his own. I do agree about Gorgeous. The movie is pure fluff, but the fights between Chan and Allen are awesome. My Father is a Hero is my favorite Jet Li movie. I just love it so much. I won't won't say any more about that.

So Close is fun, it doesn't like donkey balls, as you so tastefully put it. Even if So Close does suck, it still kicks Charlie's Angels ass, all the way across the pacific. :)

[bowieee]

Just watched the Legend of drunken Master and some scenes literally took my breath away. This is by far one of the most impressive martial arts movies I've seen. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction psychocandy :)

[John Miller]

http://store1.yimg.com/I/icomicshop-hk_1768_134240143 http://93ol.myrice.com/dyhb/dzp/dz137.jpg

[jaymx]

I love martial arts movies my favorite being Fist Of Legend (i've owned an asian dvd copy for a while now)
I can't say that I'm a fan of Drunken Master tho, me and my mates just found it funny stupid, maybe I need to rewatch.
Jet Li cannot be forgiven for the pile of crap that was 'The One'. Kiss Of The Dragon was fairly entertaining tho.

[inglourious basterd]

Check out Jet Li's "The Legend" if you haven't yet seen it. Its a fun martial arts film. Not a perfect film by any means, but it is action packed, entertaining, and funny.

Some of the scenes in that film are more breathtaking than the ones in "Fist of Legend" believe it or not. I love it.

But just as a note...if you happen to run across the dubbed version, put the english subtitles on anyway. I had to do it because the dubbing was so mindnumbingly bad.