Kind of an Asian cross between "The Dirty Dozen" and "Rambo II", "Eastern Condors" features wow! martial arts moves by Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and company, gunfights, explosions, and gore galore. As per usual, the action is better staged, more violent, more politically incorrect (the kids playing Russian Roulette with the captives), and more over-the-top than the American action films from the same era (the body count goes well into the hundreds). It also features one of the most badass (and thus, by definition, one of the sexiest) female characters ever to appear in a war film (Joyce Godenzi). A blast (many blasts, more accurately). *** out of 4.
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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. -
The-Sarkologist7 January 2012This movie is described as a cross between the Dirty Dozen, the Deer Hunter, with a James Bond ending. I have not seen the Deer Hunter at the time of writing so I am not too sure what that is about except that it deals with mates going off to the Vietnam War together. This movie is like the Dirty Dozen as it involves a group of criminals being dropped into Vietnam to find a cache of American weapons and to destroy it. True to the Dirty Dozen fashion, the crims drop like flies (pardon the cliché) and only a handful make it out alive. While they are travelling across Vietnam, they must also rescue the general's brother who is a captive and they are also being pursued by a very large number of Viet-Cong.
This movie would fall into the category of a "did we win this time" film. Being made in the late 80's it appeared at a time when numerous Vietnam movies were being made in the United States, and this is Hong Kong showing the United States how a real action film should be made. This is a movie where they try to rewrite the ending of the Vietnam war so that the United States does come out victorious, rather that slinking out like they did.
Eastern Condors is not a political movie: Hong Kong movies tend not to follow that line. Nor is it a movie questioning morality or exploring characters: rather it is an action movie. It is a heaps good action movie, but an action movie nonetheless. When you come to watch this movie, you generally don't look for deep themes as there are none. Rather it is showing American Cinema what action movies really are like and how they really should be made. -
fertilecelluloid30 December 2003I prefer only Sammo Hung's PEDICAB DRIVER to this pic, but I'm not saying that to take anything away from the sheer brilliance of this action pic. Sammo really knows how to direct an action scene. That means he permits the audience to know where everybody is and where the "action" is moving. Unlike directors like Tony Scott, Richard Donner and Michael Bay, Sammo does not blur the dynamics of a good action scene with too many cuts and too many pointless camera moves.
Sammo is solid.
With EASTERN CONDORS you also get a film that looks amazing with its cool, green surfaces and filter-free clarity.
The plot, though simple, is not moronic, and allows for plenty of action and lots of fascinating interplay between the characters -- especially the females.
Joyce Godenzi (Mrs. Sammo Hung) met Sammo making this movie and she's really terrific in a tough, gritty part. Yuen Biao demonstrates why he was such a big star in the 70's and 80's and Sammo himself, looking lighter than ever, performs in some amazing fight sequences.
If you haven't seen many Hong Kong movies, this is a great place to start. It's one unbelievable sequence after another.
Then catch PEDICAB DRIVER. -
I wasn't sure why this film didn't work as well for me as with other films with and by Sammo Hung. It's a Hong Kong version of The Dirty Dozen, collect a group of criminals and send them on a suicide mission in Vietnam. There's a reason why The Dirty Dozen is 2h 30min long, it spends half of its time introducing each of the characters and make you actually care about them when it's time for the actual mission. This film throws us right into the mission with a quick introduction of each character with a freeze frame and a letters printing out their name and the crime they're in prison for. You can also tell that this film is much more serious than Sammo's other films, still, there's a really strange kind of comedy throughout the film, one with a stuttering prisoner that made me cringe a bit and also the Lucky Star actor Charlie Chin, constantly flirting with the ladies.
But what we lose in plot, we get back in the action. The usage of firearms reminds me more of films like Rambo: First Blood Part II or Commando, loads of shooting, very macho and big guns in each arm while they kept on killing enemies. I couldn't say I cared too much how much firepower was used during the film, it somehow felt wrong to see Sammo shoot his enemies with guns. But we also get lots of martial art in the film and when Yuen Biao joins the gang as a local vietnamese who happens to be just as amazing at fighting as Sammo. The Killing Fields' Haing S. Ngor have a small role in the film as well, but I felt like the film didn't know how to use him, so his role was sadly forgotten in the end for what could've brought some more depth to it.
