"Eastern Condors" is a 1987 Chinese action film directed and starred Sammo Hung. It also included many other famous actors/actresses who would soon become famous years after this like Yuen Biao, (Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung always work with him) Joyce Godenzi, (Sammo Hung's future wife) Wah Yuen, (the landlord of Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle") Lam Ching Ying, (famous for "Prodigal Son" and "Mr. Vampire") Yuen Woo-Ping, (action choreographer of the "Matrix", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and "Drunken Master") and Billy Chow. (The famous villain of Jet Li's "Fist of Legend") The film itself plays similar to any other Vietnam war film, but with a Bond twist into it.
During the Vietnam War, a group of prisoners are dropped into the gruesome battlefields of Vietnam as they must find and destroy dangerous missiles that the enemies hold. The story itself plays very simply, yet it plays around like a dance. Our main characters can be seen constantly being attacked by bullets of the enemies that surround them, day and night. The film itself easily kills a prisoner, one by one. Sammo dares to kill his prisoners one by one as they are driven into madness and their desires of completing their tasks without fail. There was a big scene in the beginning of the film when after the prisoners are taken in as hostages of a group of Vietnamese soldiers. They are forced to play Russian Roulette which is stolen from, "The Deer Hunter." The only difference is, children are the one that are pulling the trigger for the prisoners. While the remaining prisoners take down their enemy's camp, one prisoner was about to shoot down an innocent child when the child later stabbed him and ran away with excellent speed. It was rather an interesting scene that tells us how bad the Vietnam War was like.
Although this film isn't the greatest Vietnam War film to hold the emotional impact like, "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now", "Eastern Condors" does still thrill the audience with it's strong action sequences, a scene or two of light humor between one character or another, (Not physical humor as Jackie Chan does) and the overall strong message that it displays out. Although this film isn't that good now that I think of it, it does remain as one of Sammo Hung's greatest films to date and can get a little over the top. The story itself can be a bit too simple and uncomplex and the uses of humor for a war film isn't the smartest choice. Although, if you enjoy action fight sequences, you will enjoy this cult classic.
During the Vietnam War, a group of prisoners are dropped into the gruesome battlefields of Vietnam as they must find and destroy dangerous missiles that the enemies hold. The story itself plays very simply, yet it plays around like a dance. Our main characters can be seen constantly being attacked by bullets of the enemies that surround them, day and night. The film itself easily kills a prisoner, one by one. Sammo dares to kill his prisoners one by one as they are driven into madness and their desires of completing their tasks without fail. There was a big scene in the beginning of the film when after the prisoners are taken in as hostages of a group of Vietnamese soldiers. They are forced to play Russian Roulette which is stolen from, "The Deer Hunter." The only difference is, children are the one that are pulling the trigger for the prisoners. While the remaining prisoners take down their enemy's camp, one prisoner was about to shoot down an innocent child when the child later stabbed him and ran away with excellent speed. It was rather an interesting scene that tells us how bad the Vietnam War was like.
Although this film isn't the greatest Vietnam War film to hold the emotional impact like, "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now", "Eastern Condors" does still thrill the audience with it's strong action sequences, a scene or two of light humor between one character or another, (Not physical humor as Jackie Chan does) and the overall strong message that it displays out. Although this film isn't that good now that I think of it, it does remain as one of Sammo Hung's greatest films to date and can get a little over the top. The story itself can be a bit too simple and uncomplex and the uses of humor for a war film isn't the smartest choice. Although, if you enjoy action fight sequences, you will enjoy this cult classic.