Cast Member: Jimmy Wang Yu

Not the best star or director have done but an entertaining slice of super cool 70s style nevertheless and certainly entertaining once Wang Yu erupts into action. 

Jimmy Wang Yu, Angelo Mao, a very young Bolo Yeung, and one-time Bond, George Lazenby teamed up for this Golden Harvest-produced attempt at cracking the international market.

‘Beach of the War Gods’ is a fantastic vehicle for its star and his supporting cast to showcase heaps of wickedly staged old-school fight action.

‘Fantasy Mission Force’ is a ridiculous film, but if you think you’ve seen every curio that Eastern cinema has to offer, this is worth watching.

For a low budget, rushed production, the emotional content of the film and the quality of its cast save the day providing us with a kung fu influenced ‘Shawshank Redemption’ wannabe.

It’s hard not to be drawn into director Wang Yu’s eccentric world with its almost Python-esque techniques and fights.

A few moments of Wang Yu madness creep into the film to enliven things, but this is mostly a hard slog to get through.

‘One-Armed Boxer’, while a little rough around the edges, has lost none of its crazy energy and still packs an almighty bloody punch with its almost non-stop 90 minutes of martial arts fight action.

Without any argument, ‘One-Armed Swordsman’ is therefore a quality swordplay film that has much to offer to viewers today.

At the end of the day, ‘Temple Of The Red Lotus’ works as more of a historical artefact than a genuinely exciting swordplay feature.

Although dated, ‘The Chinese Boxer’ is historically fascinating and provides an interesting point of reference to the many films that would follow.

While certainly mounted on a sometimes epic scale and beautifully shot, Lau’s film disappoints due to rushed character motivations, unconvincing drama and an excessive use of slow motion.