If you could rate different acts of the film alone, the third act is what would get 10 out of 10 stars from me, introducing late in the film the Giggling General (yes, he's named that here on imdb too) played by Wah Yuen, an actor I usually relate to comedies like Kung Fu Hustle, but here he's really creepy, and that giggling starts as something silly and funny soon turns into something very scary and dangerous. The extended fight scene between him and Yuen and Sammo gave me goosebumps, it was amazingly choreographed and the part where you could see Sammo's directing pay off the most.
Sadly the first acts drags the films rating down for me, but watch it for the final fight, it's well worth it. And like pretty much all other 80's HK action films, this one is just over 90 minutes long so it's a quick watch. -
JinxsterJones30 December 2002This movie is awesome, it's another one that takes my breathe away every time I see it! The action just flows, Sammo has never looked fitter, even as a kid he wasn't this slim! Yuen Biao shows why at one time no one could touch him in the acrobatic action. Again, I'm a little biased with this film as the first time I saw it was my first experience of Hong Kong action on the Big Screen (happy days at the Scala, Kings Cross, Thank you Rick Baker et al). From the very start, when the late, great Lam Ching Ying (RIP, he went too early) scales the Flag Pole to the final slow zoom out hillside shot this film will hold you to your seat (unless you hate action). It's an action film fan treat all the way. SEE THIS MOVIE NOW! (preferably in subtitled form as some humour gets lost in translation!!)
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oneguyrambling13 April 2011Sammo Hung wasn't just the fat guy with the scar on his lip who hung around Jackie Chan (and directed some of his lesser films). He also made a large number of films in which he was either the star, the director, or both.
Eastern Condors is one of the better ones, but in saying that it is by no means a classic. Perhaps he needed to hang around with Jackie more than he would have liked to admit.
Eastern Condors is a Dirty Dozen style flick, only with more martial arts and more spectacular falls to death. 12 Chinese-American prisoners are released deep behind enemy lines in Vietnam.
Their mission: to save some prisoners and destroy a large arms stash.
Their reward: US citizenship, cash and release from prison.
Their initial liaison with the Cambodian underground introduces them to three hard-core chickies covered in camouflage and kicking much arse. Speaking of arse, one of the early feature kills happens to be a knife plunged deep in the unsuspecting anus of a man who unfortunately happened to be upside down at the time You heard me.
Sammo is the super-cool all business all the time dude, there are a bunch of other guys of course with their own idiosyncracies and quirks, including a memorable but cheesy joke involving the parachuting mishap of a compulsive stutterer, and as they progress through the mission some of the good guys drop off, a lot of sh*t blows up and victims leap away from the explosions.
There are many running battles, some in the jungle, some on the waterfront and the finale in an underground bunker. Some of the violence is less stylised and a little more realistic, mainly the violence involving knives, but aside from a couple of exceptions the tone is reasonably light. One notable exception: at one point they are sold out and captured, and there is a disturbing scene involving kids no older than 8 playing Russian Roulette with the lives of the prisoners prior to their escape.
There are many actors that are familiar from various Jackie Chan films made through the 90s, including Yuen Biao in the role of a "street-wise" (even though there are no streets) local who is co-opted to help – and who may or may not be trustworthy. But the unfortunate thing is that the first decent martial arts fight arrives with less than 10 minutes to go in the film.
The bulk of the action is weapons based with the action-flick staple of the bad guys having an accuracy rate of 0.000003% and the good guys 99.68%.
Look I liked the film but If this was made in the US it would be seen as B grade sub-Rambo cheese, because it was made in Asia -and cast full of Asian actors it is somehow afforded more favourable treatment. This is no Jackie Chan, this isn't even Jackie Chan – Lite, it is standard sub-Rambo cheese, only apparently subtitles add credibility.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. An action flick without much worthy of special note. Some nifty shoot-em-up sequences and decent martial arts choreography and you've got a way to fill 90 minutes. -
dworldeater25 November 2013Eastern Condors has few equals in the action genre. Directed and starring Sammo Hung, Sammo turns the action to eleven in this hybrid of modern action and kung fu. Also appearing is Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah as the ever reliable villain. E.C. is Hong Kong's answer to The Dirty Dozen where a group of Chinese/American criminals go on a suicide mission to destroy a missile ammunition dump left behind by Marines in Vietnam. The tone is lighter than John Woo's Bullet In The Head, but is taken serious enough to care about the characters, move along the story and sell the abundant and insane action scenes. There is enough bonebreaking martial arts, crazy stunts, as well as a barrage of machine gunfire and explosions to please the most jaded of action fans. Overall, Eastern Condors more than delivers and I always enjoy re watching this action classic.
