Fist of Fury

Rating:
Summary: fist of fury
Review: It;s supposed to be an awesome TV series about Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" ( "Chinese Connection" in US) played by Donnie Yen. I saw the whole series on TV. But cramping it into one 2 hour movie?!! it's not easy at all. The story line is still good (of course it's still way far if you compare it with the real 27 series/ episodes) but you can catch the resumed story. Fighting scenes are awesome but I agreed that they fastforward it as about 2-3XX on your DVD. Donnie is fast but not that fast. He was a world Tai Chi Champion. I love him in certain way he's better than Bruce Lee, in other ways, Bruce Lee is much better than him, so he just did that movie coz he appreciate Bruce Lee and Chen Jen legend. It's a tribute to Bruce Lee. Not trying to make a copycat at all. So just enjoy it as the movie itself, don't compare it to Fist of Fury by Bruce Lee (Chinese Connection), Jackie Chan (The New Fist of Fury) or Jet Lee (Fist of Legend). They all have their own positive and negative side.
I just dissapointed with the back cover of this DVD, the show the scenes which is not in the DVD at all. They are the Korean kickboxer and Chen Jen's senior who is jealous to Chen Jen. That was two great fighting scenes in this movie but the just hook me up on the back cover, I didn't find it at all in the movie.
Overall if you don't see the TV series, don't judge Donnie Yen and this movie, this is a pretty good movie. Thanks.

Rating:
Summary: not really a movie....
Review: After a long wait, I finally had the chance to watch another remake of Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" (aka Chinese Connection) this time starring a worthy Donnie Yen. However, I was a bit disappointed understandably that this 25+ episode TV show being compiled into a 2 hour movie. If you did not see the original movie or Jet Li's "Fist of Legend", you'll be asking yourself many questions such as "huh?" and "who is this guy?" throughout the movie. Character development is nonexistent and there are tons of missing plotlines. The fighting is obviously sped up and seems more comical than realistic. I'm not sure why they did this, but the fight scenes at regular speed would've been just fine. The "Enter the Dragon" opening theme music gets annoying since they keep playing it before or during a fight scene.

I hope Tai Seng or another company will release the entire 25 episode series on DVD to fill in the plot holes.

3 stars for Donnie Yen doing his best Bruce Lee impersonation.

Rating:
Summary: Condensing the TV series into a movie was a bad idea
Review: Cramming a 25+ episodes TV series into a short movie doesn't give this movie the credit it deserves. Donnie Yen is a great fighter and is currently one of the best fighters alive today. The movie would have been much better had he used his own style, especially since his martial arts skills do rival those of Bruce Lee's. But all-in-all, if you want to watch this movie, try to find copies of the long version to do this movie justice.

Rating:
Summary: An okay remake, but be forewarned...
Review: Donnie Yen has great on-screen presence and acting ability, but his portrayal of Bruce Lee falls short. He has the ha-yah and stance down, but the fight scenes fall way short of the original movie. All of the fight scenes are sped up and the ones with Donnie tend to look weak because he's trying too hard to redo the scenes that Bruce Lee did. The fights end up being overdone or too weak. If the fights hadn't been sped up the film would have been way better. Donnie tries to be Bruce Lee as best he can, but he ends up being Donnie Yen again after the brief tell-tale Bruce Lee stare. I would've been much happier if they had given Donnie his own unique fighting style and personality instead of trying to pay homage to Bruce Lee (much like Fist of Legend did). Overall, the fighting scenes will leave you disgusted because they seem like cheap Bruce Lee ripoffs.

Rating:
Summary: Condensing the TV series into a movie was a bad idea
Review: I know stalwart Bruce Lee fans won't like this movie, and after discovering that this is, in fact, a 25+ TV episode series crammed into a 4-hour movie, it explains a lot. I'll be looking for the VCDs if I can find the entire series. Donnie Yen is a bloody kung fu god.

Criticize the story. It's long and drawn out. But if it's a TV series, it makes more sense. The theme-- revenge and more revenge-- goes on and on. The story in Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge prequels the story in Bruce Lee's classic film, and tries to pay homage to Bruce Lee's memory. Thematically, it does this, discussing things like freedom from rigid forms and stances. The movie as presented on this DVD/Video sets up the story that we are more familiar with-- death of master, Japanese incursion on Chinese turf, etc..

I'm still trying to figure out if Fist of Fury and Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge are actually separate DVDs here in the States. My take is that Fist of Fury (no Revenge) is the actual remake of Bruce Lee's film. I haven't seen that yet.

Martial arts-wise, what can you say? Numerous, long fight scenes. Donnie Yen is fabulous. The supporting cast is very strong kung fu-wise. The choreography is wonderful. The action is fast, sped up a little, but not so much that you can't follow it-- as in some HK-based kung fu films. And I suspect they didn't speed it up THAT much. Donnie is just plain fast.

Some reviewers claim the fight scenes aren't realistic. Hello? The movie isn't about realism. Few kung fu movies are. Heck, Bruce Lee's movies aren't about realism. It's about movies-- showmanship. But drink up the kung fu. It's gorgeous to behold. If you actually study kung fu, watching practically any "classic" kung fu movie is a treat-- you understand why they emphasize the flying leaps, or how a kick sends the opponent skidding backwards along his feet, without losing balance. It's all cinematic interpretations of ideal principles. Donnie Yen is just plain fabulous, and the other principals are premiere kung fu masters, too. I was salivating and jealous over their skill.

