Xiao yao fang (1973) User Reviews

Naked women swordfight, need I say more?

[ckormos1 · 5/10 · 15 September 2019]

It starts at a train station then quickly cuts to a casino. The sex scene was just weird and I will say no more. Nick and Wilson meet and fight then realize they are on the same side. The plot is revealed as the standard evil Japanese plot.

This was Nik Cheung Lik's third lead role since 1973 "Kung Fu's Hero". I also reviewed that movie. I noted that Nik seemed to have some skill with the nunchuks but overall most of the action was sloppy as in off target or poor timing. This movie is a definite improvement in the action.

My copy is a digital file that plays on a HDTV as widescreen but small. The resolution is typical of the old VHS tape format. The dialog is English dubbed by the "A team" of voiceover actors.

There is plenty of diverse action and the story doesn't drag too much. The Japanese army has guns and guns are always a problem when mixed with martial arts. Except for one scene the guns were nothing more than props, so problem solved. The most interesting scene was the two naked women swordfight. It was too short but 90 minutes would also have been too short. Overall the movie doesn't get any better than average for the year and genre. I would recommend it for hard core fans only.

Mean-spirited kung fu story against the evil Japanese

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 11 February 2017]

LAND OF THE BRAVE is a surprisingly vicious little kung fu film from Hong Kong, with a Chinese-vs-Japanese theme. The story is about a peaceful village inhabited by youthful hero Cheung Lik and his family. There's one bad seed in the form of a sadistic cigarette-smoker who whips a nude woman in slow motion in an arresting scene early on in the picture. This bad guy quickly teams up with an invading Japanese army who take over the local power station and begin to oppress the villagers.

Lik and his buddies take up arms against the foreign invaders and plenty of low rent action ensues. The fight choreography is basic to say the least but at least there's plenty of action to take your mind off that. The Japanese and in particular the cigarette-smoking sadist are portrayed in the worst terms so it's easy to hate them. The plot consists of the usual underlings and loved ones being killed off, various kidnappings and the like, until the big fight climax. The bits where the women in the brothel are rescued and a bad guy is scalped are entertaining, and overall this film works despite the usual problems inherent in low budget action cinema.