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Bogey Man6 August 2002Sammo Hung's action film Eastern Condors (1986) tells the story of group of Chinese convicts, who get a chance to get free if they accept to go to deadly mission to Vietnam to destroy one American weapon stock before Vietcong finds it. The group arrives there, but soon learn there are spies among them and everything is not quite as it looks like. What follows is plenty of martial arts and gun fire mayhem.
This film has great cinematography and editing and the action scenes are definitely intense, as can be expected from Sammo Hung and other talents who worked on this film. There is plenty of kung fu and different weapons they make in the jungle, and then there's plenty of the usual fire fights and bullets. The last 20 minutes have been said to be extremely over-the-top action, but I don't think it is so strong and intense, but maybe after seeing films like Heroes Shed No Tears I had little too high expectations.
The main problem with Condors is its stupidity and naive elements as the whole thing is not too believable and the film glorifies war too much. Also, the underlining attitude towards Western culture and America is too gratuitous as characters say things like "Westerners are so stupid" and so on. The characters are not deep but very shallow and uninteresting. The film doesn't have any soul and thus becomes a delight to the eye only.
I appreciate clever action films very much and Hong Kong has produced very much of those films, too. Eastern Condors offers very fast action and martial arts, but lacks the depth and message this kind of film should and could have. Still I found this worthwhile to watch since I like Eastern cinema much and can also forgive some of their films' mistakes and flaws easier than some other films'. Many will without a doubt think this is among the greatest action films ever, due to its kinetic and occasionally brutal action, but anyone waiting for little more intelligent or symbolic piece of cinema will slightly disappoint. Still I think 7/10 is the right rating for this film. If you're interested in this kind of Asian adventure, I'd recommend John Woo's Heroes Shed No Tears, which is much more interesting film and has really incredible action scenes and also symbols borrowed from the Japanese Baby Cart films. -
Eastern Condors (1986) is an awesome movie from Hong Kong Cinema legend Sammo Hung. Hung, along with his crew of usual actors remake the classic Dirty Dozen along with Full Metal Jacket. The end results is one of the best action movies ever made. From the beginning until the end, this action packed film doesn't disappoint it's intended audience and will make converts out of the non-believers.
A group of Chinese-American soldiers are given a second chance at redemption. If they complete this dangerous assignment they'll receive a full pardon and compensation money. They have to take out a cache of weapons left behind by the U.S. Army in Viet-Nam. Can this bunch destroy the weapons depot and avoid detection from the local Vietnamese military?
Lam Ching-Ying is appointed by the government to lead the rag tag soldiers into combat. Sammo Hung is second in command. Yuen Biao is a local Vietnamese resident who joins the soldiers, Yuen Wah co-stars as the ruthless Vietnamese officer who purses the soldiers to no end. Joyce Godenzi also co-stars as the leader of a small unit of freedom fighters.
Like I said before, this is a no nonsense action packed film from beginning to end. The fight scenes are amazing and the direction from Sammo Hung is pretty solid. If you enjoy action films by all means grab this one immediately.
Highest recommendation possible. -
veganflimgeek27 November 2003***Mild spoilers***
Eastern condors is a mindless action film lovers dream. That doesn't mean the film is stupid. Technically speaking the film is not high quality, the special effects, sound design. while lets put it this way are not made to high standards. If your not scared away by a little campy feel you'll be ok. I think Sammo and his team decided that for this film it was more important to spend the money on blowing up stuff, guns and hospital bills for stuntmen rather than how crappy the effects look.
Yes this is a Hong Kong dirty dozen. Yes QT plays this in his film fest and it inspired his next film(after kill bill). In other words there is good stuff here. The martial arts is some of the best you will ever see. The last twenty minutes is one of the most effective show downs in martial arts movie history. There are lots of scenes where someone gets slammed and you can't help but cringe. There is one stunt where a man takes a dive on a staircase that had to result in a injury.
