Return of the Tiger (1979)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

A Disappointing Continuation

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Plagued by Extremely Long and Ridiculous Action Scenes This film begins with a young woman coming into a gymnasium and proceeding to beat up the men training there. When some members from management enter and ask her the reason for her actions a man from the bleachers named "Chang Hung" (Bruce Li) appears and says he wants to talk with the overall boss known simply as "Paul the Westerner" (Paul L. Smith). As it turns out, Chang Hung and his unnamed "female partner" (played by Angela Mao) are involved in a game of intrigue between two rival gangs who deal in drugs and he's playing both ends against the middle in an effort to eliminate the two of them. Now from what I understand this film is a sequel to "Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger" with Bruce Li trying to fill the void resulting from the death of Bruce Lee. Yet, while the first film suffered from mediocre acting, this film languished due to action scenes which were extremely long and utterly ridiculous. That being said, I was not impressed with this particular film at all and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

Fun little martial arts time-filler, with Bruce Li attempting to bring down a pair of international drug dealing operations by pitting one against the other. Paper-thin plot is just an excuse for endless martial arts fight sequences, most are fairly well choreographed, some go on for such a long time, however, they become tiresome. Well photographed in Bangkok (?, at least, that is where the story is set) with a funny bit with a lubed-up Li fighting gargantuan-sized foe; and a good (if still slightly goofball) climactic battle in a warehouse with Paul Smith.Print quality is surprisingly good also, without noticeable frames missing and awkward jump cuts, nor annoying clicks and pops on the soundtrack.

Shrewd, suave Chang Wong (a solid and amiable performance by the handsome and charismatic Bruce Li) and his redoubtable female partner (superbly essayed with delicious vigor by the foxy Angela Mao) devise an elaborate scheme to take out a heroin drug ring led by the nefarious Paul (nicely played by the enormous Paul Smith of "Popeye" and "Dune" fame). Moreover, Chang also works for a rival dope-dealing organization in order to further stir things up. Director Jimmy Shaw crams this baby with a handy helping of hugely entertaining good stuff: wall-to-wall fierce and crazy martial arts fights, several groovy nightclub scenes (the funky-chillin' house band is simply amazing!), a couple of brutal garrotings, inspired occasional use of strenuous slow motion, a nonstop speedy pace, a wild free-for-all confrontation between the two criminal factions, and a fantastic rousing climactic showdown between Li and Smith in which Li's graceful physical agility is pitted against Smith's fearsome brute strength. Chou Fu Liang's awesomely gnarly throbbing disco score hits the soulful spot. Chiou Yao-Hwu's reasonably polished cinematography likewise makes the grade. Best of all, the lovely Ms. Mao looks smoking hot in a sparkling silver jumpsuit and beats the living tar out of a teeming volume of guys. What's not to like about this totally fun vintage 70's grindhouse flick?

I'm so sick of people judging these classic kung fu movies by completely ridiculous criteria. So what if the dubbing is bad or the cinematography isn't up to snuff. These were meant as entertainment and should be judged as such. Were you entertained? Yes? Then it's a good movie and shut the f up! This particular movie's got a little bit of everything. Strippers, bad guys who dress like Bing Crosby, Lung Fei's worst hairdo ever, Angela Mao lookin' hot in a metallic jumpsuit, and Bruce Li sporting some major badass swagger. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the fat dude from Robin Williams' Popeye is in it. I won't tell you how he croaks, but let's just say that they don't make 'em like this anymore. And the theme song . . .the theme song ROCKS! I had it stuck in my head for days. If you're a fan of the late 70s / early 80s kung fu genre, then you owe it to yourself to check this out.