The Martial Club

Great hidden gem by the Liu brothers! The lion dance at the beginning is excellent, and all the fights are technically masterful and exciting while remaining relatively non-violent (nobody dies). The end fight in the zig-zag alley is among the best I've ever seen -- and I've seen a lot!

Beautiful piece from Lau Kar-leung and Ni Kuang at their very prime, with my favorite Kung Fu duo - the always riveting Gordon Liu and Kara Hui, and an awesome Wang Lung-Wei as a villain of sorts. While the premise of competing schools is admittedly hackneyed, Ni's script avoids the usual bloody revenge fare. Injuries abound but nobody dies, and the climax includes some incredible non-battle choreography as well as a classic final fight.

This can be read as a coming-of-age movie where teenagers get initiated to the customs and norms of their traditional society. Kung Fu, which literally means techne in the Greek culture, seems to go hand-in-hand with the particular nomos of a society. Kung Fu is good as long as it does not transgress the law of the city. That's why the two boys who constantly show off are punished by the elders. Again, a masterful final fight, but the story is too shallow and childish to make this more.

okay movie