The Worst Film Ever

Excellent adaptation.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

When Sammo Hung first put on his directing shoes in the late '70s/early '80s, it seemed he could do no wrong. Churning out a string of low-budget kung fu classics like MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER, ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND, and KNOCKABOUT, he proved to be a natural behind the camera as well as in front of it. I'm pleased to say that THE VICTIM follows in this quality tradition, sitting up there with the others as a high-ranking kung fu minor classic that proves to be endlessly rewatchable and utterly engaging.The storyline is a typical Hung mix of drama, laughs, and action, with the emphasis very much on the latter ingredient. Sammo himself stars as a bumbling martial artist who becomes fixated with Leung's stoic kung fu master. The comedy is very much in the Chinese tradition, full of slapstick and bizarre, outlandish, cross-eyed characters. One of the weirdest moments is a showdown in a bathhouse, in which Sammo beats the heck out of a bunch of butt-naked Chinese guys, which I still can't quite believe happened.Much of the plot is taken up with the relationship between Sammo and Kar Lan Leung, the latter playing a taciturn and morose hero who is only spurred into action in the last half hour of the movie. Until then, there are many light-hearted battles, full of great acrobatics and feats of agility. The kung fu is old school but it's something I'll never get tired of watching. Power punches, weapon play, high kicking and scenery smashing – this is kung fu as it should be seen, and THE VICTIM has a greater focus on action than just about any other martial arts film I can think of right now. Yuen Biao doubles in many of the fights and his athletic influence is felt as a whole, making the action scenes just about unbeatable.As with many of these movies, things become more serious (and bloody!) in the last half an hour, which leads to the expected showdown between Leung and his one-eyed brother. As you might guess, this is an extended and violent battle that seems to go on forever but which never drags – instead it's riveting for every second. The last twenty minutes of the film also has many plot twists involving Sammo's character, some of which are a little over the top, but it's par for the course in a Chinese movie like this. Minor roles for many familiar faces in Hong Kong cinema – Lam Ching-Ying, Karl Maka, Billy Chan and Wilson Tong – only add to the experience as a whole. THE VICTIM is a kung fu fan's kung fu flick, offering a ton of fights, an interesting and complex storyline and plenty of laughs along the way. The result is great viewing experience that is only just topped by the other three films mentioned at the beginning of this review.

In the hope of finding someone worthy of being his teacher, portly fighter Chen Rong (Sammo Hung) challenges random strangers to fight him. After easily beating several opponents, Chen Rong is finally defeated by martial arts expert Chun Yao (Ka-Yan Leung) but is unable to convince him to become his sifu. Not one to give up, Chen Rong follows Chun Yao everywhere, even to his home, where he meets his unwilling sifu's tasty wife Yoo Yi (played by the amusingly named Fanny Wang), who takes pity on the eager young man.When some really bad men turn up to cause trouble, Chen Rong is amazed to see Chun Yao and his spouse seemingly running scared. Curious, Chen questions Yoo Yi and discovers why Chun Yao flees when he could fight: on his wedding night, Chun discovered his older adoptive brother Chong Ming (Yi Chang) making unwanted sexual advances towards Yoo Yi. Rather than fight the son of the man who gave him a home and raised him as his own, and feeling just a little guilty about being responsible for accidentally blinding Ming in one eye, Chun opts to keep out of his brother's way. Unfortunately, Ming hasn't given up lusting after Yoo, sending countless hired help to try and dispose of his brother and make off with his wife. Soon enough, Chen Rong finds himself involved in the familial fracas, with bloody consequences for all.The Victim kicks off in classic kung fu comedy mode, with Chen Rong's search for a sifu resulting in some very silly moments against several comical opponents; the broad humour continues when Chen's pursuit of Chun Yao leads to a brawl in a steamy bath house against several naked men. Even when the film enters darker territory, the zaniness persists, with perhaps the film's most tragic moment weakened by an inappropriate gag featuring Sammo Hung dressed as Dracula. The movie's iffy comedy is easily forgiven, however, thanks to the brilliantly choreographed fight action which is frequent, fast and furious, with Hung displaying his incredible kung fu skills and agility to the full, and Ka-Yan Leung performing some amazing moves despite having had no formal martial arts training.The final fight between the two 'brothers' is bloody, brutal and brilliant, and would have been the perfect way to end matters; unfortunately, the film closes with a bit more silly buffoonery courtesy of Hung which makes no sense whatsoever.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.N.B. All character names in my review come from my DVD's subtitles and are more than likely wrong.

Chan-Wing (Sammo Hung) is an arrogant young kung-fu fighter who goes around testing random strangers to see if he can find someone better than himself who can be his Master. After some searching he finds passive Leung Chun-Yau (Ka-Yan Leung) who refuses to be Chan-wing's Master despite his undying and comical determinacy to get Leung to do so, until an ongoing family feud threatens to consume Leung's relatively peaceful life. The light hearted comedy of the first 30 minutes turns to a slightly darker, but none the less thrilling tone for the rest of the film. Excellent choreographed fighting sequences, an engrossing story, and a touch of humorous comedic moments make this a delight for even the most casual Sammo Hung fan. Not to discount Ka-Yan Leung in the least, as he's simply amazing in this film as well.My Grade: A DVD Extras: Commentary by Ric Meyers and Bobby Samuels; a compilation 'Martial Arts Theater' trailer; and Trailers for "Running out of Time", "Dragon Inn", "Armageddon", and "the Duel"

Lightning Kung Fu, a.k.a. The Victim, has a remarkably good and clear plot (besides all its comical elements). It is structured as two parallel plot lines which converge at the end. First we have director and actor Sammo Hung's character, who's a young, arrogant kung fu adept running around challenging everybody, in order to find someone better than himself, so he can make that person his master and learn more. He goes through all the local masters, incl. a feeble Shaolin grandmaster, before finally finding Chun Yao (the excellent Ka Yan Leung), who lives with his wife in a house outside of town. Chun Yao is the best kung fu practitioner in the district, but is strangely timid and passive, and he rejects Sammo's persistent pleas to become his student. So Sammo decides to hang around his house, sleep outside, and just generally stay, much to the annoyance of Chun Yao. Soon it becomes clear that Chun Yao was adopted by the local kung fu master, and throughout his upbringing was hated by this master's biological son, Jo-Wing. On Chun Yao's wedding night, Jo-Wing tried to rape his new wife, Yoo-Yi, and this led to Chun Yao and Yoo-Yi's leaving the household to live outside town. Chun Yao can't do anything about Jo-Wing, because he is his brother, and because he accidentally blinded Jo-Wing on one eye when they were children, so he is bound by honor to respect his elder brother no matter what. That really is the theme of the story: where do the limits to honor-bound obligation go? How much humiliation and abuse can Chun Yao suffer at his step-brother's hand before it becomes too much? Quite a great deal, it turns out. Like in some of his other movies, the master fighter Ka Yan Leung plays a somewhat cowering character who takes a lot of abuse before finally, after it is in fact too late to save his loved ones, takes action. Considering how great his kung fu skills are, this is not a very satisfactory way to tell (and end) the story. However, at least there *is* a clear storyline (which is relatively rare in second-rate kung fu movies), and the quality of the fight scenes is very good, especially the climactic sequences at the end.Anyway, Sammo's character has a major role at the end also, where we find out that he wasn't quite what he pretended to be. The story has good twists and turns, and just before the end, Sammo actually succeeds in making Chun Yao his master.All in all a good movie, but with notable shortcomings. The story is good and clear, but some developments are not satisfying. I rate this movie a 7 out of 10.