Wu Tang Magic Kick (1977)

Absolutely the worst movie.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

WU TANG MAGIC KICK gives us Mar, whose business interests are threatened by the nefarious Fang Kang gang. Before you can say Kung Fu, he's ruined (when he listens to a rundown of all the commodities he's lost- thousands of tons of goods- one can certainly sympathize with him; he runs his hands over his head, which hangs low over the table as he listens, and one can almost FEEL the blood pounding in his brain). His home is infiltrated, as well, and his wife kidnapped. So much for Mar's promise to his wife not to use his "magic kick." Despite his impressive kicking ability, he ends up a prisoner of the Fang Kang gang and is tortured mercilessly: while hanging helplessly in a metal cage, he is driven insane by the constant "rattling of his cage" by men armed with metal bars. Meanwhile, his wife loses her will to live and becomes the mistress of the gang-leader's nephew. Mar is finally freed, but he's both a physical and a mental wreck (and, therefore, no longer considered a threat to/by the gang). He begins rehab in the hopes of exacting revenge. Not a bad movie, all told, and I've always been a sucker for a Martial Arts movie that features a lot of quality kicking (which this one does).

I'd love to be able to pull off a jaw-dropping martial arts technique with a cool name like the Wu Tang Magic Kick? As a party trick, it would be hard to beat. Mindy's downing a pint of vodka? Who Cares? Todd's juggling terrapins? So what? Brett's doing his Wu Tang Magic Kick!!! Legend status guaranteed!Of course, the downside of developing such an impressive skill is that a martial arts villain will inevitably seek me out, attacking my nearest and dearest until I agree to take part in a hill-top showdown. That's what happens to kung fu master Mar Tien-Liang (John Liu), whose legendary kicking technique brings him to the attention of evil Fong Kang (Phillip Ko), who causes all manner of bother for the poor guy before challenging him to a duel. Reluctantly, Mar accepts the challenge, but accidentally kills his opponent during the fight, making him a target for Fong Kang's equally evil brother Tu Tang (also played by Phillip Ko) and son Fan Yu-Tang (Wei Tung).Mar is repeatedly attacked by Tu Tang's men, seriously injured, captured and ultimately driven insane (they seriously rattle his cage—quite literally!). To prevent the bad guys from killing Mar, his poor wife Ling Yu-Han (Bao-yun Tang) agrees to marry Fan Yu-Tang, who very stupidly promises to release her now gibbering wreck of a husband. Spotted drooling in the street by an old friend, Mar is nursed back to sanity and health, and starts training for revenge…Wu Tang Magic Kick quickly establishes its old-school martial arts credentials by having a villain with impressive eyebrows smash a martial arts school's wooden sign; as kung fu films go, this one doesn't exactly rewrite the rules. But even though the clichéd, revenge-driven plot has been done many times over, the excellent fight scenes, impressive camera-work, stunning locations and solid performances make this a hugely entertaining experience. The hard-hitting fight scenes are superbly choreographed, making particularly great use of Liu's spectacular legwork (especially against a horde of pole-wielding henchmen), the drama between the action scenes works well, and the whole thing builds to a superb climax that sees Mar finally unleash his Wu Tang Magic Kick (and it's way, way cooler than juggling terrapins!).7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the shameless use of music from other films. In addition to using much of the soundtrack to Hang 'Em High to give Wu Tang Magic Kick an epic Spaghetti Western feel, I'm pretty sure that I heard the theme from The Man With The Golden Gun during the film's more dramatic scenes.

Another run of the mill kung fu movie from the 1970's plot wise, two factions battle it out for what ever reason, actually because one guy decides that the village isn't big enough for the two of the, that stands out because the action is wall to wall. Honestly you'll want see this if you like no stop martial arts action because the film never seems to really slow down. It begins with action and just goes with more than just the typical back lot locations, we get temples and a bridge over a river and other locations which make this film something special. Worth a look if you get the chance and like martial arts. Between 6 and 7 out of 10

John Liu is one of the great kickers and some of the kicks here are amazing as are his splits (before van Damme made them his trade mark). The Korean locations are stunning but the plot is only average and the fights, though frequent, stylistic rather than in any way realistic. The madness is an interesting twist but John Liu only has a limited dramatic range and the 'cure' happens suddenly and with little explanation. The final fights are protracted and fairly bloody. The sub-plot with Tong Bo Wan (Mar's wife) doesn't really lead anywhere and though beautiful, acting was not her strong point. On my Vengeance DVD her voice is often hard to hear and the print is not a good one with significant faults at times. The case says there is a bonus John Liu fight which there isn't - this seemed to get replaced with a short but interesting interview with Philip Ko at some stage. As the other comment mentions there is some fun to be had spotting where the soundtrack is copied from.