The Man from Hong Kong (1975)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good concept, poorly executed.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

THE MAN FROM HONG KONG is another splendid 'Ozploitation' classic from British director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and one of my three favourite movies that he made (along with TURKEY SHOOT and THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA); all offer endless entertainment value. This one's a Bond knock-off that mines the-then craze for kung fu madness with the tale of a Hong Kong cop who comes to Australia on the hunt for a massive drug lord. Said drug lord is played by former Bond George Lazenby, who acts up a storm as one of the screen's biggest and most imposing heavies. The hero of the hour is none other than former Shaw man Jimmy Wang Yu, an actor who I've always enjoyed seeing on screen, and he's certainly an electrifying presence here, doing the majority of his own stunts and proving versatile and athletic throughout. The film is a straight-up action classic and limited plotting, but tons of great and bloody fights and vehicle chases that are huge fun, especially the gruelling extended fight between Wang Yu and the assassin. Supporting stars include those familiar and humorous Aussie actors Roger Ward and Hugh Keays-Byrne and a wealth of Hong Kong talent, not least Sammo Hung in a surprisingly big role. I loved it!

I guess I first saw this film in the early 90's on a local TV station. I had been a fan of Jimmy Wang Yu for a long time only really having seen one other film of his being "Blood of the Dragon" also known as "The Desperate Chase". It was one of the first movies I had ever seen period and i'll always remember it. After seeing "The Man from Hong Kong" I automatically knew that this was the best Action movie and drama that I would ever know. The soundtrack to the film is also a memorable one with a hot 70's tune for the opening. After watching this film I have searched high and low for all of Jimmy Wang Yu's other classics and having seen many of them, came to the conclusion that he is the king of kung fu. I own a few different versions of this movie and would love to someday see it get remastered for American home video and DVD or even put back into a few select theaters where it belongs. If you haven't seen it, see it, even if you have to get a multi-regional DVD player or VCR to play it, it's worth it!

The Man From Hong Kong (1975) was one of the few attempts that film makers and producers have made in trying to market Wang Yu as an international star in the same vein as Bruce Lee. Even some film markets have began calling him "The Next Bruce Lee" despite already being an action star a few years before Bruce Lee made a Kung-Fu film. Wang Yu has a certain aura about. Unlike Bruce Lee, he's characters have a cocky attitude with a streak of sadism. Whilst Bruce was always about doing the right thing, Wang Yu was about getting the job done and if he has to but quite a few people in the hospital so be it.Wang Yu stars as a Hong Kong cop who has to go to Australia to capture a wanted convict (Sammo Hung). Whilst in Oz, he comes across a real shady crime lord (George Lazenby). Realizing he's behind the actions of the convict, he sets his eyes on him and watching all of his "activites". Not liking this unwanted pest and condescending him in public, "JImmy" gets on the Boss' bad side. One night he decides to snoop around the Boss' office building. Inside he finds a few dozen karate "students". Jimmy asks them to leave but they want to take him out. A long brutal fight ensues. Despite their impressive numbers and cache of weapons, Jimmy beats they snot out of them. Re-enforcements come and after dispatching a few more guards, Jimmy is severely wound.A van load of Samaritans give Jimmy a ride to safety. One of the woman has a father who's a doctor. Jimmy spends the nest few days convalescing and romanticizing his heroine. But is heavenly bliss is cut short when the Big Boss' men find him and try to whack him. After a nasty accident, Jimmy's new lover is dead. This causes Jimmy to snap and he begins to wage a one man war on the Big Boss and whoever get's into his way. The big boss waits for Jimmy and sends all of his available guards outside to great his arrival. A ticked off Jimmy is too much for the ill prepared henchmen. Jommy makes quick work of them and races towards the top floor. The Big Boss is tired of holding back his "awesome" fighting skills and attacks Jimmy. He's no match for Jimmy who decides to have fun with him. Noticing the police and fire fighters outside, he goes into the Boss' arsenal and picks up a couple of grenades. After binding the beaten boss's hands, he shoves the grenade into his mouth and pulls the pin. The boss freaks out running around his office to and fro. Jimmy jumps out the top building before the office explodes. A sadly overlooked film. I thought it was great. Unfortunately very few people do. George Lazenby was great as the evil boss and Wang Yu was perfect as the Hong Kong inspector. They make a perfect pair of foes. This unlikely duo also appeared in A QUEEN'S RANSOM. Watch out for Toecutter from MAD MAX and Frank Thring from MAD MAX 3. Directed by "JimmY" Wang Yu and Brian Trenchard-Smith. Fight scenes were directed by Sammo Hung. This movie also features the cheesy 70's pop song SKY HIGH.Highly recommended.

It's quite a trip watching 'The Man From Hong Kong' almost thirty years after it was made. Writer/Director Brian Trenchard-Smith went on to make the Aussie trash classic 'Turkey Shoot' and the early Nicole Kidman vehicle 'The BMX Bandits' so you know it's gonna be class all the way. 1970s buffs will get a kick out of seeing the One Armed Boxer himself (Jimmy Wang Yu) battling it out with "the Aussie Bond" George Lazenby. Their scenes together are very cheesy but a lot of fun. I almost kept expecting Jim Kelly to appear on screen at any moment ('Black Samurai' anyone?) The rest of the cast includes legendary Aussie camp icon Frank Thring, martial arts veteran Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, and half the cast of the biker classic 'Stone' (Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Rebecca Gilling, Ros Spiers, Bill Hunter). Yeah, that's right - BIKER CLASSIC. Keays-Byrne is a great favourite of mine. He's probably best known as Toecutter in 'Mad Max' (in which Ward played Fifi Macaffee), but was also in 'Mad Dog Morgan' and 'Salute Of The Jugger', two movies that have pride of place in my DVD collection. This man deserves a web page NOW! 'The Man From Hong Kong' is stupid but hugely entertaining martial arts schlock, and highly recommended. And boy, isn't that theme song catchy! I haven't been able to get it out of my head since 1975!