Magnificent Warriors (1987)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

When it got announced on ICM that a Hong Kong viewing challenge was to take place,the first thing that came to mind was to catch a non-Hollywood Action movie with Michelle Yeoh. Finding the outline to this title very tempting,I got set to welcome the dynamite fighters.View on the film:Lighting the fuse in the era when all the guys were firing with all guns blazing, director David Chung enthusiastic attitude towards doing a different type of Action flick sparkles across the swift run-time. Lassoing into the 1930's with a war against imperialist Japan, Chung makes the action scenes stand out by putting modern fire power aside for historical weapons, whose weight in gun fights and sword play gives the fights a heaviness, neatly balanced by a rip-roaring Adventure atmosphere of slow-motion Kung-Fu moves and colourful explosions.Fighting into the small village to save it from the boo-hiss Japanese baddies, the screenplay by Kan-Cheung Tsang perfectly compliments Chung style with the serial like mix of spies, break-neck action set-pieces,goofy comedy spots,and lead hero Ming-Ming given quiet moments that allow her family life to be seen, before Tsang throws them all into the next danger on the adventure. Charging into battle, the eye-catching Michelle Yeoh gives an extremely charismatic performance as Ming-Ming. Kicking the action with a graceful ease, Yeoh brings a real sense of excitement to Ming-Ming diving into a dangerous adventure, and lighting the fuse of the dynamite fighters.

Having really enjoyed Michelle Yeoh in her breakthrough film POLICE ASSASSINS, I was eager to watch this adventure film which by all accounts starred the actress in an Indiana Jones-type role. There were no real surprises in this film, which is a somewhat shallow action-adventure with a lot of laughs and a lot of explosions. The film is much-lauded for an early battle in which Yeoh uses her whip to take on various thugs, thus inspiring Jackie Chan in SHANGHAI NOON, and it's highly amusing stuff.The film is technically proficient, and there's no faulting the slick choreography of the many battles. The budget is a bit less than you'd imagine, and events often seem closed in, as you'd expect in a low budget cheapie. Director David Chung also did the excellent POLICE ASSASSINS but he seems to be slightly lacking in inspiration here; one of the low lights is an early dog fight which seems to go on for an age without anything happening, and when they kept repeating the same bit of supposedly-stirring music over and over AND OVER again, I was ready to tear my hair out. Characterisation is nil; Yeoh is the tough heroine, yes, but we never find out any of her motivations and she seems like a computer game character.There are some mildly annoying supporting characters in the film, including those played by Cindy Lau and Lo Lowell; they grate from the instant they appear. The only person who comes out of it with any kudos is Richard Ng, in a bumped-up role as the second lead; while he delivers the same type of slapstick buffoonery that we have come to expect from his acting roles, he's given plenty of screen time, including heroics in the battles, and he's as great as ever. It's left to the supporting likes of Hwang Jang Lee, Lo Meng, and Fung Hark-On to really get into their characters of devious Japanese bad guys; these guys – who I consider to be among the "unsung heroes" of '80s Hong Kong cinema - are as great as ever.The film takes a turn for the great about an hour in, turning into a running fight between the heroes and villagers against the might of the Japanese army. The martial arts bouts are crisply done and with plenty of great stunts, usually involving people getting thrown through scenery. There are some nice battles in burning buildings and things really go crazy for ten minutes or so as director Chung lets his hair down and has some fun. Things close with a nice extended battle scene as the walled village faces the Japanese army. Although it looks fairly cheap – reminding me of similar scenes in the no-budget Filipino film, DUNE WARRIORS – there are lots of shoot-outs, explosions, and various cool stunts/moments of slow motion as the bad guys get their just desserts and the heroes triumph. Hardly a surprise, but a nice rousing climax to finish off the film, ending it on a strong note.

Michelle Yeoh might not be a trained martial artist, but with her background as a dancer, lots of meticulous choreography and more than a little help from Hong Kong cinema magic, she is suitably convincing as a kick-ass kung fu cutie. Here, she plays a female Indiana Jones-style character, a daring aviator and mercenary who, with help from a secret agent (Derek Yee) and a wacky con-man/wanderer (Richard Ng), helps the people of a small Northern Chinese town to fight the evil Japanese invaders who want to build a poison gas plant on their land.As is often the case with '80s Hong Kong actioners, Magnificent Warriors suffers from a touch too much screwball silliness (mostly courtesy of comic relief Ng) and some lightweight flirting between Yeoh and Yee, all of which would be excusable if the action, of which there is plenty, was sufficiently exciting. Unfortunately, the countless explosive set-pieces and fast-moving fight scenes never really set the pulse pounding: there's lots of crash, bang and wallop, but very little that sticks in the mind as jaw-dropping, making it a frustratingly mediocre adventure overall.

I found the blend of action and humor in this film to be very entertaining. Michelle Yeoh does some incredible stunts, including imaginative use of rope in one sequence. Richard Ng does some pretty slick moves too. Also the actress who plays Chin-Chin does some impressive fighting. If you like Michelle Yeoh films, or even Jackie Chan films, this really should be right up your alley. Incredible stunts, and very funny dialog, this was a real treat to watch.