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  • Popular Taiwanese director Tsai Yang Ming, who brought us the likes of The Prodigal Boxer, 72 Desperate Rebels, and Shaolin Drunken Monk to name but a few, delivers another imaginative and busy wu xia adventure.

    The film starts of with our heroes standing off against a team of fighters called the Four Ants - who are, believe it or not, 4 dwarves dressed in different colours, who carry a large coffin around on their shoulders for the next person they kill. The English dub makes them sound like adults speaking like children, which is very odd, and even though their swords are bigger than they are, they still move pretty well. It doesn't last long, but at least you have an idea of where things are going.

    Things come across a little messy before the film starts getting 'somewhat exciting' about 30 minutes in. At this point, our three heroes have uncovered and helped stopped some corrupt officials, but things from here on in just don't seem to be in their favour!

    As a fan of 70's Taiwanese kung-fu films and Chen Sing, I really wanted to love this, but it just didn't have enough excitement, or fight scenes, to win me over. And the English dub didn't help either. There are a few good fights, and more-so after the one-hour-mark, but nothing to make me want to see it again...

    Overall: Worth one watch for some fun fights, but that's about it!
  • Leofwine_draca2 September 2017
    Warning: Spoilers
    A BROTHERHOOD OF HEROES is a dark and scuzzy kung fu flick from Taiwan. Action fans will be disappointed by the lack of hard-hitting fight scenes here, and the ones which do occur are strictly routine, with hits that never connect and lots of jumping around with very little impact. It's a period-set piece in which a trio of wandering swordsmen-type heroes discover a sinister conspiracy at the imperial court, but the plotting is hackneyed and the twists well choreographed in advance. The one and only Barry Chan stars, alongside Jackie Chen and a cameoing Chen Sing, who really deserves better.