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Mad Monkey Kung Fu
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Directed by Lau Kar-Leung.
Lau Kar-leung spins this high-flying kung-fu saga about a Peking opera actor named Chen (played by the director), who, along with his beautiful sister (Kara Hui Ying-hung), is invited to dine with the dastardly and powerful Mr. Tuan (Lo Lieh). There Chen is slipped a mickey and when he comes to is accused of trying to rape Tuan's wife. Tuan offers to spare Chen's life if his sister becomes his concubine. The dealt is struck and Chen is cast into the street after getting his hands smashed by Tuan's henchmen. Years later, we find Chen struggling as a street performer with a trained monkey named Ah Mo. When Chen runs afoul of some gangsters, they kill his monkey. Just before Chen decides to snuff his own candle, he realizes that energetic street urchin known as Monkey (Hsiao Ho) would make a decent substitute for his former simian partner. After the two again run afoul of the same gangsters, Chen vows to teach Monkey kung-fu and soon thwarts the thugs. Later, he along with Monkey decides to take on Tuan and break his sibling out of sexual bondage. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
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Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
disliked it.
It's easy to understand why Mad Monkey Kung Fu is a big favorite with the kung fu film fandom set. Firstly, the storyline offers the distinctive, unusual blend of lowbrow comedy and high tragedy that is unique to Chinese genre cinema. This combination won't sit well with all viewers, but screenwriter Ni Kuang effectively uses the comedic and tragic elements to offset each other as he builds a storyline that is expansive and ambitious in its own comic-book way. Mad Monkey Kung Fu also offers fun, stylized performances that live up to its outrageous plotline: Lau Kar-Leung makes a believably grizzled and embittered master, Lo Lieh excels as an amusingly sleazy villain, and Hsiao Ho shows excellent comedic timing as the raffish but dedicated student. However, the key to the appeal of Mad Monkey Kung Fu is the way it handles the action: since he is functioning as both director and choreographer, Leung makes the filmmaking and action compliment each other in a way that is often breathtaking (particularly during the training scenes and the finale). The end result might be a bit too esoteric for every cinematic palate, but Mad Monkey Kung Fu offers plenty to the kung fu fans for whom it was so obviously made. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Tags: kungfu
 



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