Leofwine_draca Good production values highlight this old-school kung fu movie which is packed with all the crazy action and excessive violence that you could hope for in a martial arts movie. Sure, the plot may be familiar and simple stuff to any genre fan, with the typical Japanese portrayed as the cruel bad guys and a young, everyday Chinese guy becoming the hero and training to take on the bad guys by using the usual methods of running with iron bars attached to his ankles and sticking his hands into a cauldron of red-hot iron filings. However, the direction - also by star Jimmy Wang Yu, who wrote the story on top of this - is lively and imaginative, the fight sequences nicely choreographed and the settings, which include a wintry landscape complete with falling snow, picturesque. Often the film is enlivened with a bright red splash of gore to highlight the action and worry the censors.Jimmy Wang Yu - who was something of a star in China at the time, appearing in other Shaw Brothers classics like THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN - is acceptable in the leading role, conveying emotion when the script calls for it and displaying his athleticism in the action sequences. The supporting cast is mainly populated by caricatured bad guys who strut their stuff menacingly well, with Lo Lieh a real stand-out. The only offensive thing in the film to my mind is an ill-conceived rape sequence which feels unnecessary and out-of-place, even though nothing explicit is shown it still leaves an unpleasant taste. Where The Chinese Boxer hits home is in its imaginative touches, both in the directorial style and the many fights. The scene in which Wang Yu bathes his hands in iron shows him surrounded by macabre decaying dummies which proceed to disorientate him - a visual nightmare sequence straight from a horror movie. Another moment has two samurai swordsmen chopping up a dozen cage birds from the air to display their skill - what cold bastards. There's also a surprise homage to Sergio Leone's THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY as two fighters measure each other up.Amongst the well-staged scenes of action are two large battles, one taking place in a casino in which Wang Yu dispatches dozens of black-clad bad guys, wearing a mask and gloves and looking bizarrely like a surgeon as he does so. There's also a spectacularly violent massacre which shows a man having his eyes gouged out in graphic blood splattering detail, much to the sadistic viewer's enjoyment. Other gruesome highlights include many bloody punches, bone-breakings, surprise decapitations, and a literal geyser of pumping blood. Marred by only a few flaws - one of which is a serious lack of music - The Chinese Boxer is an entertaining and violent kung fu romp with all-out action for the genre fan to enjoy. Simple, yet fun.

calmexed I must have been around ten years old when my uncle took me and my brother to see this martial arts movie at the " DRIVE IN " at the circle drive in in Long Beach. The Title was " HAMMER OF GOD " from which i can never forget for some reason, but what i do remember are the different scenes that have left an imprint on my mind forever.My brother always reminds me of the movie although it has been forever it seems since we seen the movie. From time to time throwout the years i would look for it at the rental stores and from time to time i would check on the web and for some reason it appears like it is never available or no one knows what movie I'm talking about.If i only knew if and were it was available i would love to purchase that movie. If anyone is aware of its availability please inform me.

john-1451 In the last few months, I've become reacquainted with Jimmy Wang-Yu, whose movies I hadn't seen since Friday nights at the drive in back in the 70's. An authentic Asian superstar, Wang-Yu's movies usually have a simple plot familiar to any chop-socky fan. What sets him apart is that he had an appreciation of fighting styles from other countries that really liven up the fight scenes. (A great example of this is the movie "The Chinese Professionals".) This movie is one of the few to explain why karate fighters had an easy time with kung fu students but would always fall to the masters. If you're looking for a representative kung fu movie, this is the one. The plot is a template for most every kung fu flick that came after. Not as spectacular as his later films, but the climactic battle with Lo Lieh (star of another classic, "Five Fingers of Death") is well worth the price of the movie. Recommended.

Boodikka For fans of Lo Lieh (Five Fingers of Death) this is a chance to see him as the evil Japanese karate master. In the US, advertising hyped this as "the most blood-spurting" martial arts film. It's hardly that; but the fight scenes are wild.