Yuen Biao is his usual acrobatic self, stealing scenes. I always wonder why he never got the fame of Jackie or Jet. Sammo does a great job acting and performing in this movie which is even more impressive since he directed the picture. I noticed that he shared the marital arts direction.
I noticed someone else commented on the absolutely hilarious closing credits. It is very funny. Also the Vietnam war stock footage is also funny. -
BA_Harrison29 June 2007In the early 90s, after reading a glowing review of the film in a fanzine, I shelled out mucho dinero for a pirated un-subtitled VHS copy of Eastern Condors. And even though I didn't have a clue what was being said, the movie blew me away with its OTT gung-ho action, bullet-riddled battle scenes and unbelievable martial arts madness.
These days the film is available on DVD remastered, fully restored and subtitled, so fans of fantastic fight action have no excuse for not checking out this marvellous movie.
Director and star Sammo Hung takes the basic plot of The Dirty Dozen (a group of criminals take part in a dangerous mission with the promise of freedom if they succeed), adds a touch of The Deer Hunter and Rambo, and throws in a ton of amazing kung fu to deliver one of the best Hong Kong flicks of the 80s.
Joining Sammo on his dangerous mission (into Vietnam, to destroy a hidden US munitions dump) are the brilliant Yuen Baio (as a Vietnamese profiteer dealing in smuggled goods), Oscar winner Haing S. Ngor, Lam Ching Ying, Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen, Charlie Chin, and Sammo's real-life wife, the gorgeous Joyce Godenzi. Playing nasty bad-guys out to foil the mission are Billy Chow and the fantastic Yuen Wah. With a line up like that, and Hung calling the shots, excellence is almost guaranteed.
From the moment our 'heroes' parachute into a Vietcong infested jungle, Eastern Condors is non stop brutal action and unmissable fare for those who enjoy their war films violent and unfettered by serious political comment. The bad guys are pure evil (Wah's sniggering fan-waving general is as despicable as they come) and deserve to die. End of story.
And die they do: blasted by machine guns, knifed to death in guerrilla attacks, hacked by machetes, and even killed by imaginative use of jungle flora! In a blistering finale in an underground, missile laden bunker, the surviving good-guys take on the enemy in a vicious showdown that will leave you breathless. Yuen Baio and Sammo take the spotlight in the final fight against Wah and Chow, and the result is some of the best martial arts action ever committed to film. Baio's acrobatic skills are well showcased, whilst Hung, who slimmed down in order to be able to perform more incredible stunts, is on particularly fine form.
Only the occasional 'silly' moment (such as the death of a stuttering character who dies when he fails to reach twenty before opening his parachute), and the rather strange nutter played by Haing S. Ngor (I'm still not sure what the point of his character was) stop me from giving this top marks.
But 9/10 is nothing to be sniffed at, and any fan of the genre should definitely check this one out. -
"Eastern Condors" is a weird Hong Kongese Vietnam War action flick from legendary actor-writer Sammo Hung, and starring the equally legendary martial arts performer Yuen Biao, who was a contemporary of Hung and Jackie Chan at the Peking Opera School.
So what's so "weird" about it? It has scenes that rip off at least three well known war movies, and uses them for reasons I couldn't really discern. For one thing, the movie is a clear copy of "The Dirty Dozen"; the main characters are mostly a group of criminals who have been recruited to perform some dangerous mission. Then there are shades of "Where Eagles Dare" in the details of the mission: going behind enemy lines to destroy a munitions dump. And what do you know, on the way there - in a scene that comes out of nowhere - they are captured by the North Vietnamese Army, kept in a cell mostly underwater, and forced to play... you guessed it... Russian Roulette. What else?
The clichés of course don't stop there, they just become less obvious in their inspiration, eg. what war movie doesn't have a scene where one of the number gets injured, and tells the other guys to "go on... just leave me!"
The film deviates, if not from war movies in general but from most martial arts flicks, in being quite a bit more violent in parts than you might expect. There's a double head-shot scene, somebody losing at Russian Roulette, and a hand being chopped off, but it's not this violent throughout, making these scenes all the more surprising.
