Eastern Condors

This is the original "balls-to-the-wall" Hong Kong action film. really, once the ex-con commandos parachute into Vietnam to dispose of a hidden arsenal the US left behind during the pull-out, the action never stops. Shootings, stabbing, explosions, and wild kung fu - with almost no discernible wire-works - the film is virtually one violent confrontation after another.

which of course is the weakness of the film. Although Sammo Hung became known as a director thanks largely to an exquisite sense of the comedic, the comic touches here get swamped by the action. also, we never get to know any of these fighters very well - character development reduces to a selection of whatever cliché would fit a character if the character had a personality. None of them do. And finally I have to remark that what little drama there really is in the film, is all pretty grim.

Still, this film is not, in the last analysis, about drama, character, or humor; it sets out to be THE action film of its decade. Whether it succeeds or not is debatable; but it certainly makes the right effort for it.