The Man from Hong Kong (1975)

Expected more

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The biggest criminal in Australia is one Jack Wilton (Lazenby). He has his hands in everything: drug running, gun running, prostitution, and he even cheats when he practices Kung-Fu. Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Yu), of the Hong Kong Special Branch, has traveled to Australia to take him down. Working with the local police, Fang infuriates them because he has no rules and is a one-man wrecking crew. All of Wilton's forces are after Fang - but can any force on earth stop THE MAN FROM HONG KONG? Wow. They truly don't make 'em like this anymore. What a shame. Starting from the great opening sequence with no dialogue, on through the exciting climax, The Man From Hong Kong delivers the goods and then some. The plot is perfectly simple, enough so that the movie can be packed with interesting locations, cool music, exciting stunts, tons of Martial Arts and car-chase setpieces, and still have likable characters as well. Not only is it well-shot, it's all directed and edited with verve and energy. We salute the great Brian Trenchard-Smith, who, despite anything else he will ever do, will be a legend for this movie and Stunt Rock (1980).The movie is rife with 70's style - just check out Lazenby's "'stache-fu", and his baddie pad (not to be confused with a bachelor pad). Also we get an excellent knock-down, drag-out fight between Yu and the great Grant Page which is as enjoyable as everything else in this superb movie. And there's still time for some romance, as represented by the beautiful Rebecca Gilling as Angelica. On top of that, there's some humor, mostly represented by Hugh Byrne and his great hair as cop Morrie Grosse. Because it was the 70's, the stunts are real, and there's no political correctness. It's all just a perfect cocktail of pure, enjoyable entertainment. It's just comforting to know there are writer/directors out there that GET IT. That understand great audience-pleasing tactics.Everyone here is at their best, and of course it doesn't skimp on the action. Sammo Hung is even on board, no doubt due to the fact that this movie was co-produced by Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest. It's filled with "yes!" moments, which we believe we've mentioned before, where as a viewer, something so cool happens, you just have to yell out, "yes!".Everything is done right in this awesome film, and the 2-disc Australian DVD pays this great movie a nice tribute. If you can find it, it seems to be the ultimate way to own this classic. Shockingly, this movie was not released on VHS in the U.S. until Tai Seng did a quiet, under-the-radar release in 2001. Because it didn't receive a golden-age VHS release on, say, Vestron, Paragon, Lightning, or a label like that, the movie's cult stature grew, but mainly in other territories around the world. With the advent of DVD, this can be rectified, and all can now see this fine film.Featuring the ultra-catchy, legendary song "Sky High" by the great band Jigsaw, The Man From Hong Kong is a must-see.For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Funky soundtrack, tight sound effects, great action. Knife play, guys on fire, tons of exploding cars. Ridiculous 70s haircuts, mustaches, tight pants on men--it's camp gold. Special Inspector Fang of Hong Kong police is sent to Sydney after the Sammo character gets caught doing a heroine deal with an Aussie. And it turns out that the mastermind behind the operation, Sammo's boss, is an Australian kung fu master. The final showdown between them is slightly disappointing. The putative Aussie kung fu master catches on fire and has trouble getting his sport coat off. Why doesn't he just roll on the ground? Instead he sustains severe burns, making him easy work for Fang to finish off. The whole thing is laced with not-so-subtle nationalism, as the Australians continually compliment Fang's toughness and smarts, saying things like, "I really admire you. Chinese people are exceptional." Inspector Fang is a kind of Asian James Bond, and he meets beautiful Australian girls both in Hong Kong and Sydney, one of whom teaches him to hangglide.Note that Sammo's role in the film is quite small.

I really liked this movie but the close comparison to Bob Jones the Australian Karate Tycoon of the 1970's and Wilton is a little scary. I would think that Jackie Chan would have made a better Hong Kong Cop thus shoring up fight scenes with a little credibility. What drew me in was the Australian 'Occer' predominant in this film. It looks like they borrowed the cast from Mad Max 1 which was good in my opinion as the actors in that film were good but needed more development and this film gave them that. If they made a remake of this film it would have to be set in the same era, as difficult as that sounds it would have to strive hard to capture the same feel. Bolo's early bit-parts are the best in my opinion and he did not disappoint.

I find it hard to believe that at a web-site which attracts more than 8 million people a month (that equates to 17 people a minute, one every three seconds!) that only TWO people in all these years have posted reviews of this mini-classic - "Z" grade rubbish that it is!I LOVE this flick.The acting is hysterical, the script at junior high-school level (I collapse on the lounge every time I hear Lazenby mouthing off to Wang Yu "I know your martial arts!") But man, this is high-voltage fun, a film that actually defies criticism. Wang Yu comes to Sydney to break up a drug smuggling ring headed up by the "and please leave your license to kill on my desk when you leave" former Bond non-event, George Lazenby. Following multiple impossible chop-socky set-to's with Lazenby's henchman, and George's own comical demise atop his penthouse, Wang Yu saves the day...and the girl! Great stuff!If nothing else, this film earns a place in the hall of fame for delivering to the world British Jigsaw's SKY HIGH which I can never hear without remembering how young I was when this came out! Magic!Trivia buffs might like to notice who that rather porky asian scumbag is trying to evade capture atop Ayer's Rock (now referred to as ULURU) during the early part of the flick and who later has his head unceremoniously pushed into the toilet by Wang Yu! None other than long-time Jackie Chan friend and Director - Sammo Hung! Martial arts choreographer without peer! Watch also for the exploding Toyota Crown scene at Ayer's Rock...that airborne door gave the on-set crew-members a few nervous moments!