Notable for being an early kung fu movie for Jackie Chan, Fearless Hyena does little to set itself apart from the heap of martial arts movies that were being made at the time. That said, Jackie Chan is as fun as ever, and the fight scenes, while obviously dated by the standards of countless films to follow, are still entertaining.
It's a kung fu movie with a mix of comedy and drama. Themes of family and honor are present here as they were in much of the other Hong Kong films out there at the time. The story is the usual. An evil martial arts master kills a man, who is the father of a young martial artist. The son seeks revenge. Nothing new here. There's also comedy, and it's that uncomfortable, unsubtle Hong Kong humor, you know the kind. It's ok.
What is interesting is the movie's weirdness. Jackie's character, while undergoing his required character transformation, learns several different styles of martial arts, all named after something different, and all made to be utilized for a certain purpose. He has a happy style, a sad style, an angry style, etc. all of which have purposes, like one is more defensive, one is more offensive, etc.
The fights, of which there are plenty, do entertain. One sequence has Jackie fighting a different opponent at a time while at a dojo, each time in disguise. He fights one opponent while pretending to be mentally challenged, and fights another while pretending to be a girl. It's as weird as it sounds. There's also a really cool chopsticks duel, and a slick spear fight. The long final fight is fun and cool, and goes on for a stupidly long time. Jackie tries to mirror the emotions of his different styles, which means he'll start laughing or crying during the fight. It's great. Also the villain death is horribly brutal and has to be seen to be believed. Not graphic, but will make any male human flinch.
I am a serious Jackie Chan fan, like the rest of the world, and while this is not even close to being one of his best films, it's certainly fun and watchable, and it's very important to see it you're a kung fu enthusiast like me.
At one point Jackie starts crying during a fight and his opponent yells the word "baby" and it's the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've ever seen.
0 out of 0 found this helpful