Magnificent Wanderers (1977)

Overrated

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is not the best from Cheh Chang, but it features a few of my Shaw Brothers faves Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-Chun, David Chiang Da Wei and of course The Venoms, so I am willing to let the uneveness of the film pass.3 con men Lin Shao You (Alexander Fu Sheng) Guan Fei (LiYi-Min) and reluctant companion Shi Da young (Chi Kuan-Chun) are struggling to make a few bucks when they encounter wealthy rebel Chu Tie Xia (David Chiang Da-Wei) . Chu Tie Xia has placed assets in the hands of local merchants and is in town to recoup them. He invites Lin Sah You, Guan Fei and Shi Da Young to a luncheon his is having with the merchants. The merchants swear loyalty to Chu then quickly disperse when a representative of the local Mongols appears to demand Chu's presence for a "chat". Lin Shao You remarks how easily the merchants scattered while he and his 2 friends remained.There are several worthy fight scenes in this film. There is also a lot of fooling around during the fight scenes, mainly from Lin Shao You. He is a typical Fu Sheng character. Plays around a lot but can still kick your butt. Chu's use of the bow and gold pellets is reused in Crippled Avengers (1978) with Tai-Ping Yu as the archer. Three of the Venoms have cameos in this film and spotting them was half the fun. Chiang Sheng is a guard for Mongol General Lu Bo Hua (Shan Mao), who seems far too fearful of fighting to do well as a guard. There is a running gag with Gen. Lu Bo Hua's stuttering. He never seems to complete a thought when talking to his main flunkies. They keep bowing and promising to do as he asks or receive punishment (which we learn is beheading once Hua gets out the words, but always after his flunkies have departed).The final fight scene is more of a competition with an exploding ending. Chu, You, Fei and Young are disguised as Mongols and wander into a Mongol camp. Chu explains they are there to test the skills of the troops. You and Fei outwit soldiers using their wiliness, while Young takes on wrestlers (Venoms Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung and Lu Feng).While You and Young are still challenging soldiers, Fei wanders off in search of a way to take out the camp. He discovers the explosives depot and decides to have some fun while trying to avoid soldiers looking for him. He rejoins his friends while carrying rolls of dynamite. He tosses them at the soldiers to keep them at bay so he and the others can escape the camp. The soldiers immediately scatter. Fei informs his friends the dynamite are duds, as they ride out of the camp. I gave it a 7 more for who was in it than what it concerned. Had the plot been more solidified, I'd have given it a 9.

I'm still not a fan of many kung-fu comedies and this one was no different, even though it was directed by Cheh Chang and features the Venom Mob. While I didn't really care about the story of two goofballs helping out a kung-fu master (kind of a low rent version of "The Hidden Fortress"), this film did feature enough solid Venom Mob fight sequences to make it worth watching.

Despite the negativity surrounding this title, I thought MAGNIFICENT WANDERERS was a decent film. It's a fun filled comedy-action picture with a notably lighter touch than the majority of Chang Cheh's work. The picture stars the ubiquitous Alexander Fu Sheng who along with his allies Yi-Min Li and Chi Kuan-Chun makes a living as a hustler, earning coins from the local public and employing all sorts of deviousness in his bid to make ends meet.The main storyline concerns the efforts of an idiotic Mongol general to have loyal Chinese rebels wiped out. The bad guys are largely a bunch of laughable goons, although occasionally the likes of Phillip Kwok have cameo roles as various henchmen. One of the main stars is David Chiang, who plays his usual impish role as a mysterious fighter figure who ends up teaming up with our heroes.Although there's a marked emphasis on joking around and humour here, there's still plenty of the fine action you'd expect in a Cheh movie. The fights are plentiful and well-staged, and colourful too. Chiang and Fu Sheng as are good as ever while Yi-Min Li really stands out with his awesome acrobatic abilities. The tournament-style ending is unusual but successful, and overall I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Tried to get through the dubbed version, so it's a little unfair, but this is a lame, slapstick attempt at humor, that looked like they cranked it out in between other, better films. "You guys still got your outfits on from Shaolin Avengers? Come over and film this-". Movies like this are what really hurt Shaw Brothers and let Golden Harvest eat there lunch, in the long run. At one time, Shaw brothers would film actors in two or three movies in one day, as they constantly cranked out movies. Some were great, for what they were, but others, such as this, really look like an after thought. One of the reasons is that they wanted to save time, so if you were made up for a period movie, you may be doing two different flicks in one day.