The Victim (1980)

Good concept, poorly executed.

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

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

When Sammo Hung first put on his directing shoes in the late '70s/early '80s, it seemed he could do no wrong. Churning out a string of low-budget kung fu classics like MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER, ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND, and KNOCKABOUT, he proved to be a natural behind the camera as well as in front of it. I'm pleased to say that THE VICTIM follows in this quality tradition, sitting up there with the others as a high-ranking kung fu minor classic that proves to be endlessly rewatchable and utterly engaging.The storyline is a typical Hung mix of drama, laughs, and action, with the emphasis very much on the latter ingredient. Sammo himself stars as a bumbling martial artist who becomes fixated with Leung's stoic kung fu master. The comedy is very much in the Chinese tradition, full of slapstick and bizarre, outlandish, cross-eyed characters. One of the weirdest moments is a showdown in a bathhouse, in which Sammo beats the heck out of a bunch of butt-naked Chinese guys, which I still can't quite believe happened.Much of the plot is taken up with the relationship between Sammo and Kar Lan Leung, the latter playing a taciturn and morose hero who is only spurred into action in the last half hour of the movie. Until then, there are many light-hearted battles, full of great acrobatics and feats of agility. The kung fu is old school but it's something I'll never get tired of watching. Power punches, weapon play, high kicking and scenery smashing – this is kung fu as it should be seen, and THE VICTIM has a greater focus on action than just about any other martial arts film I can think of right now. Yuen Biao doubles in many of the fights and his athletic influence is felt as a whole, making the action scenes just about unbeatable.As with many of these movies, things become more serious (and bloody!) in the last half an hour, which leads to the expected showdown between Leung and his one-eyed brother. As you might guess, this is an extended and violent battle that seems to go on forever but which never drags – instead it's riveting for every second. The last twenty minutes of the film also has many plot twists involving Sammo's character, some of which are a little over the top, but it's par for the course in a Chinese movie like this. Minor roles for many familiar faces in Hong Kong cinema – Lam Ching-Ying, Karl Maka, Billy Chan and Wilson Tong – only add to the experience as a whole. THE VICTIM is a kung fu fan's kung fu flick, offering a ton of fights, an interesting and complex storyline and plenty of laughs along the way. The result is great viewing experience that is only just topped by the other three films mentioned at the beginning of this review.

Lightning Kung Fu, a.k.a. The Victim, has a remarkably good and clear plot (besides all its comical elements). It is structured as two parallel plot lines which converge at the end. First we have director and actor Sammo Hung's character, who's a young, arrogant kung fu adept running around challenging everybody, in order to find someone better than himself, so he can make that person his master and learn more. He goes through all the local masters, incl. a feeble Shaolin grandmaster, before finally finding Chun Yao (the excellent Ka Yan Leung), who lives with his wife in a house outside of town. Chun Yao is the best kung fu practitioner in the district, but is strangely timid and passive, and he rejects Sammo's persistent pleas to become his student. So Sammo decides to hang around his house, sleep outside, and just generally stay, much to the annoyance of Chun Yao. Soon it becomes clear that Chun Yao was adopted by the local kung fu master, and throughout his upbringing was hated by this master's biological son, Jo-Wing. On Chun Yao's wedding night, Jo-Wing tried to rape his new wife, Yoo-Yi, and this led to Chun Yao and Yoo-Yi's leaving the household to live outside town. Chun Yao can't do anything about Jo-Wing, because he is his brother, and because he accidentally blinded Jo-Wing on one eye when they were children, so he is bound by honor to respect his elder brother no matter what. That really is the theme of the story: where do the limits to honor-bound obligation go? How much humiliation and abuse can Chun Yao suffer at his step-brother's hand before it becomes too much? Quite a great deal, it turns out. Like in some of his other movies, the master fighter Ka Yan Leung plays a somewhat cowering character who takes a lot of abuse before finally, after it is in fact too late to save his loved ones, takes action. Considering how great his kung fu skills are, this is not a very satisfactory way to tell (and end) the story. However, at least there *is* a clear storyline (which is relatively rare in second-rate kung fu movies), and the quality of the fight scenes is very good, especially the climactic sequences at the end.Anyway, Sammo's character has a major role at the end also, where we find out that he wasn't quite what he pretended to be. The story has good twists and turns, and just before the end, Sammo actually succeeds in making Chun Yao his master.All in all a good movie, but with notable shortcomings. The story is good and clear, but some developments are not satisfying. I rate this movie a 7 out of 10.

I just watched this movie yesterday and it just might have been the best kung-fu movie i have ever seen!It was funny and had lots of really great choreography!! Even Jackie and Jet couldn't do any better than this.

What a fantastic film. I really wasn't expecting much, it just seemed like a run of the mill 1970s Kung-fu flicks, but boy was I wrong. Chung Yao (Leung), a martial arts expert, has long been on the run from his step-brother who he caught trying to rape his wife on their wedding night. His brother has never given up the chase however, and Chung Yao lives in constant fear that he and his wife will be murdered by the vengeful step-brother. On one of his visits to the village, Chung meets Fatty (Sammo) who is insistent on becoming his servant. Sammo's attempts at winning Chung's favour takes up the first half hour/ forty five minutes of the film, and it's hilarious. Chung has got no patience for a fool like Fatty, and he tries to dodge and lose him in a number of comical and exciting situations including a hilarious set-up at a sauna.As the film progresses, a really strong story develops, and even though it may initially seem like one of those typical kung-fu vengance movies of that period, it really isn't. There was not one dull moment throughout, and the last half an hour both fight-wise and plot-wise was just mind-blowing. You really wouldn't expect such an powerful and intelligent ending, but watch it and be bowled over. There are some excellent fight scenes between Fatty and Chung, and Sammo gets to do many of his trademark stunts with all the usual wit and energy. But the real icing on the cake has to be the closing fight between Chung Yao and his step-brother, top-notch stuff. From someone who really isn't a fan of the period Kung-Fu flicks of the 1970s/early 80s all I can say is: See it now. 10/10