Just what I expected

Absolutely Brilliant!

A Major Disappointment

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I watched this 1974 Hong Kong film under the title BLOODY RING, which is much more appropriate than the ridiculous re-titling THE MANDARIN MAGICIAN, which is completely misleading and makes this sound like something it isn't. What it is is a straightforward kung fu outing, in which hero Li Chin-Kun (who is the spitting image of BOXER FROM SHANTUNG star Chen Kuan Tai) travels to Thailand to help his friend train some Muay Thai boxers in the ring, only to fall into battle with some Japanese hoodlums.The film that follows is largely nondescript, lacking the kind of skill and finesse that marks the best films of this popular genre. What we do get is a whole bunch of travelogue footage shot around Thailand, so much so that the viewer feels like a tourist at times. There's a wealth of action both inside and outside of the ring, although the boxing bits are largely dull thanks to the static camera-work. The outdoor scenes usually consist of our hero battling bad guys in parks and streets and the like. It's very average, although genre fans might enjoy spotting a few familiar faces, pre-stardom: Sammo Hung is a leading henchman, while Yuen Wah is a Thai boxer and Mars is an ally. I think I spotted Lam Ching-Ying too.