Prodigal Son
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Movie Reviews of Prodigal Son
Movie Review: Must own for Wing Chun fans!
Summary: 5 Stars
There are very few films out there that can claim they present any authentic Wing Chun Kung Fu; this movie is one of them. The fight scenes are fast-paced and fluid, they are not the typical choreographed fights of other old school kung fu flicks. The actual movements that the actors perform appear to be some Yip Man lineage movements, so take this film with a grain of salt. As much as the Yip Man students would love to claim they are "The Original", this is simply not so - Their lineage is one of many that are all original in their own way. They just happened to be represented in this film. That being said, it is a very entertaining flick and the actors do a great job of presenting the Wing Chun style. Lam Ching-Ying, who plays "Painted Face Kam," is by far the best of the three main practitioners in the film; this is because I believe he is actually a Wing Chun practitioner off-screen.
There is one part of the film that will make you cringe, however, and that is the fight at the end involving the movie's hero, played by Yuen Biao. The Wing Chun is almost nonexistent during this fight. Instead, Yuen Biao reverts to some flashy wushu garbage that you've seen a million times before. This one fight is not enough to ruin the film, however, and "The Prodigal Son" remains in the number one spot of my favorite Kung Fu flicks (Bruce Lee aside).
The movie is worth purchasing just to watch Lam Ching-Ying's performance. This movie has the best representation of Wing Chun Kung Fu in a motion picture, and Bruce Lee's films aside, is my favorite Kung Fu movie of them all. Bruce Lee's films contain much of the essence of Wing Chun and even some techniques, but he also flavored it with many varying styles culminating in his own Jeet Kune Do. So, I don't consider Bruce Lee's work to represent true Wing Chun; though you can recognize a lot of what he does and the principles of JKD and Wing Chun are very similar.
Movie Review: About 2/3 of one of the best kung fu films ever made
Summary: 5 Stars
Prodigal Son is about two-thirds of one of the best kung fu movies ever made. From the film's opening up through the arson and slaughter at the traveling Chinese opera troupe encampment (sorry about that spoiler), the story (about a spoiled kung fu wannabe and his very reluctant teacher) is involving and the action is crisp. The martial arts choreography, which accurately depicts the effective Wing Chun style of kung fu, sets a new standard for the genre. However, when director Sammo Hung makes his entrance as historical kung fu figure Wong Wah Bo in mid-film, the movie veers sharply and awkwardly into comedy and then falls flat. Prodigal Son bounces back a bit in the final reel for the obligatory showdown but with the marvelous actor Lam Ching-Ying having already taken an earlier exit, the film doesn't fully recover. However, Lam's performance as the historical Wing Chun master Leung Yee Tai and his spot-on fight scenes are just enough to earn Prodigal Son a five star recommendation.
Note: I strongly recommend watching this and any other Chinese films in the original Cantonese soundtrack (with English subtitles). English language dubbing is distracting and greatly detracts from the experience of viewing a good foreign film like this one.
Movie Review: The Real Deal
Summary: 5 Stars
I gotta agree with everyone. This movie is really good, and the fights are fantastic(ranking right along side Fist of Legend for pure brutality). The fighters perform their moves fast and realistic, like they're really trying to hit each other. It's not like other movies where it seems they are being too flashy showing off moves rather than actually fighting. You'll need the slo-mo feature on your dvd to capture all the cool choreography in this one. Also, i don't think people are stressing this enough; besides Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, and Lam Ching Ying, there is another great reason to see this...the incredible Frankie Chan! He makes a great and formidable villain(although he's not quite the bad guy that one would expect...he has respect for his opponents, which makes him a very cool antagonist in the film). ANY kung fu film worth its salt has a formidable villain(otherwise, how would the hero be able to show off his skills?). Also, if you're price conscious(as in cheap) and think all of us who are giving rave reviews are exaggerating, there is a new version that costs less than $10! For that price, surely you can't pass up a chance to see what may become your next favorite kung fu film can you? Highly recommended!Movie Review: THE BASICS OF WING CHUN KUNG FU
Summary: 5 Stars
back in the early 1980's high speed action was 1st introduced and the one who took advantage of it was sammo hung who directed this epic masterpiece and yuen woo ping and others converted over as well. this movie shows the speed, rhythm, power and grace of wing chun kung with absolutely NO WIRE AND ROPE STUNTS. its stars yuen biao, sammo hung, lam ching ying, peter chan lung, frankie chan, lee hoi sang, wei pai, and james tien along with dick wei and chung fat. now lam ching ying steals the show and yuen biao anf frankie chan performed exceptionally well, but yuen biao did a poor job of faking his kung fu because its obvious he's a master at his craft haha. fox releases of hong kong action films are the best up to date. digitally remastered sound and picture with cantonese and english audio and subtitles. so pick this up it is like i said a definite epic masterpiece.Movie Review: One of the Best films of the Genre
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Sammo Hung creates a story of Chinese folklore hero Leung Chang played by Yuen Biao(phonetically= Beau).
It portrays Leung Chang as rich spoiled kid who thinks he knows how to fight. People actually get paid to get beat up by him.
He meets a peking opera star Leung Yee Tai played by Lam Chi Ying. Leung Yee tells him that he can't fight and has his butt handed to him. Leung Chang then wants to be taught how to fight by Leung Yee.
Anyone who wants to start a collection of Kung Fu DVD's should consider buying this. Prodigal Son is always in a top 10 of the genre. The Action is non-stop and the story is very good. Go check it out.