Siu ngo gong woo: Dung Fong Bat Bai (1992) Reviews

• Ching Siu Tung, Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, and more exploding bodies than you've ever seen.

  iaido2000-02-25

  Swordsman 2 begins with Brigitte Lin as Asia the Invincible flying through the air and, with greater ease than it takes most people to put on their socks, ripping off a rivals head. That pretty much sets the fast and furious tone of one great adventure. In the first thirty minutes of Swordsman 2, we see characters flying, running across the top of wheat stalks, horses and people getting ripped in two, scorpion fu, snake charming fu, and ninjas that glide across the air on big shurikens as they battle. Ching Siu Tung's wacked out imagination is in top form as he packs every fight with his signature inventiveness. Swordsman 2, Executioners, Chinese Ghost Story 1&2, ect. are jammed with delightful trickery and steady pacing that wont leave the viewer bored. Brigitte Lin plays one of kung fu filmdoms greatest villains, Asia the Invincible, who gave up his manhood in order to become the most powerful figure in the martial world. In the hands of Asia, a needle and thread, or even a drop of water, becomes a deadly weapon. Jet Li is charming as the jovial, drunk, womanizing Ling. The rest of the cast is great too, but it is Lin and Jet, who command the film. Easygoing Ling and his Wa Mt. students rendezvous with their friends in the Sun Moon Sect (friends with names like Black Tooth, Smart Ass, and Scum Bag), but find that the clan has been overtaken by Asia's Highlander Clan, witch is aided by some nasty Japanese ninjas. Ling and his cohorts help their friends, though Ling is largely indifferent and would sooner give up the martial world for a life at the bottom of a jug of wine. Ling encounters Asia, but through a combination of his drunken state ,hormones, and Asia's feminine features, believes Asia to be a woman. Asia uses this to his/her advantage and, eventually, Ling is captured, conveniently put in the dungeon where the Sects leader, Master Wu, has been imprisoned. Ling and Master Wu bust out, and Master Wu's powers, that have been diminished because he has been skewered and hung on two burly hooks, are regained through his Essence-Absorbing Stance. Reunited with his clan and using the hooks that imprisoned him as weapons, Master Wu is bent on revenge against Asia. Ling is, yet again, taken away and tricked by Asia, and returns to the Sect only to find almost everyone killed. Master Wu, Ling, and the three remaining members face off against Asia, but they find a hollow victory because Master Wu has gone insane and become just as drunk with power as Asia. Ching Siu Tungs world is a wild one. Seems like everyone can fly. Swordsman who split trees in half, spin their swords like blender blades, etc. The flick of a finger can cause instant paralysis. Characters rip up the ground and use it as a shield, or summon dust clouds and blow thier opponents away. Swords, whips, beads of water, and even glances can quickly tear an adversary to pieces. And, it all comes about with natural ease. It is pure fantasy, never forced, and it is why his world of action can be so much more interesting than any other. Traditional kung fu is great too, but every now and then, its nice to see some outlandish, supernatural fu that will have your jaw dropping to floor.

• deep, moving, exciting...

  rrrbloom20002008-09-22

  many of the previous comments have cited this film as one the best in the martial arts genre. i think there's a little more to it. this film articulates one of the central philosophical questions of the Chinese tradition: withdrawal from the world vs. facing the world. it is a theme featured in all of china's great philosophers, Lao-Tze, Zhuang-Tze, Confucious, and as well as its great poets and artists. it is also, arguably, the central question of Chinese Buddhism. recall that the film premises on the withdrawal of Jet Li's character and his clan from the world of martial arts (the uniquely Chinese, "Jiang-Hu"). they were tired of the constant battles and blood-shed. "Ox-back Mountain" was, for them, the idyllic place to escape the bitterness of the world. the events of the movie--Jet Li's involvement with Ying Ying, the rescue of Ren Woxing, the appearance of Dong Fang Bu Bai, the brutal slaughter of the Hua Mountain clan--all serve to problem's the possibility of exiting the world. Linghu Chong's (Jet Li's) conversation with Ren Woxing captures this conflict in these immortal words (my translation): "you (Linghu Chong) know so little about the world. when there is people, there is hatred and resentment, and when there is hatred and resentment, there is Jiang Hu (the world)." this is a pessimistic view of the world, but one that rightly argues for the importance of resentment in the order of the world. moreover, unlike most films that fall into this trap, the Swordsman II does not posit love as a force of reconstitution and re-ordering; love only complicates things...

• Best of genre

  inanna52000-04-13

  If you only see one movie from Hong Kong, look no further. This one packed the best of all that kept HK's movie industry at the forefront of the action/ martial arts genre. The androgynous leading role also revived veteran actress Brigitte Lin's career, launching scores of other copycats casting her in such roles. She completely overshadows everyone else, despite the star-studded cast (incl Jet Li). The action sequences were stunning and kudos also for the meticulous costume-design and music score - a classic!

• A classic ruined by BAD translation/subtitles

  frAnkzOnE2004-04-29

  Asia the invincible? what the hell's that? the guy's surname is Dong Fang, which is a normal chinese surname, means "the east", he call himeself Bu Bai, coz he has not, did not, and thinks would not be defeated, so it means The Undefeated. I know translation is a tough job, no matter how good you think you did, you still cannot transform all the meanings, undertones, indications in a culture sense. But not like this one! This is a very beautiful movie, all the lines, the scenes, the costumes, all very authenticly chinese, and stunning. And the poems recited in the movie, and the haunting song...hate to see all of these been ruined by the rediculous translantion. You know, many things are just not meant to be translated, many words in chinese, they just can't be properly translated, such as "tian xia","qian kun", they are somewhat close to the meaning of "the world", but never is in the same sense of it. So, for those who deminished the plot of the movie, I just wana tell you, it was based on one of the best selling Wuxia books in China, and the lines, they are very beautiful, in chinese. And for those who talked about the wire works, hello, this is a fantasy movie, and even with the wiring, have you ever seen body movements as beautiful as this in other movies, say the matrix? Wiring doesn't neccesarily mean it's not googd KongFu, This movie has some of the best fight scenes I have ever seen, wiring is only a basic requirement for action fantasies, but the thing they did with the fight scene, that's art, man. You have to be a KongFu master and an artist at the same time to be able to design, to creat such beautiful things. In short, advice for people from America, Europe, Africa...no-china£¬If you wana have a better understanding of the movie, READ THE BOOK FIRST, and before that, LEARN SOME CHINESE! :)

• The best wuxia film of the 90's.

  mjer1232003-10-04

  This is no doubt the best wuxia film of the 90's. The costume, fight scenes and compelling cast all add up to an excellent and engrossing film. The story revolves around swordsman Ling Wu Chung (Jet Li) who on his way to retreat from the martial arts world, having to rescue a kidnapped leader of the Sun Moon Sect and confronting the powerful Asia, a person who have master an invincible form of martial arts, but at a terrible price. Yes, the plot is complex but is far more interesting than the simple and cliche "you kill my master, I want revenge" plot we get from some other martial arts films. The brillant colours and thrilling action scenes are also well-made and serves to grab and hold the attention of the audience until the very end of the film. All in all, a superb film. Those who thought "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was the best martial arts will have to see this film.