I don't expect these types of movies to be awesome storywise. You want that, you can compromise your kung fu standards with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero gives both story and kung fu. This was great for seeing Donnie and Co. strut their stuff.

Nobody can be Bruce Lee. Some of the reviewers critiqued Donnie for trying. Give me a break. Donnie is BETTER in terms of kung fu. Bruce had his own style, his own way of doing things. Bruce couldn't do what Donnie does. Donnie can't quite be Bruce. In fact, I liked less the fight scenes where Donnie starts bouncing around like a boxer, and trying to imitate Bruce's more boxing-based JKD. But I loved Donnie just plain kung fu fighting. Give me a DVD with Donnie just doing forms, and I'd be in heaven.

Rating:
Summary: Donnie Yen is out of this world
Review: I know stalwart Bruce Lee fans won't like this movie, and after discovering that this is, in fact, a 25+ TV episode series crammed into a 4-hour movie, it explains a lot. I'll be looking for the VCDs if I can find the entire series. Donnie Yen is a bloody kung fu god.

Criticize the story. It's long and drawn out. But if it's a TV series, it makes more sense. The theme-- revenge and more revenge-- goes on and on. The story in Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge prequels the story in Bruce Lee's classic film, and tries to pay homage to Bruce Lee's memory. Thematically, it does this, discussing things like freedom from rigid forms and stances. The movie as presented on this DVD/Video sets up the story that we are more familiar with-- death of master, Japanese incursion on Chinese turf, etc..

I'm still trying to figure out if Fist of Fury and Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge are actually separate DVDs here in the States. My take is that Fist of Fury (no Revenge) is the actual remake of Bruce Lee's film. I haven't seen that yet.

Martial arts-wise, what can you say? Numerous, long fight scenes. Donnie Yen is fabulous. The supporting cast is very strong kung fu-wise. The choreography is wonderful. The action is fast, sped up a little, but not so much that you can't follow it-- as in some HK-based kung fu films. And I suspect they didn't speed it up THAT much. Donnie is just plain fast.

Some reviewers claim the fight scenes aren't realistic. Hello? The movie isn't about realism. Few kung fu movies are. Heck, Bruce Lee's movies aren't about realism. It's about movies-- showmanship. But drink up the kung fu. It's gorgeous to behold. If you actually study kung fu, watching practically any "classic" kung fu movie is a treat-- you understand why they emphasize the flying leaps, or how a kick sends the opponent skidding backwards along his feet, without losing balance. It's all cinematic interpretations of ideal principles. Donnie Yen is just plain fabulous, and the other principals are premiere kung fu masters, too. I was salivating and jealous over their skill.

I don't expect these types of movies to be awesome storywise. You want that, you can compromise your kung fu standards with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero gives both story and kung fu. This was great for seeing Donnie and Co. strut their stuff.

Nobody can be Bruce Lee. Some of the reviewers critiqued Donnie for trying. Give me a break. Donnie is BETTER in terms of kung fu. Bruce had his own style, his own way of doing things. Bruce couldn't do what Donnie does. Donnie can't quite be Bruce. In fact, I liked less the fight scenes where Donnie starts bouncing around like a boxer, and trying to imitate Bruce's more boxing-based JKD. But I loved Donnie just plain kung fu fighting. Give me a DVD with Donnie just doing forms, and I'd be in heaven.

Rating:
Summary: I Am So Sorry Donnie Yen!
Review: I think Donnie Yen is a kung fu god but this movie falls so far short it is a huge disappointment. The movie is based on a television series in China and the story is actually not that bad, although it seems a little crammed together. The fighting is great, full of style and power, but what ruins it and the rest of the movie is the horrible production of the film. I think every fight scene is sped up to the point of ridiculous(I am NOT exaggerating at all). It is as if you had your DVD player on 4x fast foward. What could have been an awesome fight scene when Donnie Yen wields some nunchuks and works a room full of bad guys is ruined by this! Also, if you watch it dubbed in english, when Yen fights he never shuts up! He will literally yell Woo, woo, woo, woo... for 60 straight seconds! The most evident flaw is the type of film that is used. I am not joking, it is the same film quality as a soap opera. It doesn't even look like a movie! It looks like it belongs on TV during the day when only your mom is home to watch her stories!
(and it is full screen)

If you can get passed all I just said it could be a really cool flick. Too bad I can't and you probably can't either.

Rating:
Summary: There can only be one original
Review: My goodness!! I expected more than this from Donnie Yen after seeing 'Iron Monkey' part 1. Just too much camera tricks to enjoy the beauty of martial art physical skill. In closing,you cant redo the famous painting "Sun Flowers" buy Van Gough,and expect to resell it as the original.I know its harsh,but there is only one 'Fist of Fury" ,also done by an original master in his field.

Rating:
Summary: 28 T.V. Episodes squeezed into a 2 hour DVD?!
Review: WHY????!!! If you have seen the entire ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC 28 episode T.V. Series then there is absolutely no reason to purchase this DVD. If you haven't seen the entire series and you don't feel like spending [money] to purchase it(depending on where you buy it), then definitely buy this DVD just for the amazing Donnie Yen who respectfully pays homage to Bruce Lee and pulls off some pretty spectacular fight scenes. You will also probally be annoyed that any semblance of a plot that originally took 28 episodes to unfold is quite noticeably absent. The score is ripped from Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story and there is a piece that begins with the first few bars from the Enter the Dragon theme song. Over all 28 hours worth of footage sliced, diced and crammed into 120 minutes. If you are a serious martial arts film fan then purchase the entire VCD set. Most DVD players also play VCD's. It is more than well worth it.