As someone who hasn't watched a lot of Shaw Brothers movies I was enjoying this one quite a bit.
The movies puts it's focus mainly on action and comedy. The comedy is not very outstanding but the action makes up for it. And boy does the movie go out on fighting scenes, it was honestly a little bit too much action and too little story. I better balance would have made this movie a classic in my opinion. The acting is also passable but it was overall still enjoyable. It's one of those movies that has a lot of fun and is less serious. There are a lot of great outdoor shoots. I've rarely seen so much beautiful scenery in a HK movie, very impressive stuff. The heart of the movie is the growing friendship of the three main characters. They have good chemistry and their journey is quite endearing. It's stuff like this why I enjoy classic HK films. We barely see these kind of slowly growing relationships in modern films, be it from western or eastern part of the world. Some people complain that the music might be a bit overbearing, but anyone who is familiar with Easterns should not be surprised.
One reason I haven't watched so many Shaw Brother movies is that I always felt that the action choreography feels a bit too wooden and rehearsed. This one was definitely much better than I expected and is closer to the golden age with impressive camera work that elevates a lot of the performances. Especially the last fight is quite memorable.
Although a bit flawed, the movie is definitely a recommend if one isn't bothered by the sillyness or the meager storyline.
The movies puts it's focus mainly on action and comedy. The comedy is not very outstanding but the action makes up for it. And boy does the movie go out on fighting scenes, it was honestly a little bit too much action and too little story. I better balance would have made this movie a classic in my opinion. The acting is also passable but it was overall still enjoyable. It's one of those movies that has a lot of fun and is less serious. There are a lot of great outdoor shoots. I've rarely seen so much beautiful scenery in a HK movie, very impressive stuff. The heart of the movie is the growing friendship of the three main characters. They have good chemistry and their journey is quite endearing. It's stuff like this why I enjoy classic HK films. We barely see these kind of slowly growing relationships in modern films, be it from western or eastern part of the world. Some people complain that the music might be a bit overbearing, but anyone who is familiar with Easterns should not be surprised.
One reason I haven't watched so many Shaw Brother movies is that I always felt that the action choreography feels a bit too wooden and rehearsed. This one was definitely much better than I expected and is closer to the golden age with impressive camera work that elevates a lot of the performances. Especially the last fight is quite memorable.
Although a bit flawed, the movie is definitely a recommend if one isn't bothered by the sillyness or the meager storyline.