The 36 Crazy Fists

36 CRAZY FISTS, while directed and choreographed by martial-arts legend Jackie Chan, doesn't feature him in any recognizable role. One is inclined to feel cheated because of this, and I would generally have to agree; 36 CRAZY FISTS may've been a great film if it had starred Chan, but as it stands, it is simply a mundane movie.

It features the overly-typical revenge plot, along with the old master, the bumbling sidekicks (complete with trombone "waaahh" sounds!) and the clever-yet-flighty girl we've all come to know and love (?) from the kung-fu genre. The fight scenes are not all bad, especially the final few between the old white-haired guy (a sure sign of martial-arts mastery, apparently) and the young student. Also along for this final fight sequence are the student's two (count 'em, TWO!) teachers, a fellow disciple of the old man, and at least three other guys who just throw around insults. Wow, that's some fight!

Maybe the most notable thing about 36 CRAZY FISTS (and this isn't a good thing) is its title; it suffers from PNS (Poorly-Named Syndrome), in that the 36 "crazy fists" are only one of dozens of technique the student learns. Moreover, they aren't even fists but sweep-chops! Oh well.

In short, this movie doesn't have anything special going for it...move along, move along. My rating: 5.5/10