Kung Fu Master

Rating:
Summary: =(
Review: Kung fu master was a favorite of mine in the martial arts genre due to its solid story and the main character being portrayed by Donnie Yen (Great actor). However, Revenge of the Kung fu master (the second half of Kung Fu Master) is an utter mess. The pacing of the story is absolutely out of control, important key events are not delved into far enough, such as the survival of certain key characters, and a lot of areas made honestly no sense whatsoever.

I have a strong feeling that a lot of the scenes were cut since the story didn't exactly flow very smoothly at all. It's like getting from one side of a canyon to the other without having to deal with the gapping hole that stands inbetween.

Honestly, I would only recommend this dvd package for those who want a conclusion (note: not a very good one) to Kung Fu Master.

Rating:
Summary: =(
Review: Kung fu master was a favorite of mine in the martial arts genre due to its solid story and the main character being portrayed by Donnie Yen (Great actor). However, Revenge of the Kung fu master (the second half of Kung Fu Master) is an utter mess. The pacing of the story is absolutely out of control, important key events are not delved into far enough, such as the survival of certain key characters, and a lot of areas made honestly no sense whatsoever.

I have a strong feeling that a lot of the scenes were cut since the story didn't exactly flow very smoothly at all. It's like getting from one side of a canyon to the other without having to deal with the gapping hole that stands inbetween.

Honestly, I would only recommend this dvd package for those who want a conclusion (note: not a very good one) to Kung Fu Master.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Taste of Asian TV KUNG-FU, Audio Comm Awesome!
Review: Martial arts movies have gone through a number of recyclings, and The Kung-Fu Master and Revenge of the Kung-Fu Master are not overly unique or different than the films of previous generations, but have encapsulated and paid homage to a generation of martial arts filmmakers. The superb cast and abovepar martial arts sequences have come together in a fairly interesting and exciting tale of martial arts involving the Han Ming rebels versus the infamous Manchurian Chings. If this is your first foray into martial arts films, best to start elsewhere, if you have seen martial arts films and crave something different, then the series is well worth watching. Keep in mind, the series is based on Asian Television programming and will have the look and feel of TV, but the production value, acting, and scenes are on par with the best of Asian films. What makes the series so endearing is the overall length and character development of famous martial artists seen in past great kung-fu films such as Wing Chun, Fong Sai Yuk, Master Killer, New Legend of Shaolin, Executioners of Death, and many more films, ie Shaw Brothers. From step one you follow the amazing Donnie Yen as title character Hung Hei-Kwun (Hung Hsing Kwan) from his humble beginnings to the great destruction of Shaolin Temple, along the way you meet a cast of characters, all as interesting and talented as Donnie Yen. Considering the series is edited from an entire season into a few hours on each DVD and still manages to tell a cohesive story is truly amazing. In addition, both DVDs offer dubbed or subtitled soundtracks, I prefer sub but the dubbed version is pretty decent, and the audio commentary from both films merits a 5 star rating automatically. The foremost experts on Asian films and Donnie Yen (1st one only) give insight, humor, and history into the making of the series. This is a true must own for any martial arts film fan and the cost is the same as one mediocre Hollywood action film. Enjoy and keep watching.
Yours truly, John Dae Min

Rating:
Summary: Conclusion to the Kung Fu Mater
Review: These two DVSs contain the second part of the story of Kung Fu Master, bringing the original 30-episodes TV show from China to a conclusion. The series on DVD (both Kung Fu Master and the Revenge of the Kung Fu Master) has been re-edited to bring coherent storylines and as well as to cut out some lengthy conversation scenes from the original series. I thought the editing wasn't too bad considering how much they had to cut out. They've edited these episodes to flow well and to create a faster-paced movie out of the series. There are plenty of action, great fight scenes, good character development and interesting story line. I've always enjoyed watching Donnie Yen and I though he did really well here. There are several audio tracks, presented in DDigital 5.1 and DTS in Cantonese, an English track in DDigital 5.1 for those who don't like to read subtitles (I think subtitles are better though), and commentary by Bey Logan a kung fu expert/D.Yen's friend. There's a 12 minute "Making Of" feature. All in all, if you are a Kung Fu fan, this would be something you'd want to check out. We are fortunate to experience a Chinese TV Kung Fu saga edited for us.