The Kung Fu Cult Master (1993)

Very well executed

Too much of everything

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Review: This movie started off promising, even though it had speedy subtitles, but it gets way to confusing. Like a lot of the Oriental movies that I have seen lately, I didn't know what clan was what and there was way too many characters. Some of the scenes were really bad, like the caped Batman character and the Buddha monk who had massive eyebrows. The action scenes also want way to far because they were flying like they had Superman powers. Once the plot started to get out of hand, I lost interest in the movie and I got fed up with reading the subtitles. Disappointing!Round-Up: When Jet Li gets his amazing powers, I was hoping that he was going to revenge his parents death like a proper hero, but the director really over complicated the storyline. I liked some of the old fighters with the big beards, but the action scenes wasn't that impressive. Although it was made in the early 90's it seemed to have an old look which made the movie seem authentic but I just couldn't keep up with who was good and who was bad. On the plus side, I liked the costumes and some of the scenery but that was about it.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: HK$10.4millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a man who learns a unique martial arts style so he can revenge the death of his parents. 2/10

This will sure make fans of grotesque children's shows like X-Men happy but it is guaranteed to be a source of disappointment if not anger to viewers familiar with the atmosphere present in Jin Yong's writing. The film's basic handicap is its effort to shrink a lengthy epic (at least partially) to a standard theatrical run. In the course of the film, you can never know what genre it strives to be in. A regular MA film, period drama or straight slapstick comedy? Sexual jokes and especially the absurd depiction of Huashan (Wah San) cult members serve nothing but to dilute the effect of the setting. The character played by Sammo Hung would fit to any grey-haired, eccentric kung fu master but when it poses to be the portrayal of a mythical Chinese sage like Zhang Sanfeng (Chang San-fung), it becomes too light even to be taken seriously. Few reasons to see this one may be the distinguished acting of Jet Li and mesmerising beauty of Sharla Cheung. In a film with a little from everything, it is doubtful that you'll find anything. Wong Jing would have done better if he kept in waters he knows well. I'd prefer a "Naked Killer" Chingmy Yau for sure.

This film is just amazing, Jet Li and Kung-Fu fans will probably get a real kick out of this film. Jet Li is out to avenge his parents death and he meets a prisoner who escaped and she saves his life. They embark on a journey and corruption is exposed in the Wu-Tang. I was 10 when I got my VHS of the film and after viewing, the story is completely jumbled which led it to being one of my all time favorite Jet Li film. This film can make a great viewing experience with friends.This film also has a great cast, Jet Li, Colin Chou, Sammo Hung, Chingmy Yau, and even a cameo appearance by Ekin Cheng (he was the monk who tries to kill Sammo Hung's character at the end of the film). Don't miss it, I found it on DVD with some other Jet Li films for $12.

I had heard that this movie was bad, but I foolishly thought "well, it has Jet Li and Chingmy Yau, how bad can it be?". Answer: so bad that it makes you want to turn it off after only the first 5 minutes. Jet Li's fighting - everyone's fighting, actually - is ridiculously overdone and overedited; Yau's charming presence and smile is the only thing this awful, unwatchable movie has going for it. The plot doesn't make a lick of sense (as even those who liked the film have admitted) and the dubbing (of the "Evil Cult" version) is incomprehensible.0 out of 4 stars.