Eastern Condors
4/07/2001
Review
Format: VCD No Subs
Stars: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biu (I've changed how I spell his name because Biao is Mandarin), Yuen Kwai, Yuen Wo Ping, Joyce Godenzi, Lam Ching Ying, Dick Wei, Yuen Wah, Yasuaki Kurata, Billy Chow, small appearances by Phillip Ko, Wu Ma, Chin Kar Lok,

What a cast! You'd have to expect something totally fabulous from a group like this. The story is incomprehensible to me because it's basically a war movie, where Sammo and his group team up with Yuen Biao to stop some other group (the bad guy group) from doing something bad, probably having to do with nuclear weapons given the last location.

Actually I had a hard time staying awake through this one. My expectations were too high I guess. It's totally devoid of worthwhile action until the end. There are a few short bursts of kickboxing here and there, like Biao and Sammo swapping fists for a few seconds or Godenzi killing people with a knife, but the end is a good one. The Mei Ah release has no subtitles, so if you don't have a decent understanding of Cantonese then you're gonna be guessing most of the time, which isn't easy with a war movie. The acting is professional, especially by Lam Ching Ying. Yuen Kwai and Yuen Wo Ping don't do a whole lot, Chin Kar Lok gets no action, Lam Ching Ying does almost ZERO fighting, and Godenzi doesn't get a whole lot.

The action has its share of explosions and guns of course. Sammo and Godenzi take out a boat firing at their shelter. Though this action doesn't appeal to me in the least, it's at least filmed well. Sammo and Godenzi end up on the boat and do some kicks and punches, that's it.



Biu goes into a building and has a TINY fight against Sammo, Lam Ching Ying and Godenzi, it's so short I wonder why I even bother mentioning it.



Some other gun fight that I don't want to bother with, and then Sammo and Biu head to the middle of the woods and take out some guys with kicks and knives and other things. Sammo does a nice kick, Biu does too, and Phillip Ko, the bad guy leader for this scene, gets taken out by Sammo in about 5 seconds. Biu does a cool move where he does a backwards kick up with a coconut and does a jumping side kick on it. Much like The Champions. Just a scene with REALLY sparse kickboxing.



There's more of this gun fighting stuff, standoffs, explosions and escapes, but it's all standard fare for war movies. I won't waste your nor my time reviewing it all.

The final scene takes place in a weapons storage place where there is a ton of nuclear weaponry and in the beginning of it is a big gun fight with machine guns going off everywhere, with some impossible shots like one of the older lucky stars (don't know his name) firing 2 machine guns, one in each hand, and taking out 8 guys all at once. Then, Biao has a small fight with Kurata and Dick wei that starts off with Kurata doing a gigantic backfall, with no hands. Camerawork here is surpurb, typical Sammo material that should be prevalent in every film from this era. Biu and Kurata have a small exchange where Kurata does a powerful kick on Biu, then they have another small fight with the angle placed high above which looks awesome, and it works too. Biu then takes Dick Wei after killing Kurata and this is a great scene except, well, it only lasts about 3 second, no joke. Godenzi comes in with a knife and only one hand and gets a brutal death, as does Dick Wei in the same fashion.



Biu gets knocked down by Yuen Wah, who goes wild using some strong claws (his fingers) and just grabbing Biu and also doing some cool looking kicks. Meanwhile Sammo is fighting Billy Chow, who is remarkably faster than usual and manages to stream all his hits together flawlessly. Another short but really fast and wicked fight. Another thing to note is Chow's blocking, which is more impressive than Sammo's because he just lays himself into things. Wah is still beating the hell out of Biu when...



Sammo comes in starting with a nice branny off a big box into a reverse sweep that knocks Wah into a backfall. Wah is so agile here, as expected, but seems to be able to show it off more. Thankfully, Sammo gives us a full MINUTE AND A HALF where he fights Wah, showcasing power, speed, agility, and anything else these guys can do. Wah is obviously a good screen fighter, from the way he ducks under kicks to how he approaches for a grab or a punch. Sammo is also great, fast and accurate. After he takes off his bandana you wonder if he's really the fat guy he's always been in in his movies, he just turns into a nimble, strong hero. Fast hand and footwork when it happens, but it's short lived. Sammo finishes of Wah with a double kick to the chest, Wah does a backfall onto stairs.



I feel cheated. Every piece of action outside of the gunplay in this was fabulous, but Sammo cut it all so short that I was begging for more. Even his finale against Wah was too short. In addition, there were SO MANY people that were wasted either by bullets or kickboxing that was far too fast. I imagine that, had Jackie done this back then in 1987, we would have had a finale that lasted 15 minutes long considering all the incredibly talented participants (and those who didn't participate in this one). But what's here is great, no doubt, much like Don't Give a Damn. The camerawork is the essence of 80's kickboxing as well. I just wish there had been 5 times as much, even if it just happened in the final 10 minutes. And considering all the hype about this movie and how it has so much action, I was disappointed even more. But if you're into Sammo material and don't really care about quantity but quality, then this would make you happy.

3/5

Return to the reviews page