Review of New Fist of Fury

Introduction

Wei Lo`s `New Fist of Fury` is a remake-of-sorts of his Bruce Lee starring - and not to mention influential - 1972 martial arts picture `Fist of Fury`, where, like Robert Rodriguez`s `Desperado` and John Carpenter`s `Escape From LA`, the director has taken a hamfisted approach to canon by moulding similar plot points and scenarios into a story rehash, while acknowledging within the film that it`s a sequel in terms of characters and events. The `Bruceploitation` phenomenon of Asian cinema capitalising on the late star`s legacy is in full swing here as a young Jackie Chan wins his first major role in an attempt by industry figures to market a new Lee figure to the public.

Chan plays Ah Loong, a petty criminal in Japan-occupied Taiwan during the early part of the 20th century. Fuelled by his hatred of the oppression his people suffer at the hands of the Japanese, he joins a martial arts school which is being bullied into unification with local Japanese gyms, and sees this as his chance to turn the tables and exact a little revenge.

Video

Released by Contender on their Hong Kong Legends label, it`s no surprise to find the anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer in fine condition. Having undergone the spit and polish treatment, the absence of dirt, grain and scratches belies its age and source, although you can pick out restoration artefacts in the form of white flecks here and there. It`s soft-looking of course, and the colour balance tends to lean towards the dark side, but the edge enhancement being kept to a minimum is a real blessing.

Audio

This is where the presentation quality takes a nose-dive to Crapsville. It says Dolby Digital 5.1 on the tin, twice in fact, once in original Mandarin and an English dub, but I`ll be an uncle`s monkey if I can tell the difference between the 5.1 tracks and the original Mandarin mono that`s also on the disc. The surround tracks are entirely channeled through the centre, with no use of the other 4.1 at all, meaning the envelope of sound you expect, nae demand, from a 5.1 track is entirely absent. Under-engineered 5.1 soundtracks on old Hong Kong material is nothing new, but it`s still utterly infuriating when you come across one, especially from the HKL range. Of course, the English dub is cringeworthy and only complete nutters would watch the film with this running (unless it`s for the comedy aspect), and the foley effects are typical of the era, ie, twofold - thump and thwack.

English subtitles are fine and clear.

Features

Titled `alternate beginning`, the only real extra is actually more of a deleted 8-minute pre-credit teaser that fleshes out the resistance aspect of the main martial arts school in the film, and gives a little more background to some of the main characters. Be warned however, it`s English dub only, which instantly relegates the scene to fairly pointless. Other than that, there`s a selection of trailers for other Jackie Chan films from HKL.

Conclusion

It`s hard not to enjoy chop-socky films from the 70s golden era, even the utterly mundane ones such as `New Fist of Fury`, in a totally brainless, macho fashion. But kung-fu connoisseurs will be well within their rights to stick their noses up at this one. With everyone attempting to take advantage of the trail blazed by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan`s performance here is completely void of the comedy and comic timing of the films in which he would later make his name, and is more or less a straight riff on the characters Lee made his name portraying. While the action is furious and energetic, the plot is pure kung-fu chud about rival schools, and unlike the original `Fist of Fury`, leaves all the best bits about the viciousness of the Japanese oppression either on the cutting room floor or merely hinted at with no follow-through. It`s also under-developed and lacking a whole lot of sense.

Despite the soon-to-rise star power of Jackie Chan, `New Fist of Fury` does nothing to distinguish itself from the legion of other banal Hong Kong martial arts flicks of the period, and does itself no favours by being tied to such a landmark title as the original. Hong Kong Legends is fast running out of decent material to release, and seems to be diluting their once potent label by pillaging the back catalogue of bona fide stars, even if the films aren`t really worth the attention.