Rating: 2 out of 5
Director: Wu Ma
Year: 1980
Plot:
“Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards” is a martial arts movie from 1970.
The movie has a plot that follows Chang Fung, a martial arts student that is
studying under a drunken master. His master has made enemies through his life
and a gang of warriors show up to kill him. Chang must defend his master and
use drunken kung fu to fight back.
Thoughts:
If you have been reading my reviews, you know that I often
look at the transfer at first. The transfer is lower end VHS quality on this
one, and the dub is louder than the alternating sounds at times. The lighting
is way bright, and the contrast is also, making it an interesting watch, as
though someone is throwing on a brightness to your screen. That doesn’t take
away from the action, but it’s noticeable on the DVD I watched.
We are introduced to our main character, training in drunken
style kung fu, and there’s a bit of comedy throughout. The drunk is
interesting, and teaches in an unorthodox way. The music is comical, and the
lessons are too, making for an entertaining bit of progression for the movie.
The general plot is that our main teacher has some debts to
be repaid and our hero must fight off the warriors that come after him to
collect. However, to get there, and to see that, there are multiple smaller
stories that have nothing to do with that progression. For instance, there’s a
random tournament of fighters, there’s a scene where one of our character pees
on a wall, there’s some stealing going on, and just random sequences that don’t
necessarily move the plot along but are there for filler.
The majority of the brawling aside from the tournament fight
is due to the drunkards having enemies that are looking for him. That kind of
moves the plot along, but for the most part it’s convoluted. You have to throw
away your notebook on this one, and just watch some funny moments, as there is
comedy mixed into a variety of the scenes.
“Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards” is not that fun to watch. Sure,
there are comedic moments, and the plot is thin enough for you to take a little
nap to, but there’s a lot missing in this one. I found myself a little bored at
times, but I stuck with it. I did appreciate the brawling, especially the last
fight which is always a good sign with these type of movies, but it just isn’t
enough to save it as a whole. With that in mind, I have to lower the rating
some, even though there’s enough kung fu to make it watchable. I guess I’m of
two minds when it comes to “Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards”. I give this a rating of 2
out of 5.
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