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Masterful Cinema

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Best line of the movie, imho - "We both know you don't have the ability to match me" (CKC to Jimmy Lee Lung Fong). Chow Ma Wu (Chang Yi) tries his best to eliminate the Eagle Claw School. He has, after all, Beardy, Ma Cheng and Phillip Ko Fei to help him.The mortally injured Eagle Claw Master, Yang Chung, passes the torch on to Li Chi (Don Wong Tao), his # 2 rather than to Chen Tien Chun (Chi Kuan Chun), his #1. An enraged and very inebriated Chen kills his master, gets kicked out, fights with both his classmates and Chow's minions with a dagger plunged between his shoulder blades, and joins up with Chow, making him an all around traitor to his former mates. Chow teaches Mantis style to Chen, who becomes a "trusted" minion. A major red flag occurs when Chow is told Chen goes to a Brothel. (Come on, CKC in a brothel and he's not there to rescue someone?). The truth is revealed with the marvelous finale fight. Chow thinks he has the upper hand and underestimates Chen. A fatal mistake. There is not a Kung Fu style in existence that CKC cannot learn and incorporate into his repertoire to kick some major butt.

The movie opens with demonstrations and narration. At the kung fu school the guys are clowning around. Suddenly, White Eyebrows and gang return for revenge against the master. They mortally wound him. Some of the students go for hasty revenge. Before he dies the master makes Don Wong the new head of the school, not the senior student. There is also a book with three new techniques. Big brother (Chi Kuan-Chun) gets angry drunk, is cast out, and allies with the enemy. He is forced to prove his loyalty by killing his former brothers. Then there is a twist that I will not mention. Sure, a movie this old certainly has no secrets. I watched it once before I re-watched it for this review and I felt that knowing the plot twist had me scrutinizing each scene for consistency and sort of ruined it.Nevertheless I rate it about average for very good fight scenes and drama that never had a dull moment from start to finish.

The exceptional animal style Kung Fu, well developed plot(for a Kung Fu film of this kind) and over all production values make this a better than average Kung Fu film. It also avoids a lot of the broad comedy aspects which usually bring down a Kung Fu film. A great example of Old Skool 70's Kung Fu.If you like this, try "7 Grand masters" which is made by the same director, Joseph Kuo.Even better, watch them both as a late night double bill.Eagles Claw VS Mantis fist!!!

EAGLE'S FIST is a big story, with a complex plan launched by a dying kung-fu teacher to stop an awesome white-haired super-villain trying to destroy the teacher's Eagle's Claw school. Cha Ma-Wu, the super-villain, is a master of Eagle's Claw, and Mantis Fist, and his thugs are out-fitted with his cruel pragmatism. In a way the kung-fu technique on-screen is secondary to the emotional and intellectual battles going on, as students betray their teachers, become outcasts and then enemies of their one-time allies. There are so many twisting, turning motivations thatare required in order to combat the evil Cha Ma-Wu, due to the super-villain's brainy approach to destruction: I've read elsewhere that Cha Ma-Wu is above all a James Bond villain, vastly superior and egotistical, using genius to subvert others to his will. That's what's going on for most of this movie.It will be noted also that Chang Yi, the actor playing Cha Ma-Wu, looks a lot like John Hurt (ALIEN, ROB ROY), slightly reptilian, definitelyradiating a higher class of murderous butcher.This is a very top-level kung-fu film, longer and meatier, with some interesting character development and a superb final battle with Cha Ma-Wu. There's flying bodies and enough animal kung-fu and spurting wounds to match every plot point. Solid.