Lung hing foo dai (1986) Reviews

• What happened to the original?

  tony-clifton2003-04-19

  First let me say there are two English dubbed versions of this movie. The first version is a faithful translation of the original complete with all the original scenes. Overall the first version is actually more exciting because of the music - the music makes all the actions scenes more heart-pounding and is an excellent example of how sound can affect a scene. I found the current US-released English version less of an adrenaline rush because of the droll music in the action scenes. Furthermore, I found the original English-dubbed version much funnier. There's something charming about the original text - Jackie is actually more arrogant and aloof in the original version, and it helped create a more exciting "mercenary" feel to Jackie's character, rather than the more confusing humanitarian/treasure-hunter feel to the new version. Jackie treats Alan Tam's character more harshly and with some funny sarcastic comebacks. In the new version, the witty come-backs were replaced with patient words! Lastly, the most notable change in the new version is the entire "Lorelei wants the armour in the house" scene is entirely missing. In the original version, May goes to Jackie's room to look at his baby pictures (Jackie asks May to look at them to get out of the situation where he and Alan were caught in May's bedroom), and both of them are shocked to see Lorelei on his bed. May storms off in disgust. Meanwhile Lorelei goes into the bathroom to prepare the serum, and Alan walks into the bedroom. Jackie has to cover Lorelei and lies to Alan that it is May that is in the bathroom. Both Jackie and Alan go out into the hall and bump into May, and Jackie has to cover his tracks by pretending that Alan knows that Lorelei is in Jackie's bedroom. Naturally May responds with disgust that "they are such good friends that they share everything, even girlfriends". Then Alan gets suspicious because May was in the hall not the bathroom, he goes into Jackie's bedroom to see if the bathroom is connected to May's bedroom, and then gets jabbed by Lorelei (which is where the new version cuts back in). The new version is a more streamlined version, and certainly the story flows better. There is actually a romance between May and Jackie which I prefer, whereas in the original version May remains angry with Jackie after she slaps him and they never get past that stage - especially after she gets the impression that Jackie "shares" Lorelei with Alan! I was really disappointed, because I had the original English-dubbed version and it was one of my all-time favourite Jackie Chan movies because of Jackie's arrogant character which was a huge departure from the usual benevolent roles that Jackie plays, and because of the music which really made the difference in the action scenes for me. Alas, my original version was a video tape that grew fungus and was therefore ruined - and I have no idea how to get that version again! Jackie's voice in the original English version was dubbed by someone else (the same person that dubbed the English versions for all his movies in the 80s) - and it sounds a lot better than Jackie's real voice which he uses in the new version. Funny thing is the voices actually sound alike sans accent.

• A very good martial arts film with a few flaws

  otacon23dav2003-05-08

  This is one of Jackie Chan's best films. A good display of his acrobatics and fight skills at the beginning of the film to fighting 4 woman with high heels at the end. This was my first Jackie Chan film I saw that made me watch his other films. The basic story is that an evil cult who wants all 5 pieces of the armor of god(I can't remember why they want it) knows only one person who is able to get the pieces, the "asian hawk"(Chan). They only have 2 pieces of the armour and to get Jackie to get the other 3 pieces, they kidnap his former girlfriend, lorelei(Kwan) who he still has feelings for, even though his best friend,Alan(tam) is dating her. Jackie and Alan must work together to try and find the armour and save her. I recommend watching the original 94min version in Chinese(with english subtitles of course) than the u.s. english dubbed 86min version. Also this movie is where Jackie nearly died - Jumping to a tree on which the branch broke and fell onto a rock. A good humoreous martial art film with alright fight scenes and a not bad plot. 8/10 for me. Recommended mainly for Jackie chan fans.

