Ninja In The Dragon's Den (1982)

Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is a great retread of the old and use Chinese vs Japanese story lines with incredible Action choerography and skill from the leads. I had never seen Hiroyuki Sanada in a film except The last samurai (he was the one who kept beating up tom cruise), and was very very impressed with his flexibility and grace, he was genuinely believable as a ninja. Conan lee did fine but the real star is Corey Yuen or Yuen Kwai, his masterful direction especially in the action was incredible and was definitely a showcase for his talent. Overall a great film and incredible action featuring a great supporting role from Hwang Jang lee.

This movie has everything and a half. Ridiculous stilt fighting, ninjas galore, the 1/2 sentence plot, God skills, demon possession, the hero fighting the latter half of the movie in a pink outfit, and female anatomy saving the day. Clearly a classic.Actually, it was a definite classic till the middle-end, where it dragged a bit, but the ending picked it back up and saved it.I recognize the guy from Azumi, but the rest of them were new to me. The fighting and stunts were sufficiently impressive - particularly when they were jumping around and fighting each other standing on 5 foot stilts. Now that's talent.The kung fu is fun, the actors are very skilled, and the whole thing is entertaining. If you're into kung fu movies, particularly if plot is unimportant to you, you'll enjoy this one.

This is a martial arts classic anyway you put it. I really liked the movie. The action was fast paced, and you can tell the hong kong style was in effect. Hollywood will never be able to create (or recreate) hong kong action EVER EVER EVER (Especially with all this Matrix crap going around)!!! Corey Yuen did a very good job of choreographing and directing of this movie. I knew that Hiroyuki Sanada (Henry Sanada) was a talented martial artist, but man he really is impressive in this. After watching Royal Warriors with Michelle Yeoh, this guy is very good, damn good!!! I'm glad he broke through with "Twlight Samurai" and "The Last Samurai" (Not saying that he always was doing good). Hollywood needs to recognize him. But, back to the movie at hand. The chemistry between Conan Lee and Henry was amazing. Henry used he training to his best ability and was flipping all over the place. Conan did a highly impressive job too. I definitely liked the way Hwang Jang Lee was brought in the movie as the villain. He is also a very talented martial artist. In my opinion, he is the king of the leg fighters. HYPHY!!! The movie was kind of slow in the beginning, but redeemed itself towards the middle and end.My Overall Judgement: 2.5/4 stars

This is the sort of Kung Fu movie I love, one with lots of action, plenty of daft, broad, but enjoyable humour, a cracking pace, and a storyline that although it isn't groundbreaking, does hold your interest and give the film a bit of structure. Its also great to see a mix of fighting styles and plenty of weapon use mixed in with the kung fu. This is low budget (although high at the time for a Hong Kong film) with dodgy music and sound effects, and some dodgy lines (although that might have been through translation), but it doesn't take itself too seriously until near the end, so you can't help but love it.It really hasn't been given enough respect this film, hardly anyone seems to have seen it on any of the Kung Fu fan sites. It is readily available on the Hong Kong Legends series in remastered widescreen format with plenty of extras though, so I recommend anyone who loves old style Martial Arts films (especially ones like Drunken Master) to buy this now!