Hitman in the Hand of Buddha
Review
Format: Dubbed VHS
Stars: Hwang Jiang Lee, Eddie Ko, Tino Wong

Hwang is new to the town. His brother in law and sister live there. Hwang is wanted by Tiger because he is getting in the way of his business, and Hwang's sister and brother in law are killed by Tiger, and so he seeks revenge by living at a Shaolin Temple for a while.

This movie actually had more emotion than I just put into it. I told the plot so simply because that's how I understood it. The acting didn't seem too bad, and for the time era (early 1980's or late 70's) it was pretty good. The scenery was, well, a LITTLE bland, and the costumes, .. ok they were the same ones you see in any other old kung fu movie, as were the haircuts, voices (dubbing wise), and the buildings and even the damn trees.

To tell the truth, this would appear to just be a regular old school kung fu movie. But Hwang Jiang Lee prevents that by showcasing his awesome kicking style and even some pole maneuvers. Although the fights were all 2 beat style (some of them incredibly.. slow), there were some interesting moments that kept me entertained like when Lee used chopsticks to defeat the guy who used the snake style. And that brings up another point, the styles were pretty distinct, though not entirely in their brightest forms. But, as I said, Lee does some great kicks here, some of which I'd expect to find as super moves in a game or something.

Anything else good about HITHOB? Not really, it's just one that happens to be a little better than the rest as far as I know. Worth a rental or maybe a buy if it's under ten bucks. As you can tell I'm not that excited about the movie really, except I felt some good character development here and there. Lee, I think, does a good job at depicting revenge because he just looks mean. In the end scene when he fights Tiger, who uses the tiger style as you might guess, he gets pissed all of a sudden and things liven up for a minute or so. He goes into his kicking madness, which satisfies pretty well, and the movie ends.

What matters is the style, right? I suppose, if you're really into it. If you want a film that entertains a crowd, don't reach for this one. It's likely that everyone will be either laughing at the 2-beatness or sleeping. But if you want something you can really look at for some style, this one's good. Snake, Tiger, Monkey Stick (??), and Lee's Tae Kwon Do itself are pretty well done, I think, especially the snake, but I warn you, it's sloooooowwww. Watch this one if you're in the mood for martial arts, not HK movie quickness like you'd find in lots of the cop movies or Drunken Master 2.

Like I said, worth a rental, maybe buy. I rate it 6/10, it would have gotten more if it hadn't fit so well into the mold of the old school kung fu films and had stuck out like a big tree the way Prodigal Son did. Lee did the job for me. Had he not been in it, I don't think I could have given it more than a 3. Lee can do some mighty kicks.

UPDATE 10/9 - Rating System Change

2.5/5 - Just an old school flick really.

Return to the reviews page