The Prodigal SonRating:
Release Date: 14 November, 2000 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $26.96 You SAVE: $2.99! Cast: Complete Cast (13 total) |
The Prodigal Son Reviews
The Real Deal
I gotta agree with everyone. This movie is really good, and the fights are fantastic(ranking right along side Fist of Legend for pure brutality). The fighters perform their moves fast and realistic, like they're really trying to hit each other. It's not like other movies where it seems they are being too flashy showing off moves rather than actually fighting. You'll need the slo-mo feature on your dvd to capture all the cool choreography in this one. Also, i don't think people are stressing this enough; besides Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, and Lam Ching Ying, there is another great reason to see this...the incredible Frankie Chan! He makes a great and formidable villain(although he's not quite the bad guy that one would expect...he has respect for his opponents, which makes him a very cool antagonist in the film). ANY kung fu film worth its salt has a formidable villain(otherwise, how would the hero be able to show off his skills?). Also, if you're price conscious(as in cheap) and think all of us who are giving rave reviews are exaggerating, there is a new version that costs less than $10! For that price, surely you can't pass up a chance to see what may become your next favorite kung fu film can you? Highly recommended!
Wow....blew me away...
For the age of the film (made in 1982), this film really surprised and pleased me. I wasn't expecting such intensity, but it is frequently said that this film started the modern fighting kung fu flicks of the 80's, which in my opinion is the best due to lack of wires and other digital tools that now invade the majority of the newer flicks. It was straight forward Kung (Gung) Fu skills. This film is somewhere up in my top 5 martial arts film of all time, and can rival any kung fu movie of any time. I have become a huge fan of Lam Ching Ying,Yuen Biao,Sammo Hung, and Frankie Chan because of this film. The story, as stated by everyone else here, focuses around Biao's character as the Prodigal Son who who is recognized around his town as the fighter who has never lost a battle. However, the townspeople know something that Biao himself is oblivious to, which is the fact that Biao's father is paying off challengers to protect his only precious son. One day, a true Kung Fu master (Lam Ching Ying) teaches him a lesson and Biao soon realize the truth afterwards. The rest of the film has Biao relentlessly following the master pleading him to become his teacher. The movie will start off slow with the beginning fight not being too impressive, but dont let that turn you off because it definitely gets better. Throughout the rest of film are amazing fights involving Lam, Biao, Frankie, and Sammo. This film displays probably the best view of Wing Chun seen in a movie. One of the best fights I have ever seen takes place between Lam Ching Ying and Frankie Chan with Lam using Wing Chun and Frankie using what im assuming some sort of Tiger or Eagle style that looks like Mantis-form (I am a former kung fu student). Folks, this fight is so fast and realistic, I cant help thinking its better than the fights from fist of legend or drunken master 2 (but of course, not quite). These guys are TRYING to hit each other, but at the same time the speed of the fight is insane. The hand movements and contacts are so quick, it's amazing that the fighters were able to keep up with themselves. This is true great martial arts at its finest. Biao and Sammo also show their usual great skills with some brilliant fighting from Biao in the last battle. However, it was Lam Ching Ying that took me away with his Wing Chun abilities. I've seen him in other films (Mr. Vampire), and he doesn't get quite as good as he did here. This man is extremely talented and totally stole the whole movie in my opinion. I was kind of let down when Biao didn't use wing chun very much if at all in the last battle, but the fight was still very impressive. Aside from the fighting, the movie is hilarious with great comedy provided by Sammo. Prodigal Son is one of Sammo's greatest works by far, and the many awards the movie has won would show that. Movies are never made like this anymore and for the greatest kung fu flicks of all time, this is no exception. There are at least 3 versions of the dvd I know of with the best coming from the Hong Kong Legends distributors. You'll need an all-region dvd player to play their region 2 PAL dvds. It's worth it tho folks, the video and sound are all remastered to the fullest and the extras are incredible. These distributors live to remaster kung fu flicks. There are also all-coded Universe and Megastar dvd releases too which are decent enough, but dont match to HKL. Either version is fine, but you gotta at least check it out and make your own opinions about it. Other great Sammo and Biao flicks are Eastern Condors, Righting Wrongs, and almost any movie alongside Jackie. Check out my other martial art movie reviews too, thanks for reading.
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