The Hero of Swallow
Review
Format: VCD
Stars: Yuen Biao, Eddie Ko

This is a fairly recent movie, I think it was made in 1997. It's about a man named Li San (Biao), who is also the Hero Swallow, which is the same thing as Robin Hood or Iron Monkey, and that's what this story is about. Li San is trying to prevent foreigners from obtaining Ch'ing Dynasty treasures, while at the same time the government is finding it difficult to accept his theft from various people in order to give to the poor. It's not an original story, but it's still good because, hey, Yuen Biao is the star.

Sadly, though, the action isn't exactly good. Biao's first fight, probably doubled a few times, looks like a dance more than anything. Every hit seems to be from a different angle, and when a hit seems to work, they go and shift positions to make a new hit, just to make the choreography look cool, which really doesn't work at all. This happens all over the movie. Another thing to mention is that the camera moves madly, and there are so many cuts that I really couldn't tell what was happening. After watching this first fight probably more than 5 times, I STILL can't see what's happening, both because of the bad camera work, and it's dark, very very dark. But that doesn't mean that the people don't move well. They do, actually. Even though Biao is probably doubled in this first fight, which would have been easy since he was wearing a face mask and his hair is black, like the entire screen, whoever does the real action does a good job of acrobatics and lots of jumping around. So, that's the good part, the doubles do a nice job.

But one thing that bothered me more than anything else was the sound effects. They're terrible. It sounds like a cartoon. Each punch sounds the same, which is almost like the sound you make when you say "PSH". Aweful. And there are NO distinct effects for missed punches or blocks, it's all "PSH", every time, even when it's a clear miss. And when there is a hit, sometimes the "PSH" doesn't even play, and sometimes it happens a good second later, or even before! This is terrible, the sound guys should have been fired for doing crap like this! Had this not been an issue, I'm SURE that the fights would have been more enjoyable. So, I turned down the volume when they happened, and it helped, believe me. The music sounds like it came from a Super Nintendo game.

Other fights abound, like Biao's fight with Eddie Ko and the cop, which aren't as bad and the sounds weren't so misplaced, so I wasn't as preoccupied with hating it. Still, the punches and kicks connect sometimes, and then they just go on doing something else. It's annoying if you're trying to find some good substance. Oh and there aren't any particular styles, unless there's a Swallow style which is featured in the middle during a flashback which is really neat looking. Whoever does it (supposed to be Biao, but it didn't look like him) is really good and flies all over the place, without wires. Which brings me to another point: they used lots of wires in this movie. I didn't like it. They're fake looking and are used to make people fly around, not necessarily to assist moves. I guess that's ok sometimes, but it gets rediculous. Outside of fighting, I don't really mind, but when they do it during a fight it's just lame.

Biao fights Eddie Ko 3 times or so, none of them are really memorable besides the one inside the palace which has an interesting atmosphere, unlike any of the other fights, and you can see what the hell's going on. Every other fight, except for maybe 2 others, are in darkness and you can't see anything. This one is short, very short, which shouldn't be memorable but it is, and that's bad. The 2nd fight with Ko is outside and uses wires and doubles, and the third and final one is terrible. And I don't think Eddie Ko is very good looking while fighting. He's a little slow.

Biao takes on some guards inside a prison, which is light so, naturally in this case, I liked it. He beats them up, using throws and kicks, and leaves. Nothing special though.

What's wrong here? There must have been 10 fights in this movie, and I didn't really care about any of them besides one that lasted for 10 seconds between Biao and Ko. Both of them use doubles in the other fights, there are wires, the camera shakes, the same music plays, the sound effects are tedious, are late, sometimes early, and sometimes don't play at all, and the fights are basically bland. Sure, they move well, but that doesn't make a good fight. A good fight is diversified and has LOGIC involved: If a hit works, use it. If it doesn't work, don't use it. This is violated over and over, and, correct me if I'm wrong, it seems like something that would be common sense in a fight. This is a bad scenario. Biao is capable, and the choreographer(s) make a mockery of his skills by throwing the camera around like it's a little ball and putting in sound effects from a pinata. I don't like that, someone else should have taken over.

Had they made the choreography more worthwhile, had a better camera man, better sound effects, better sound coordinators, ditched the doubles and simplified the choreography a little, used someone besides Eddie Ko, and MAYBE PUT A LIGHT IN HERE AND THERE, it could have been excellent. I like the story, and Biao makes a good hero. There's some trajedy involved, along with a little comedy, and the script isn't so bad. Hell they could have had a good movie here!

6/10 - This is the overall quality of the movie. I give Biao an 8/10, the choreographers a 2/10, and the sound coordinators a -1/10. Maybe they'll redo it, and this could be an awesome movie (dream on).

UPDATE 10/9 - Rating System Change

3/5

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