Fist of Legend
Fist of Legend
R | 22 December 1994 (USA)
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Chen Zhen, a Chinese engineering student in Kyoto, who braves the insults and abuse of his Japanse fellow students for his local love Mitsuko Yamada, daughter of the director, returns in 1937 to his native Shangai, under Japanse protectorate -in fact military occupation- after reading about the death of his kung-fu master Hou Ting-An in a fight against the Japanese champion Ryuichi Akutagawa.

Reviews
Tetrady

not as good as all the hype

Invaderbank

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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Claire Dunne

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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Phillipa

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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Leofwine_draca

Dodgy dubbing aside, Jet Li's FIST OF LEGEND is movie making par excellence. Essentially a remake of the 1972 Bruce Lee film FIST OF FURY, this updated version sees a more complex struggle between the Chinese and Japanese authorities (both sides are shown to be racist and unreasonable at times instead of the Japanese-hating 1972 film) and far more in-depth characters than the straightforward parts that Bruce and his buddies played twenty years previously. Not that the plot is very important; being a martial arts film the emphasis is on the action, as always, and I'm happy to say that FIST OF LEGEND offers some of the most intense battles out there.Jet Li himself is at the unstoppable peak of his powers, delivering some incredible kicks and punches, and twisting his body into various impossible positions to help him take down his multiple opponents more easily. The more I see of Li (this being the fourth film, for those who care), the more impressed I am, and his strength, agility, flexibility, and skill make him one of the finest screen martial artists in the world. Watching him fight is compulsive stuff.Amid the various plot twists and turns, the action sequences flow smoothly along, helped greatly by the fight choreography of the famous Yuen Woo Ping who thankfully keeps his wirework to a minimum here so that the fights are kept hard and realistic. FIST OF LEGEND is a jaw-droppingly violent movie that begins with a bone-breaking bout in a classroom and culminates in a magnificent ten minute fight between Li and the chief villain, a sadistic and cruel Japanese General as played by the impassive Billy Chau.This final fight is one of the best I've seen and has some great moments, like when Li gets his shoulder dislocated and when he uses his own belt as a makeshift weapon against a sword! The rest of the action is also exciting, suspenseful, and most importantly makes for great entertainment. Production values are top-notch and the acting - behind the dubbing - to a very good standard. Another Li classic and another superior Hong Kong fight flick; it makes competition like Van Damme's TIMECOP from the same year seem like child's play.

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leonblackwood

Review: Although this movie was made in the early 90's, the concept is a pretty old school. How many Kung Fu movies have we seen were the hero says to his enemy, "You Killed My Master"? Basically the whole film is based on Jet Li revenging the death of his old master, and to get to the truth of his death, he has to challenge Japan's best fighters with the help of his friend. Like many old school martial arts movies, the acting is pretty sketchy but the action scenes were great. You kind of want them to stop the chatting and just get on with the action but thats just my personal opinion. I liked the authenticity of the whole film and the showdown at the end with the Dolph Lundgren lookalike was quite good, but I still prefer the proper old school Kung Fu movies. Watchable!Round-Up: This is Jet Li in his usual kicking butt mode. I haven't seen his co-stars in any other movies, but I'm sure they will be popping up during my Jet Li season. The film does have a Bruce Lee feel to it which is why it went down so well at the box office. Personally, I have seen the film a few times before so I knew what to expect and I still enjoyed watching it again. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: HK$31millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a man who is seeking revenge after finding out that his old Kung Fu master has been mysteriously murdered. 6/10

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steben

One of the most applauded martial arts movies to date, this piece of art offers much more than flawless, thrilling action: plausible characters having real dilemmas and making actual decisions, based on their own moral codex. Each and every of the five-or-so protagonists is a human being with a set of values that he or she tries to follow, each and every fight is meaningful and serves to advance both the plot and character evolution. In this, Fist of Legend has achieved more than everything else that has been done in its genre and in fact transcended it, and should surely rank amongst the greatest movies of all time - much like Casablanca did for the classical melodramatic flick.Set in the time of the Japanese occupation of China and revolving around Sino-Japanese lovers, Fist of Legend presents numerous conflicts of morally right and wrong action, such as national pride versus racial prejudice, misuse of power versus right for self-defense, limits of loyalty to an authority, limits of self-sacrifice for the sake of love. It is amazing how so much of it could be crammed amongst the grand amount of action, but the result is unparalleled, creating the single movie where every fight has deeper meaning than just the hero thrashing another bad guy. When everything is poised for the grand finale, Fist of Legend delivers a truly epic battle between a hero standing for humanity with all its faults and a being that has lost all human traits save for the physical shell. Never before or after can I remember having such a strong feeling that humans could, and should, actually punch through concrete when the time is right.Unless you really, really can't stand Asian action cinematography or just hate movies that are not in English, there is no reason why you shouldn't enjoy this movie. Oh, and if you ever decide to watch only one, only ONE kung-fu pic, in your whole life, EVER... this has to be it.

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jyohockey93

Jet Li at his prime. Jet Li's remake of THE CHINEESE CONNECTION by Bruce Lee not The Fist Of Fury by Bruce Lee is well done and slightly alterted so its not the exact same thing although Jet Li's and Bruce Lee's name is the same in the movie. Anyone who is a fan of Jet Li or old kung fu movies should love this movie and is on my top ten list of greatest kung fu movies. Very good fighting scenes that are realistic and not a lot of other fake things in them like wire fu and other things like that. Its a very pure kung fu movie and is a great homage to Bruce Lee's CHINEESE CONNECTION not Fist of Fury (although that is a great Bruce Lee movie).

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