• great start, slow middle, awesome ending

  jake-1792002-11-15

  This movie was actually made before "Operation: Condor." For some reason, they titled this movie as if it were a sequel. When Jackie decided to make this movie, he was being greatly influenced by the smash hit "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and wanted to make a movie in that adventure style. This movie could have been really, really great if it had been made entirely the way Jackie had it envisioned at the start of production. The movie has a great beginning, and then it is destroyed by an agonizing slow middle, and then it picks up again with an action packed ending. The reason the movie has that horrible middle is because of the stunt that went wrong at the beginning of the film. As all Jackie fans know, this is the film that almost killed Chan. In the beginning action sequence, he does this awesome chase scene where he is bounding across the walls of a castle. In the first take, Jackie actually made it across. But being a perfectionist, he tried for a second take. The first take partially broke the branch of the tree he jumps on, and on the second take, the branch broke completely, sending Jackie crashing to the ground and busting his head on a rock. I am mentioning all this because this is the reason the middle of the movie is so slow. Production could only be halted for a short time. They could not wait until Jackie had fully recovered. So, as soon as he was able to get out of bed, they re-wrote the middle part of the movie to exclude all the eye-popping stunts that Jackie had originally planned. They continued filming this lame, muddled attempt at a romance plot until Jackie was more healed. Once Jackie was back to 100 percent, they started filming the movie the way they had originally intended: with amazing stunts and incredible action choreography. The end of the movie picks up with Jackie, his side kick, and the love interest, infiltrating a castle run by monks, and they try to steal a treasure guarded by fiesty amazon women who wear lots of '80s style makeup. As ridiculous as that all sounds, the fight scenes at the end are among the best that Jackie has ever done. Its really amazing and a lot of fun to watch just for the choreography aspect. Check out one of the hardest hits I have ever seen, when one of the amazons comes flying at Jackie from about 8 feet in the air, he kicks her in mid flight, and she spins completely around and slams HEAD FIRST in to the dirt! I don't care if there was a stunt pad there, it is a HARD LANDING! OUCH! There is no way the stunt person walked away from that unharmed. The second movie "OPERATION CONDOR" was a lot better as a whole. That is one of my all time favorite Jackie Chan films, and I still watch it over and over again. But PART 2 (the first of the films) is definitely a must-see (despite the confusing title). My recommendation is this: Get the movie, watch the first part until he escapes from the natives, then FAST FORWARD through the entire middle, DO NOT BOTHER to watch it, it is totally irrelevant, and start watching again as they infiltrate the castle. You wont be sorry. Don't believe all the other bad reviews about this film.

• Good, enjoyable film

  modius1999-12-10

  This was the first Jackie Chan film I ever saw, and I loved every second of it. The film, which doesn't concentrate on plot as much as it probably should do, revolves around some European monks who steal several pieces from the Armour Of God, and fools Jackie into giving them the other pieces. But ignore the plot, watch this for the excellent jokes, the amazing set piece action sequences topped off by the credible Jackie Chan. Several scenes stand out the most. One being the scene where he is faced with 4 amazon women, and Jackie must defeat them all. Overall, if you want to see a damn good Jackie Chan flick, but aren't interested in plot then you I urge you to see this film.

• Very Enjoyable

  no-skyline2005-12-29

  I really enjoyed this movie not just for the spectacular stunts but also the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Alan Tam. It's one of Jackie's most accessible Hong Kong films although it does sag a bit in the middle this is due to a severe accident Jackie had on set during the opening chase sequence. Filming couldn't be halted for long due to budget constraints so a lot of stunt sequences were dropped and more emphasis placed on the comedy (which is hit and miss in places). There are some incredible sequences at the start (an action packed chase)and at the end of the film (infiltrating the enemy base and a crazy escape plan). In between is some so/so comedy romance moments, the interplay between Jackie and Alan works really well at times producing some great comedy moments Alan's unwillingness to fight and his clumsiness when he does so really add to Jackies clowning. The bad guys are a bit of a letdown other than some supposedly female body guards who look like rejects from the Rocky Horror Show which produces an inventive and painful looking fight scene. The monks are fairly inept and it must be said what was really needed is a big boss at the end for Jackie to fight but other than these small complaint its a very enjoyable action flick. Well worth a watch great action with a bit of comedy thrown in for good measure 8/10