Hero of the Wild (1977)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Don't Believe the Hype

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

More bone crunching martial arse hi jinks here, full of bad dubbing, questionable antics, and bad wigs. Grrr. I'll get you! Some champion challenges another champion to a fight on a beach (I'll get you!), causing the other guy to kill himself. This guy's son goes nuts (I'll get you!) but the losing champion makes the winning champion promise that he'll look after his son and also take down some Manchurian spies who also happen to be champion fighters, so now the winning champion has to raise this guy and teach his kung fu in order for the losing champion's son to grow up strong and kill him. Makes sense so far, eh?So the champion guys also gets hired to kill a guy who turns out to be the guy he was going to kill anyway, plus the guy that hired him was wearing a mask so we'll have to wait to find out who he was. He's also training this young guy to kill him, which seems to involve killing a dog (for real? Who knows in these films) because kindness is not allowed or something, and now and again rescuing this girl from a life of prostitution.While story wise this is kind of boring jazz (not to mention confusing, as it seems to me a bunch of innocent people were beaten up and killed), there's plenty of martial arse battles to watch. For some reason the version I watched was split into two separate parts. It's okay, don't sweat it if you don't see it.

ej's kung-fu capsule review for films of the chop-socky old-school - 1. basic plot type - Family honor must be avenged; traitors must be ferreted out and destroyed; a young man comes of age by learning kung-fu from a real master. the film also has a more complicated dramatic plot elements than most 'fu films of this era. Chen Xing plays an aging fighter with traditional values who decides to train the son of a man he has shamed into committing suicide. The relationship between master and student thus becomes extremely complex, and may surprise those familiar with simpler variants of these plot elements from countless other old school 'fu films.2. plot construction - Audacious; there is a real effort to make these characters 3-dimensional, and to develop a narrative that allows this to happen. However, the film is a little slow in spots.3. dramatic - Yes, very; above average dialog and real effort by the cast to deliver the lines in a believable manner. The story also has a strong theme, concerning the difficulties of living as a righteous warrior in very unrighteous times. That's a common theme in this genre, but here it is really brought to the fore. The decision to set the story on the eve of the Manchurian overthrow of the Ming dynasty adds an element of foreboding that enhances the tension of the film - the collapse of the Ming was due in part to a betrayal by one of the leading Ming generals. Consequently the subplot concerning the discovery of traitors is given more weight than it would normally have in a 'fu film; and the issue is emphasized from a different perspective by the relationship between the master and student, since the master, almost accidentally, suggests that the student should be prepared to betray him in order to get revenge for his father's death (!) - this is a very complex thematic work-out for this genre.4. funny - Occasionally.5. dialog - Solid - about character rather than events; the central relationship between master and student is entirely credible.6. cast performance - Very strong; this is probably the single best performance by Chen Xing, who could act as well as perform martial arts.7. crew performance - More than simply competent - very nice camera work.8. amount of fighting - Plenty.9. quality of fighting - Top notch.10. special any cast or crew notes - Chen Xing acted in a lot of old school 'fu films, from the late '60s to the early '80s. He was a true master of the Shaolin styles of kung fu, but also an excellent actor, able to play many different roles. Most 'fu film fans will best remember him as the villain of any number of historically-set 'fu films, but he actually began his career playing heroes, and was first delegated to villain roles during a brief stay at Shaw Bros. working under master director Chang Cheh. Chen Xing performed in many of the best - and some of the worst - films of the chop-socky era, but his performance is always solidly professional, regardless of the quality of the film he's in.This film also represents early work from Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwei) of the Yuen Clan (Yuen Woo Ping, Simon Yuen, etc.), and Yuen Biao of the Lucky Stars troop (Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, etc.), as martial arts choreographers. The third choreographer is listed as "Tony Tu" which I suspect is a pseudonym for Ching Siu Tung. Director William Chang also gets credits for photography and for co-writing the screenplay. Chang later flowered as art-director and production designer on a lot of films of the "New Wave" '80s.11. big positive - A very strong story with strong characters played by strong actors.12. big negative - Slow at times.bottom-line - who should see this movie - It is probably most enjoyable for those familiar with the old school 'fu film tradition; for new-comers to chop-socky, the complicated plot and theme may be a bit confusing. Still, for those open to it, this is a finely made genre film, richly rewarding.

Forget all about what some other reviewers say about this being a "decent" or above average Kung Fu film. The picture is simply awesome.. Naturally, the plot has it's flaws.. but it's essentially better than most Kung Fu movies of the time and at times really interesting and somehow riveting. The best thing about the movie is of course the fights.. and I tell you, they are simply top-notch! Sing Chen and Hwang Jang Lee really shine as the best fighters of the nation and Jang Lee proves again why he is the best kicker the world has ever seen. The choreography is absolutely insane, but I guess that's what you'll have to expect when Yuen Biao is credited as the action director (he has a small role as one of Jang Lee's grandsons as well, and honestly.. who do you think was doubling for all the other cast when needed??) I didn't expect that much from this movie.. but it's a fact.. Kung Fu films don't get any better than this.

In Sweden they sell a cheap box everywhere called "karate classics" with five old kung fu films from the seventies.. This film was the only good film in the box. The cover says "The Fox of Shaolin". The story is quite boring and strange... mostly about honour, challenges, revenge and so on... but hey.. it´s old skool kung fu:)Sing Chen play the lead role. The Kung Fu action by YUEN BIAO and COREY YUEN is very good. They both also play small roles. HWANG JANG LEE and LO LIEH is the bad guys..A quite impressive role list.I was very surprised! Any collector of kung fu films should own this one. It seems to be totally forgotten. I wonder why! I liked it.