Overall, "Eastern Condors" is a weird mish mash of genre and cliché, which is really only worth watching for its final fight between Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung and the legendary (there's that word again) actor and choreographer, Yuen Woo Ping, who did the choreography for "The Matrix" and "Kill Bill" movies. He steals the scene as the preening, giggling villain, using claw hands like something out of a James Bond movie, which his hidden underground lab also reminds one of. So I guess that completes the rip-off stew that is "Eastern Condors" - three parts familiar war movie, two parts kung fu, and one part Bond. -
mjneu5915 November 2010Hong Kong action movies can be hard enough to swallow under the best of circumstances, but this post-Vietnam War variation (i.e. rip-off) of 'The Dirty Dozen' lacks even the guilty pleasures of its predecessors. The hard-boiled heroes, all of course handpicked from military prison (and numbering less than a dozen: several don't survive past the opening credits), are dropped by parachute into the jungles of Southeast Asia with orders to blow up an abandoned U.S. weapons dump before it falls into Communist hands. Predictably, this particular semi-dozen take most of their cues from Rambo's revisionist warmongering, with the only surprise being an unexpected, brazen theft of the notorious Russian roulette scene from 'The Deer Hunter', gratuitously reproduced almost shot for shot. The film doesn't, thankfully, take itself very seriously (you'll notice nobody simply falls down after being shot: a martial arts trampoline somersault is always required), but it lacks the visual nerve and narrative panache of the best dumb-fun action adventures. And yes, the Hiang S. Ngor mugging his way through several scenes is the same Academy Award winning actor from 'The Killing Fields'.
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Just after the Vietnam War the U.S. Government decides to send a group of Chinese soldiers back into 'Nam to recover some munitions long stolen by the VC. Part of this group are convicted soldiers who are relieved of their sentence should they complete the mission. But when the mission is scrubbed at the point where half the soldiers have already jumped off the plane, the misfit crew must complete the unofficial mission regardless.
Fans of the kung-fu genre will certainly find other films with better martial arts, but the kung-fu within this film is superbly done. This is because of sequences put together by stars Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Sammon Hung (Magnificient Butcher, Warriors Two, Dragons Forever) stars and directs this military film and is probably in the best shape of his career here, looking very fit and limber as the leader of the crew. Yuen Biao (Knockabout, Prodigal Son, Dragons Forever) plays a villager who ends up helping the troops when they come to rescue his uncle. With Yuen Biao aboard you know that you are going to see some amazing martial arts action as one of the best of all time pulls off some amazing aerial moves.
For those who follow kung-fu film history, this film certainly is interesting as it brings together many from the Peking Opera House (the China Drama Academy) where Sammo, Biao, and Jackie Chan were schoolmates. Yuen Wah, the ultimate bad guy seen recently as Landlord in Kung Fu Hustle, and Corey Yuen (who went by Yuen Kwai in his old Opera House days - and rarely acts since he's an acclaimed director of such films as The Transporter) also went to school at the same time as Jackie, Sammo, and Biao. Yuen Woo-Ping, the acclaimed actor/action coordinator of films like The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Iron Monkey also attended the same school years earlier. Woo-Ping makes a rare acting appearance here and is pretty damn funny throughout the film providing some comic relief.
The film certainly isn't original with many plot devices from films like Deer Hunter and Dirty Dozen. However the action comes near non-stop and the great cast help push the film quickly along. The kung-fu moments do come few and far between but those fights are worth it to see Sammo and Biao performing some amazing martial arts. -
g-8962218 October 2021Hong Kong anti-war movies are rare, and Hong Jinbao has deeply left the brand of the times with a group of people. Compared with the box office, the investment in the film is undoubtedly a failure. After all, the previous Qixiaofu series has made Hong Jinbao synonymous with the box office. The same is like a handover. After that, Hong Jinbao has never been able to become a weapon for Hong Kong movies to grab the box office. Since then, the action film belongs to Jackie Chan, and the comedy film belongs to Wang Jing Zhou Xingchi. But looking back at such a movie, it can be said that it is a classic, and the flexible fat man is not the temperament of the rivers and lakes that later have a big belly.
