Heroes Among Heroes
Review
Format: VCD
Stars: Wong Chuen, Donnie Yen, Hung Yan Yan

This is another movie about the British bring opium into China. Just don't draw any conclusions yet. It's very well done. The settings have the quality of those in the OUATIC series, and the fight scenes are amazing, that is, the ones that are any good at all. But, first, I'll just tell you the premise. Opium is coming into China, Fei Hung (Chuen) wants to cure people who are addicted, Beggar So Chan (Donnie) gets addicted from befriending the prince (Hung Yan Yan), but comes back to take revenge.

I want to get this out of the way. Wire tricks are overdone at times, and they are overdone here too. And these wires don't just pick bodies up off the ground, but they carry braided hair used for a rediculous weapon, shoots of bamboo, and broken pieces of tile. It's all very unnecessary. Yuen Woo Ping directed this, and it's obvious. It's just too silly at times for some people's liking. And it's almost comedic, which detracts from the serious plot and characters. I think this is why Heroes Among Heroes wasn't as good as it could have been. Too much silliness for an otherwise serious movie. Had these wires been replaced with good martial arts, this would have been up for a 10 rating.

But like I said before, the wu shu is amazing, for whatever amount there is. Yen and Cheun fight three times, one of them being while Yen is high on opium and uses a sword, Yen fights Hung Yan for a while, and Chuen fights Hung Yan twice. Chuen also has a bout with a Korean, which doesn't seem to work too well. Chuen has the guy's arm at his own throat, but his other arm is placed at his side, ready to be used, yet he acknowledges that he's been subdued. If that's some weird form of wu shu, it's not practical, but I think it was bad choreography.

When So Chan fights Fei Hung the first time, it's all fast hand movements with some kicks (looked undercranked), and the second time was the same (still a little undercranked), and when Fei Hung went up against So Chan when he had a sword, it looked pretty good. Chuen's ability to move so dynamically really impressed me. When Chuen fought Hung Yan Yan, I was even more impressed. Hung Yan Yan is an incredible sight to see. There's a small piece of choreography that I'll have to post here, which is basically their first fight, where they use their arms so well, and the kicks are blocked with kicks and spins are done perfectly, and I had to watch it over and over because it's stuff that I've never seen done before. When Fei Hung came in with a punch, Hung Yan Yan took his sleeve and threw his arm, did the same with the other arm, and did a scratching technique. Excellent choreography here. During their last fight, which is small but very good, they perform the same quality movement. To me, they stole the show. Donnie Yen's kickboxing mixed with wu shu was good, but his movements weren't perfect like theirs. He does get into a drunken stance, but only does a few moves that even resembled drunken boxing, one cleverly titled "King Serving Wine" where he uses his middle knuckle to punch underneath Prince's arm. And lots of their last fight was undercranked it seemed, which made the punches seem as though they meant nothing and were going toward no end. They weren't the only ones to fight, though. The Fire Lotus Gang, which had some 9 women but you only get to see maybe 4 fight, had a part. Lots of their moves were either weapon based and/or wire fu. More silliness really, until Chuen took them on. He's pretty amazing, I have to say.








I liked the movie. The acting was good, subtitles were readable, and the vcd was of good quality. Chuen and Hung Yan are awesome, and so is Donnie Yen. Plus, I liked seeing Beggar So with Fei Hung. Good combination. Too bad you don't really get to see them fight anyone together.

Rating: 8/10 - Needs to have less wirework.

UPDATE - 10/9 - Rating System Change

4/5 - Because of wirework

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