Fist of Fury

Fist of Fury
by Donnie Yen, Benny Chan, Wai-Man Cheng, Yiu-Chuen Leung, Shiu-Kee Lung

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Movie Reviews of Fist of Fury

Movie Review: Donnie Yen is out of this world
Summary: 4 Stars

Criticize the story. It's long and drawn out. But if it's a TV series, it makes more sense. The theme-- revenge and more revenge-- goes on and on. The story in Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge prequels the story in Bruce Lee's classic film, and tries to pay homage to Bruce Lee's memory. Thematically, it does this, discussing things like freedom from rigid forms and stances. The movie as presented on this DVD/Video sets up the story that we are more familiar with-- death of master, Japanese incursion on Chinese turf, etc..

I'm still trying to figure out if Fist of Fury and Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge are actually separate DVDs here in the States. My take is that Fist of Fury (no Revenge) is the actual remake of Bruce Lee's film. I haven't seen that yet.

Martial arts-wise, what can you say? Numerous, long fight scenes. Donnie Yen is fabulous. The supporting cast is very strong kung fu-wise. The choreography is wonderful. The action is fast, sped up a little, but not so much that you can't follow it-- as in some HK-based kung fu films. And I suspect they didn't speed it up THAT much. Donnie is just plain fast.

Some reviewers claim the fight scenes aren't realistic. Hello? The movie isn't about realism. Few kung fu movies are. Heck, Bruce Lee's movies aren't about realism. It's about movies-- showmanship. But drink up the kung fu. It's gorgeous to behold. If you actually study kung fu, watching practically any "classic" kung fu movie is a treat-- you understand why they emphasize the flying leaps, or how a kick sends the opponent skidding backwards along his feet, without losing balance. It's all cinematic interpretations of ideal principles. Donnie Yen is just plain fabulous, and the other principals are premiere kung fu masters, too. I was salivating and jealous over their skill.

I don't expect these types of movies to be awesome storywise. You want that, you can compromise your kung fu standards with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero gives both story and kung fu. This was great for seeing Donnie and Co. strut their stuff.

Nobody can be Bruce Lee. Some of the reviewers critiqued Donnie for trying. Give me a break. Donnie is BETTER in terms of kung fu. Bruce had his own style, his own way of doing things. Bruce couldn't do what Donnie does. Donnie can't quite be Bruce. In fact, I liked less the fight scenes where Donnie starts bouncing around like a boxer, and trying to imitate Bruce's more boxing-based JKD. But I loved Donnie just plain kung fu fighting. Give me a DVD with Donnie just doing forms, and I'd be in heaven.

Summary of Fist of Fury