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hellraiser730 November 2015This is one of my favorite martial arts films, it's also my third favorite film from one of my favorite martial artists Sammo Hung whom also of course directed this film and I must say he really outdid him self once again.
Not a lot to say, the plot line is pretty simple as it's rag tag solders sent on a secret mission during wartime. It's pretty much "The Dirty Dozen" mixed in with a little "James Bond", I know it's kinda a crazy combo but this is a movie that is a little in the pulp action route so it doesn't take itself too seriously.
The production value is great, I really love the use of the jungle location with all the dirt, grit, darkness, tall grass, trees, darkness, you name it. Even the music I thought was very good there is a good song or two. The pacing is solid, the film isn't too long so there's no lagging.
The Condor platoon characters are solid, they all have unique persona's, a hint of depth and they do have good chemistry and even moments of humor which makes us kinda care about them. Though the characters that stand out for me are the two characters played by none other than Sammo Hung and Yuen Bieo, and the character Benny whom has those Phil Silvers like glasses he was really funny, as he says my favorite quote in the film in the end which made me crack up. But there are even moments of tragedy when we see certain characters die, which can be really sad but this just goes to show how war is hell.
However were in this film for the action and it delivers it real well. From the shootouts but most importantly the Martial arts sequences both well chorigraphed, Sammo as usual delivers with his strong kung fu and Yuen his kung fun and gymnast skills which are just excellent. I like some of the jungle skirmishes one of them of course is one of my favorite battles is the stealth combat sequence where both Sammo and Yuen have to take out the enemy soilders one by one, this obviously takes it's cue from the stelth action sequences in both "Rambo 2 and 3" but all the same it was a lot of fun and suspenseful. There are plenty of creative ways they dispatch the soilders, my favorite one was where Sammo uses some tall reeds and then shoots out the branch ends of them like harpoons toward each of the enemy soilders. That wouldn't work in real life but it was fun and really cool to think it could.
but my favorite action sequence in the film which of course is one of my favorite battles and another of one fights of all time is in the hidden base of the enemies. Love how they utilize the hide out as their battle ground and the set pieces they used, but I really love the one on one battle with the main enemy whom looks like a James Bond villain, he practically has the Dr.No outfit. This guy just has some of really good moves, here he seems to have some gripping power which I'll admit is unusual but kinda interesting, when ever he attacks he's always trying to get his opponents into his grip of death when in one instance it look as though he was going to crush or rip Yuen's face off; this really give both Sammo and Yuen a run for their money in the fight.
Well that's really it, if your a fan of Sammo then this film is worth the flight. Eastern Condors flies high.
Rating: 3 and a half stars -
neonadventure16 June 2019"Eastern Condors" is a 1987 Chinese action film directed and starred Sammo Hung. It also included many other famous actors/actresses who would soon become famous years after this like Yuen Biao, (Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung always work with him) Joyce Godenzi, (Sammo Hung's future wife) Wah Yuen, (the landlord of Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle") Lam Ching Ying, (famous for "Prodigal Son" and "Mr. Vampire") Yuen Woo-Ping, (action choreographer of the "Matrix", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and "Drunken Master") and Billy Chow. (The famous villain of Jet Li's "Fist of Legend") The film itself plays similar to any other Vietnam war film, but with a Bond twist into it.
During the Vietnam War, a group of prisoners are dropped into the gruesome battlefields of Vietnam as they must find and destroy dangerous missiles that the enemies hold. The story itself plays very simply, yet it plays around like a dance. Our main characters can be seen constantly being attacked by bullets of the enemies that surround them, day and night. The film itself easily kills a prisoner, one by one. Sammo dares to kill his prisoners one by one as they are driven into madness and their desires of completing their tasks without fail. There was a big scene in the beginning of the film when after the prisoners are taken in as hostages of a group of Vietnamese soldiers. They are forced to play Russian Roulette which is stolen from, "The Deer Hunter." The only difference is, children are the one that are pulling the trigger for the prisoners. While the remaining prisoners take down their enemy's camp, one prisoner was about to shoot down an innocent child when the child later stabbed him and ran away with excellent speed. It was rather an interesting scene that tells us how bad the Vietnam War was like.
