Blade of Fury

Customer Reviews:

The finest Martial Arts movie ever made- nuff said!!!!.......2006-02-08

I am a huge fan of martial arts movies and I have a large collection of dvd's dedicated to the genre so I consider myself some what of an expert on the subject. I have been watching kung fu movies for over 20 years and believe me when I say that I have yet to see a martial-arts movie match Blade Of Fury let alone surpass it.

This is Sammo Hung's masterpiece without a dout and the film's excellence is only matched by the absurdity of its obscurity despite its greatness, which I find baffling.

It is a very dark and violent movie about a passionately patriotic kung-fu master Wang Wu, who loses hope over the political state of China and unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide. He then retreats to a humble life working as a sword-smith when he meets a famous kung-fu master (Ti Lung), who re-ignites his desire to change China for the better. As the story goes, they become fast friends with the same political ideology and try their best to convey their revolutionary ideas to all who will listen, by writing a manuscript. This puts both men in direct confrontation with Yuan Shih-kai, a general who is very powerful in martial arts and a conservative in Chinese polotics. This starts a chain of events that leads Wang Wu on a deadly path where he will have to fight not only for his ideals but his very life.

This movie has without a doubt one of the most engaging, complex plots I have ever seen in a kung fu movie. What makes this movie unique is that there isn't a stereotypical "bad guy". Nobody is evil in this movie, its just two "good guys" who believe in opposing ideals. One seeks change for the good of the country while the other seeks stability for the sake of human lives.

The acting is also top notch all around, highlighted by Ti-Lung's exceptional portrayal of a compassionate revolutionary and Rosamund Kwan's mesmerizing performance, befitting of an empress. Even Sammo Hung's cameo as a master swordsman guarding a prisoner is right on the money.

Believe it or not, as superb as the plot and acting are, the fight scenes are even more so. Sammo Hung's choreography alone is worth the price of admission and is on the same level as Yuen Woo-ping and Ching-Siu Tung. What seperates this movie's fight scenes from others are not just the variety of fighting styles but the variety of weapons as well. All forms of weapons like darts, bow and arrows, guns, short swords, long swords, samurai swords, spears and even rope used as a yo-yo-ing projectile are on display. The variety in fighting styles are also impressive, for example there is an amazing hand to hand combat scene that takes place on parasols, fantastic swordplay in a water-torture prison, the "villain" Yuan Shih-kai taking out 20+ rebels(I lost count) using only his cape, Wang Wu using his short-sword against Ngo Pai's wonder hand, the list goes on and on. The great thing about the fights are that they occur for a good reason and serve to drive the story forward. The final showdown between Wang Wu's short sword and Yuan Shih-kai's long sword is a bloodbath for the ages.

Never before has a martial arts movie been proficient in all areas- story, plot, character development, acting and fight choreography are all exemplary and a testament that these things can be done in an action movie, and the reason why Blade of Fury has no equal.

Blade of Fury.......2003-12-23

After reading some reviews I was curious enough to buy it. I'm glad I did! Sure the story isn't the best nor the easiest to follow but I'm all about the fighting scenes and boy there is plenty in this movie! The action is right up there with Iron Monkey, Fists of Legend, Twin Warriors (aka The Tai Chi Master) The fight scenes have good speed and I laughed when the voice of the Japanese woman (At the kung-fu tournament) is actually a mans voice in the movie. Ha! Too funny! Other than that it is a very dark movie but I like that when it comes to fighting/martial arts movies. Not too much of that cheesy haha humor in this flick. I highly recommend this film if you like good swordplay action!

True Martial Arts Classic!.......2001-10-29

A masterpeice from Sammo Hung. Awesome fight scenes! Martial Arts master(who is that guy?) comes out of hiding to team up with Ti Lung and fight against corruption within the Chinese government. Both are betrayed and Ti Lung is captured. What follows is truely edge of your seat action that only Yuen Wu Ping, Jackie Chan, John Woo or Tsui Hark can match.

Is this a great movie or what(you better not say or what)!.......2001-07-25

Man, I honestly thought this is the greatest movie I've ever seen. Some may disagree, those who do, you guys can just shut your mouth! Cause this is my favortie movie in the whole wide world. I loved all the fights scenes, the martial arts is awesome. And of course, for the ladies, there is always a love story intertwined in the plot. I could lie and say that everybody would love this movie, kids and adults, people of all ages, but i'm not goin' to. I love this movie cause I'm a huge martial arts fan, and you have to be too, to be able to appreciate this film. Well, I hope you get this movie and enjoy it as much as I did, do, and will.

Blade of Fury.......2001-05-24

While never mentioned by anyone as a great martial arts movie, (even Sammo who wrote and directed it), this is definately one of Hong Kongs best. Great fight scenes (not surprising, with Sammo in charge), heroic good guys, viscious bad guys, the equisite Rosamund Kwan as the once and future uber-babe, and the mountain like presence of Ti Lung, one of Hong Kong's dramatic greats. While the plot is a basic formula, and the characters are a little one dimentional, it still acts as a reminder of what heroism is all about. Sammo shows his old school roots with this film, along with his usual ability to put together, without exception, the best fight scenes ever put on film. With a talented cast that breathes life into the characters and a story that draws the viewer in, this film is quintisential Hong Kong Cinema. Hey, it even made my girlfriend cry, and she HATES martial arts movies! 'nuff said.

DVD:

DVD

DVD