The Thundering Mantis (1980)

Sadly Over-hyped

Please don't spend money on this.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I got "Mantis Fist Boxer" on a DVD which also has the movie "Tiger From Canton" from Ground Zero Entertainment. I really wish that Mantis Fist Boxer had been released under the Black Belt Theater Digital Remix collection as opposed to the Brooklyn Zu collection. The print of this movie reeks like the real Brooklyn Zoo and could sorely use some digital touching up.I've watched my fair share of old school Kung Fu movies, and when I say the print of this film is BAD I mean it is an atrocity. In many scenes the film is so over-exposed in either red or blue you can scarcely tell what you're viewing. And when the film isn't over-exposed the pan and scan ratio is so messed up the actors look like you're seeing them in fun house mirrors that make them taller and thinner. Of the more than 100 old school Kung Fu movies I've seen, the Brooklyn Zu print of Mantis Fist Boxer is THE WORST I've seen to date.Normally, cheesy dubbing in crazy British voices would amuse me, but in this film it just adds to the painful experience of having to sit through the movie.Nothing can save this film. Even having the same band of bandits from Dragon Lee's "Champ Against Champ" doesn't help this movie. Even my normal fascination with the mystique of the 18 Bronzemen of Shaolin doesn't help. The plot is so rushed we learn nothing about nor care for the hero. Nor is it explained how or why the evil boss has the 18 Bronzemen of Shaolin at his disposal."Mantis Fist Boxer" SCREAMS amateur production from the shoddy quality of the print, to the lack of a coherent plot, to visual effects that are anything BUT special, all capped off by a rushed stereotypical ending."Mantis Fist Boxer" is now currently tied with "18 Bronzegirls" on my list of worst Kung Fu films ever. Avoid this low budget stinker at all costs

First of all, I doubt very much that this movie is from 1984 (Edit: Oh good! It's been corrected to 1980 now!), as the Kid in it is certainly not six years older than he was in the previous movie (Sleeping Fist, 1978). He's about 12 here, and couldn't have been much more than a year younger in the first.Anyway, Thundering Mantis was yet another disappointment to me. It starts out as unbearably terrible happy-go-lucky comedy, which however admittedly grows on you a bit as it proceeds. But it remains exaggerated and never reaches a truly entertaining level. Also, several passages in the movie are so dull and cliché that you have to fast-forward past them. The quality of the fighting is okay, but nothing particularly impressive.I love Eddy Ko, and was glad to see that he was in this movie as well. However, he once again plays some stupid evil guy (with silly lilac talcum powder on his face) with no motivation at all, and although he gets to put in some decent fighting here, his character remains nonsensical and undeveloped. The torture scenes, mercifully brief, are simply unpleasant.Beardy's mad and bitin' fightin' in the end is the only thing serving to recommend the movie, and it's not much of a recommendation. It's kinda funny and all, but it doesn't succeed in raising the movie to a level higher than mediocrity.I have to mention the horrid, disgusting English dubbing. Some of the accents are British, and others sound like 50-year-old cowboys. There's a lot of cringe-inducing shrill shrieking and some really idiotic sound effects. This was a digitally remastered DVD; where the hell is the sense in remastering the movie and then retaining the horrible original dubbing? Must be because anything else would be too expensive, but... one really wonders who the hell can find it in themselves to present us with this kind of crap dubbing in the age of the DVD. Un-Ac-Ceptable.5 out of 10. (The first movie, Sleeping Fist, received a 6 rating from me.)

"Thundering Mantis" gives you what you expect from a Chinese kung fu movie--poor dubbing, lots of fighting (much of which is obviously fake), and a fairly predictable plot. The main musical theme is like something you'd find in "ChiPs", not really belonging to the movie, but rather amusing. And the introduction, oh boy, if you like cheesy fighting, you'll be rewinding like anything.This movie does do a few things right, better than most kung fu movies. I actually wanted the villains to get their butts kicked. The movie does a good job of showing how Hsia and his henchmen are increasingly cruel and sadistic. Moreover, I actually cared when the good guys suffered(!), especially the boy. "Thundering" even has some pretty funny scenes which are actually supposed to be humorous.Overall, it's worth viewing at least once. Some people may be repulsed by the ending, and there is a bit of swearing, but I still give it 6/10.

As the movie starts, you rapidly become aware of the fact that it's supposed to be a comedy. Not from any perceived attempts a humour, but from the ridiculous faces that are pulled by our protagonist as he gets into 'wacky' situations. Plot? Well, not really. Our bearded hero goes through the traditional ritual of making friends, beating up some bad guys, watching his friends die horribly and revenging them in a long and tedious manner. The kung-fu, while not as stilted as it would be in, say, a Chang Cheh movie, is nonetheless unconvincing and unspectacular. Even by the lowest of standards this movie has nothing going for it, and it should be avoided at all costs.