Although this film isn't the greatest Vietnam War film to hold the emotional impact like, "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now", "Eastern Condors" does still thrill the audience with it's strong action sequences, a scene or two of light humor between one character or another, (Not physical humor as Jackie Chan does) and the overall strong message that it displays out. Although this film isn't that good now that I think of it, it does remain as one of Sammo Hung's greatest films to date and can get a little over the top. The story itself can be a bit too simple and uncomplex and the uses of humor for a war film isn't the smartest choice. Although, if you enjoy action fight sequences, you will enjoy this cult classic. -
Pucki20 April 1999A bunch of chinese-american prisoners is sent to Vietnam after the war has ended to destroy an ammo depot deep in the vietnamese jungle. Intended just as camouflage for the real commando mission they soon have to do the job on their own and for most of them it will be their final mission.
This is, by all means, the best of Sammo's directorial efforts (including his collaborations with Jackie Chan). The action-adventure is well-paced, well acted (even if Haing S. Ngor's acting is a bit campy) and has all trademark-action scenes we are meanwhile used to see from John Woo - and with a nice touch of Sammo's kind of humour. The final showdown in the subterranean missile depot is a must-see, alone for the great set design (but the fight scenes are terrific, too). -
FilmMining10113 April 2024Reviewed by Film Mining 101:
Hailed by many as Sammo Hung's best film (debatable), "Eastern Condors" was made during a time when the war and testosterone fueled cinema dominated the US big screens following the Vietnam conflict through pop culture icons (e.g., "Predator" (1987), "Rambo: First Blood Part II" (1987)) and in-depth gritty takes on the genre (e.g., Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (1986), Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987)).
Hung pays homage not only to those aforementioned movies but also to "Dirty Dozen" (1967) type flicks featuring an ensemble team heading towards a dangerous and of course, top secret mission. A pedantic excuse for a story is being used as a vehicle to craft some outrageously dangerous stunts, plenty of mano-a-mano action, spray lots of bullets and set off numerous pyrotechnics. Technically "Eastern Condors" can be seen as a Hong Kong remake of "Rambo: First Blood Part II" only instead of Stallone, we have multiple Chinese-American convicts with the same bravado and attitude played by famous Asian stars (among them the legendary choreographers/directors Yuen Woo-ping (e.g., "Drunken Master" (1978), "The Matrix" (1999)) and Corey Yuen (e.g., "Yes, Madam" (1985), "The Transporter" (2002)) who never have to reload a gun and can kill simultaneously and instantly a dozen of opponents.
Whether this parody-leaning tactic is intentional, it remains unknown. What stays in memory is Sammo's ability to stage crystal clear action in wide shots amidst a plethora of exotic locations (Philippines posing for Vietnam). Looking more expensive and expansive than your classic Hong Kong actioner, Hung has a large sandbox to play besides staging extensive martial arts sequences and he does not disappoint by incorporating a lethal tone through surprisingly shocking and violent deaths. However, the jarring for Western audiences tonal shifts can cause a degree of discomfort disrupting a sense of dramatic stakes whereas the really abrupt ending - a typical element of 80s Hong Kong cinema, will leave you scratching your head.
The large cast is likeable yet only few manage to register some level of personality before being killed off. Thus, the majority of acting rests on the shoulders of Hung and Yuen Biao who believe it or not, is more flexible than Jackie Chan in an entertaining role which does not make any sense in the 1970s Vietnam but you are not here for realism. Credit should be given to Hung also for pushing his female co-stars to conduct their own stunts, especially the gorgeous Joyce Godenzi demonstrating equal treatment in stuntwork and contact fighting. The lack of a truly intimidating villain though is strongly felt as our heroes face endless waves of goons scene after scene and when Yuen Wah's evil communist exits the stage the moment he is introduced while Yasuaki Kurata and Dick Wei have nothing to do besides fall down.
