FIST OF DEATH
- Year: 1982
- AKA: Jackie and Bruce to the Rescue, Jackie Vs. Bruce to the Rescue
- Starring: Tong Lung(Kim Tai Chung) as "Bruce" and Jackie Chang as "Jackie"
- Directed by: Wu Chia Chun
- Running time: 90 minutes
Most kung fu movies have the most basic of plots, some dude kills some other dude, so this other dude sets out for revenge. FIST OF DEATH has a complicated story that really doesn't go anywhere and at the end nothing is really wrapped up except for that some bad dude is dead. Then again that's pretty much good enough for me.
The movie starts off with two rival schools, the Ching Wu school and the YMCA...wait what?! Yeah, the YMCA, except everyone in the movie calls it the YMCA, but it's not. All the students wear grey sweatsuits that are turned inside out and on the back of the shirts it says "YMGA". But I thought they were the YMCA? Some guy is attacked by the Ching Wu looking for some kind of document and when he doesn't show up the master of the Ching Wu school is killed by the YMCA. This is fairly obvious as the knife stuck in his chest says "YMCA"...er I mean "YMGA" on it. Bruce returns to Ching Wu to find that his master has been killed and vows to get to the bottom of this. Meanwhile, Chin Ling (aka Jackie) is a rickshaw driver who saves a hot chick from some goons, so she repays him by buying him some shiny new clothes, getting him the worst haircut ever, and letting him move in with her. Turns out the chick is really playing for the bad guys, but falls in love with Jackie cuz he's so cute (I mean fugly!) and turns out Jackie is cop...I think. Anyway, some guy turns out to be the big bad guy behind everything and when he appears during the climax (from the bathroom?!) Bruce and Jackie have no choice but to kill him...I think.
As I said stuff in the movie happens for no reason and makes absolutely no sense at all. As the movie opens it sets up the Ching Wu/YMCA rivalry, but half way through the movie that whole plot thread is tossed out the window and the YMCA and only mentioned once the rest of the movie. There is talk of secret agents and characters speak in weird code phrases and use gang sign to identify each other. During the final fight the bad guy starts disappearing and reappearing and buries into the ground and burrows around to attack Bruce and Jackie from underground. The final frame of the movie has Bruce hit the bad guy in the gut and then it's a freeze frame with a crunching sound. I guess Bruce and Jackie won, who knows. They are all after this document which has a list of YMCA members and a treasure map. I didn't know the YMCA was a secret club, I mean anyone can join unless they are taking about the YMGA and that's something completely different. Also, some other stuff happens.
Despite having a messed up storyline, the movie wasn't THAT bad. I only glanced at the running time a couple times during the movie. The fights are okay, Jacky Chang and Tong Long look the best, so their scenes are the most entertaining. Jackie even does some drunken boxing. In addition to the action there is also action of another sort, boobies! Unfortunately, they are in a "sex" scene that includes Jackie "Fugly" Chang.
The main selling point of the movie is Tong Lung. During the opening credits there is even blurb about how the movie stars Tong Lung who finished THE GAME OF DEATH after Bruce Lee died. Wow, I'm sold! Everyone run out and get this cuz that guy who pretened to Bruce Lee and cheapened his memory stars in this movie! The credits list Jackie Chang as "Jackie", yet his character is named Ching Ling. One scene has him lying in bed with a chick to refers to him as Rick! There is no mention of "Jackie" in the movie except in the opening credits.
Reviewed by Keith
Bruceploitation
