Fei Meng plays Fang Shih Yu, a young martial artist who ends up fatally striking an opponent during a fight. In retaliation, the thuggish "Iron Fist" Tan (Yasuaki Kurata) and "Iron Fist" Chien (Ching Wong) murder his father. Our protagonist becomes determined to avenge his father (training with his mother for over a year), taking LOTS of lumps along the way.
"Kung Fu, the Punch of Death" a.k.a. "The Prodigal Boxer" admittedly has a very familiar and mostly predictable story, but the filmmakers were savvy enough to only use that as a stepping stone for tons of martial arts mayhem. The fights are frequent and intense, not to mention LOUD (the "impact sounds" are hilariously ridiculous). The dubbing is of course cheesy, but the actors on screen are quite easy to watch, making this an enjoyable diversion for an hour and a half.
I appreciated the fact that the hero was rather brash, and needed to learn some humiliation before he finally rose up righteous and kicked his antagonists' asses something fierce. (This does get pretty bloody at the end.) His training sessions with his loving mother are also worth watching, especially as she repeatedly thrusts a log at his torso to toughen him up.
Good fun for fans of the genre.
Seven out of 10.
"Kung Fu, the Punch of Death" a.k.a. "The Prodigal Boxer" admittedly has a very familiar and mostly predictable story, but the filmmakers were savvy enough to only use that as a stepping stone for tons of martial arts mayhem. The fights are frequent and intense, not to mention LOUD (the "impact sounds" are hilariously ridiculous). The dubbing is of course cheesy, but the actors on screen are quite easy to watch, making this an enjoyable diversion for an hour and a half.
I appreciated the fact that the hero was rather brash, and needed to learn some humiliation before he finally rose up righteous and kicked his antagonists' asses something fierce. (This does get pretty bloody at the end.) His training sessions with his loving mother are also worth watching, especially as she repeatedly thrusts a log at his torso to toughen him up.
Good fun for fans of the genre.
Seven out of 10.
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