Despite its serious tone and action overload, "Eastern Condors" still pretty much is a representation of Hong Kong's mainstream cinema. Although it does not break new ground the way Hung's "Wheels on Meals" (1984) or Chan's "Police Story" (1985) did, its well crafted sequences are its main lucrative ingredient along with a charming and appealing ensemble of Asian stars. -
sarastro716 June 2005Eastern Condors is a war movie which is filled to the brim with cool action and great kung fu acrobatics. A contingent of Chinese-Americans go to Vietnam just after the end of the Vietnam War in 1976 to find and blow up a U.S. weapons cache. As they arrive they are joined by three female Cambodian guerrilla warriors, the leader of which being played by the stunningly gorgeous and superbly kung fu capable Joyce Godenzi, who's only made a few movies (a friend tells me that she probably retired from movie-making after marrying Sammo Hung).
Yuen Biao is very cool in it, though his role could have been larger. The main spotlight goes to Sammo Hung, whose character is aflame with constant guerrilla action, and to him also goes the final showdown with Yuen Wah.
All in all, a very cool Sammo Hung actioner. The story and its execution are strictly speaking not great, but the action makes it eminently watchable. I rate the movie a 7 for the overall story, with an added point for Joyce Godenzi's coolness.
Thus, 8 out of 10. -
Initial exposition is rather rough, but thankfully it's fairly brief. Even more unfortunate is if the version of this one manages to find is the dub, for this is the type of dubbing that gives dubbing a bad name. One can forgive the common premise, one that we've seen time and again; on the other hand, the writing decidedly direct, and the brisk pacing makes it feel even more so. There are also instances here of editing, be they overzealous or emptily favoring slow motion, and more uncommonly instances of overzealous cinematography, that distract and detract from the core value of the title. For what it's worth, though, there's but one thing that we especially anticipate from movies out of Hong Kong, movies from Golden Harvest, and/or movies involving Sammo Hung, Barry Wong, Corey Yuen, or Yuen Biao, and I don't think there's any arguing that the stunts, actions sequences, and effects here are pretty terrific. That's what we came here for, and that's the value we get; only, would that as much are care had gone into every other facet of the feature as was put into those moments that are are splendidly artistic as they are invigorating. I don't think 'Eastern condors' is a must-see in any measure, but if you're a fan of like fare or of those involved, it's still definitely worth checking out.
The narrative and scene writing are fine in the broad strokes, with some moments (the action-oriented ones in particular) being stronger than others, even where it's outright imitative. Then again, the plot at large is quite thin, a lot of the attempted humor just isn't funny, and most of the dialogue is just plain bad (admittedly, again, this is the dub, and I can only hope the original Cantonese is better). The music, it must be noted, is so highly repetitive that it swiftly becomes overbearing and irritating. Yet in other capacities this is admirably well made, with beautiful filming locations, great sets, and costume design, props, weapons, and vehicles that were a boon for the production. Hung's direction is never in question; while fare like this doesn't specifically require much by way of performances, the acting is fine. Still, there's no disputing where the intent and strength of the picture lie, and it bears repeating that even at its most overblown all the action looks fantastic. Some moments are even more violent than I expected, for that matter, and one way or another the stunts, effects, and fights are executed with a precision and expertise that's deeply gratifying. Everyone involved knew what their chief skills were, and what 'Eastern condors' was meant to be, and the end result is as good and entertaining as it is for exactly these reasons.
Even if you're a diehard devotee of Hong Kong cinema, or the participants here, I don't think this is so substantial as to mark it as a must-see. There are countless other titles of a like mind, from the 70s and 80s not least, that are more dependably solid and enjoyable, with fewer distinct flaws and maybe none at all. All the same, if you come across this you know what you're looking for, and you know you'll get it. This isn't perfect or essential, but 'Eastern condors' is nevertheless a good time overall, and is surely enough to earn a fair recommendation. -
coconutkungfu-3070419 February 2020This star-studded Vietnam epic is one of HK cinema's finest action pictures. Sammo Hung , who this time around has slimmed down in preparation for his role, leads an amazing cast in a film with brutal hard-hitting action with some immense impact. The story is a kind of Dirty Dozen in Vietnam that is interesting and the cast of characters are great.
One of my absolute favorite films! I eagerly await a director's cut to be released someday with all the extra footage that was never released (some of which can be seen in the original theatrical trailer) -
stellan-sjolin12 March 2018I guess its a quite good movie (for its genre), but the dubbing is really bad, even for a 80's kungfu movie, so if you got the dubbed version its only the actionscenes its bearable to watch, they are good tho. Im gonna try and find a version in the original language to watch.
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