Scott LeBrun James Iglehart (Randy Black in "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") is front and centre for this amiable, goofy Filipino martial arts action flick. Iglehart plays Cal Jefferson, American prizefighter honeymooning in Asia with his new bride (Shirley Washington). While shopping, they obtain a seemingly worthless Buddha statue that actually contains something very valuable to some very bad guys. Leo King (Filipino exploitation mainstay Ken Metcalfe, who also co-wrote the story & screenplay) is chief among them. But Cal has an asset: a mute Chinaman (Chiquito) whom he dubs "Charley"; Cal saves Charley from drowning and the grateful Charley becomes Cals' constant companion."Bamboo Gods and Iron Men" is overall not a terribly memorable movie, but making it above average for a movie of this kind is its generous doses of comedy. It's often very funny, and director Cesar Gallardo and company play all of this material with real winks in their eyes. This movie has quite a bit of energy, and superb pacing. It also makes sure to be exploitative, of course, with a fair bit of eye candy for viewers. The fight scenes are generally well executed, and the stars all handle themselves capably. The story makes great use of a MacGuffin and concludes with a very bright gag, with several characters bursting into laughter at the absurdity of everything.Iglehart could easily have had a more extensive career, as he has charisma and good chemistry with the sexy Ms. Washington. Chiquito is extremely appealing, and he and Iglehart likewise make a good pair. The supporting cast of familiar faces includes Metcalfe, offering a decent performance as the villain, Eddie Garcia, and Joseph Zucchero. Devotees of Filipino cinema will be pleased to note the presence of the always welcome Vic Diaz, in a cameo as a hotel clerk."Bamboo Gods and Iron Men" delivers solid, diversionary entertainment for 96 straight minutes, and deserves to be better known.Eight out of 10.

Woodyanders Boxer Cal Jefferson (a likable performance by James Iglehart) and his new wife (a winningly sassy portrayal by the foxy Shirley Washington) are spending their honeymoon in Hong Kong. They find their lives in great jeopardy after the gain possession of a carved wooden Buddha statue with a substance hidden inside of it that's powerful enough to control the world. Naturally, a nefarious underworld organization wants said statue for themselves. Director Cesar Gallardo, working from a blithely lightweight script by Kern Metcalfe and Joseph Zucherro, keeps the pace moving at a snappy clip, maintains an agreeably easygoing tongue-in-cheek tone and an amusing sense of good-natured silly humor throughout, makes the most out of the exotic locations, stages the plentiful martial arts fights with aplomb, and offers a generous amount of tasty gratuitous female nudity for good measure. The lively acting by the appealing cast keeps this movie humming: Iglehart and Washington make for charming leads, Chiquito makes a solid amiable impression as fiercely loyal mute Charley, Metcalfe slimes it up nicely as ruthless head villain Leo, Eddie Garcia likewise excels as Leo's vicious henchman Ambrose, Marissa Delgado also scores a bull's eye with her sexy turn as Leo's seductive main squeeze, and the always welcome Vic Diaz pops up in a small role as a friendly hotel clerk. Felipe Sacdalan's acceptable cinematography provides a pleasing sunny look. Tito Sotto's funky grinding score hits the right-on groovy spot. Total fluff for sure, but an enjoyable enough diversion just the same.

gavin6942 The Jeffersons' honeymoon night in Hong Kong will be troubled by a number of people wishing to get hold of a Buddha statuette that the husband offered her when window-shopping that day. When the going gets rough, it helps that Cal Jefferson is a top American boxer...I was at a friend's house in Milwaukee and she had on a local station playing "Ghoulies". So far, so good. During the commercials, it said "Swamp Thing" was next followed by "Bamboo Gods and Iron Men". I was intrigued. I did not get to see any pictures or previews, and I had never heard of the movie (and judging by the ranking here, neither has anyone else). I had to see it.Because of it being after the movies it was, I thought it was going to be a jungle adventure film, maybe some elements of fantasy or science fiction. I did not expect an amalgamation of martial arts and boxing... but I have no complaints! How did the station even find this movie? No idea, but I am glad it did.

Wizard-8 Almost forgotten today, this combination of blaxploitation & kung-fu is pretty watchable. Not great or anything to really seek out, but it does manage to keep your attention throughout. The martial arts fights are "old school", but they manage to be both realistic and pretty exciting. The humor is pretty broad at times, but there is some amusement at times. Strange that despite all the sexy ladies on display, there is only one sequence of nudity - and it's from the Asian lead! In fact, the Asian lead seems to be made fun of and pushed/slapped about a lot, and this treatment at times is a bit hard to sit through. The screenplay shows signs of being hastily put together without being seriously reviewed for weaknesses and plot holes. For example, the origin of the Asian lead isn't really explained too much. Also, the movie ends with some minor but noticable plot threads left hanging. But the whole thing is lensed well (it looks more expensive than other Filipino movies of the era), and adding that to the other positives, people who have an interest in Filipino exploitation and/or drive-in exploitation will probably be pleased enough by this.