Catangro
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Siflutter
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Cassandra
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Leofwine_draca
Pretty much a straightforward kung fu beat-'em-up, which offers straight action all the way through and no plot. Learned film critics and scholars may take exception to this kind of exploitation movie, but not I: as long as a film can keep me consistently entertained for the hour-and-a-half running time I'm happy, and I was very happy watching this movie. It's not great, it's nothing you haven't seen before, but there are certain charms which makes it an engaging watch.It's a low budget film, very badly dubbed indeed, about two youngsters out for revenge against some thugs, most of whom seem to be various karate champions from the period. Lots of non-stop fighting and action continues, all shot in a low budget but convincing way, with lots of breaking props and the slight impression that the film has been sped up a notch.Billy Chong is the nominal hero this time around. Born in Indonesia, he carved a small niche for himself as an action hero in the late '70s and early '80s, before moving to television later on in his years. He's a pretty good fighter, very fast, and he's perfectly adequate here in a couple of splendid battles. Sharing kung fu hero status is the even less well-known Carl Scott, a young black fighter who appeared in about three martial arts films. He's also pretty good, although neither star is that memorable to be quite honest.The various bad guys and villains are either weird and/or funny: there's a Chuck Norris wannabe who breaks blocks of ice, a couple of would-be Bruce Lee Chinese fighters, a knife-thrower, a Red Indian (!) – basically a Chinese guy doled up like Jackie Chan in SHANGHAI NOON - a big fat Chinese guy who pokes people's eyes out, and plenty more people waiting to get their asses kicked. The action remains entertaining throughout thanks to the wealth of interesting locations to fight in, whether they be bridges, rivers, bar-rooms, fields, houses and what-not. Nothing classic here, but kung fu fans will have a field day.
John Seal
Not 'fantastic' as in 'really good', but 'fantastic' as in 'beyond belief'. A Hard Way to Die is a bizarre martial arts tale set in an Old West that definitely isn't the Old West. In this Old West, the population is equal parts Asian, African-American, and White, and they all work, relax and fight together in equal measure. When they play pool in the local bar, they all happily listen to country-western music. I thought at first the film was making some tenuous connection to the construction of the railroads, but that doesn't seem to be the case: characters refer to being on an island, and many of them are dressed in modern-day wear. The acting style is best described as 'flowery', the dialogue stilted, and the dubbing alone worth the price of admission (or the dollar you might pay for the tape at a garage sale). As bad as it is, it's way more interesting than your average chop socky affair.
ckormos1
In 1978 Jackie Chan made "Drunken Master". A month earlier, Billy Chong made the same movie only he called it "Jade Claw" or "Crystal Fist". In both movies a kung fu wannabe works in the kitchen of a kung fu school and meets his master there. The storyline similarities go on and on but let me just make one remarkable point. The master in both movies was Simon Yuen. Soon after both actors tried to break into the American market. Again Billy Chong beat Jackie Chan to the release. This time he also beat Jackie Chan by making a western and a black/Chinese buddy movie. To truly appreciate "Sun Dragon" I compare it to "Battle Creek Brawl". Still, I can't understand where that horrible dubbing came from. I can't believe a movie could play in theatres with those idiotic voiceovers. Anyway, putting the sound aside, "Sun Dragon" certainly wins for action and for hitting all the pluses that USA audiences would go for, like making it a western too. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of skill from the "Hollywood" stuntmen. The stuntmen in Jackie Chan's movie dragged the film into the ground. Carl Scott fought like Sammo Hung spray painted black and I mean that only as a compliment. Nevertheless both movies flopped and the motion picture industry worldwide pulled the plug on kung fu movies after 1982 and that was the end of Billy Chong. It was not the end of Jackie Chan because he made action comedies with great stunts that had a lot of fighting too (but not kung fu movies). That's another review though.
geobomber
Who cares about the dubbing or the editing or the mambo jumbo. If you've seen enough b-kung fu movies like me you'll appreciate this one. It's loaded with fights and weapon fights. They may not be up to par with jackie chan's drunken master 2 but they are a little more complex then fist of fury. Seriously if you see the part where billy does the hurricana on the one guy in the cabin then you'll understand what im talking about. This movie makes everyone who can't fight seam like they can fight. Heck even Carl Scott is damn good! I've seen seen almost every Van Damme movie, every Jackie Chan movie, most of Sammo Hung's movies, etc.. and this thing is action packed! I found it at walmart in a double pack with another Billy chong movie which isn't as fun as this one. Anyhow don't listen to the other review and go find this masterpiece! One of the best b movies out there!
