Kung Fu: The Punch of Death (1972) User Reviews

Satisfying Chop Socky

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 8 August 2007]

If you are looking for pure chop socky, then this film is for you. It doesn't waste a lot of time with meaningless dialog unrelated to fighting. It is basically Chinese "I'm gonna kick your ass, sucka." I heard the other day that QT is planning a similar type movie in his grindhouse vein with badly dubbed dialog or subtitles. He should watch this film for guidance as it epitomizes the genre.

Fei Meng gives a great performance as the son out to avenge his father. He takes two brutal ass-kickings before he gets his stuff together. (Reminds you of Rocky) The only problem is that you will be hungry for more an hour later.

Above average, or awesome?

[AwesomeWolf · 6/10 · 11 September 2005]

'Kung Fu: The Punch of Death' is quite a movie. First off, it has a title so awesome that no mere mortal can resist it. It also appears to be strive to be a bit more than an average kung-fu movie, but the DVD version my mate bought could possibly be one of the poorest quality DVDs in existence (the digitally degraded copy, perhaps?).

'Kung Fu: The Punch of Death' begins with our hero, Fong Su Yi (Meng Fei), being cheated by members of a rival martial arts school. Apparently Fong believes that the appropriate course of action is to start a fight his rivals and kill at least one, which he does. Fong then proceeds to cause trouble elsewhere, but then Iron Fist and Iron Leg - the masters of the rival school - seek vengeance against Fong and kill his father, leading Fong to take vengeance against the killers.

I would be lying if I said 'Kung Fu' made perfect sense. Scratch that. I would be lying if I said 'Kung Fu' was easily understood. The dubbing on the version we watched was the average dub that simplifies everything and tends to make you laugh through most of the movie and miss various chunks of dialog (which were probably just as useless / awesome anyway).

As an action movie, 'Kung Fu' tends to deviate from the standard kung-fu movies at the time. There are random fights throughout the movie, but most of them end with our hero getting beaten to within an inch of his life. The fights looked pretty good, but fight editing was distracting, and the quality of the DVD doesn't help when it changes colour during a fight or flashes red for a second.

'Kung Fu' is technically a better movie than most other kung fu movies of the time. It does put more effort into costuming and scenery, such as having most of the male cast in traditional pig-tails. Of course, if you are like me or my mates,extended shots of people racing around in attractive locations will only serve to distract people from the kung-fu. And what's the deal with Fong's mother looking around about the same as Fong, and being more attractive than Fong's love interest?

As a movie, 'Kung Fu: The Punch of Death' is an above average 6/10. For a kung-fu movie to watch with some mates, 'Kung Fu: The Punch of Death' transcends a numbered rating in awesome value (for that to make any sense, check out my 'Killer Meteors' review).

Casual viewers of martial arts films might not notice, but this movie has a lot to distinguish it from the average

[lemon_magic · 6/10 · 17 August 2007]

I first saw this film (under the title "Prodigal Boxer") decades ago along with 50 or 60 similar entries when the USA channel was still running "Kung Fu Theater" every Sunday morning. It stood out at the time because of the scene where the hero's mom makes him stand in a barrel full of herbs for several weeks to either heal up from the beating he took or else to make him invulnerable (I'm not sure which), because the hero gets pounded into pemmican at least twice before he finally wins, and because the acting and photography was pretty good.

I happened upon it again as as part of a "Marital Arts Classic Double Pack", and was happy to find that it still holds up pretty well. Of course, it follows most of the conventions of the Chop-Sockey classics, but it seems that the people involved in the production had a little extra time and effort to invest in it than the usual sausage product. The photography and scenery are good-to-spectacular. The screenplay has some nice touches here and there - I can't recall seeing anything similar to the point of view shots and the "nightmare sequence" in a typical Shaw Brother's production. There's some ambitious linking and transition edit tricks where the movie cuts back and forth between the son's "heroic rescue" fight and the father's "tragic death" fight that I don't recall seeing a lot of either. The woman who plays Feng Su Yi's mother has a lot of presence and a very expressive countenance. She adds a lot to the film, though she doesn't actually fight much in the last 2/3rds of the plot.

The guy playing the hero is pretty good; he's not Bruce or Jackie Chan (or even Gordon Liu), but he's got lots of springy energy, and a face that is perfectly suited for the grade school emotions of a revenge-oriented kung fu film...he just has a lot going for him as an actor and a martial artist. The English dubbing seems to have been mixed and voiced a little better than the norm for films from that era. And there's a different 'crowd' dynamic to the fight scenes, too. It's hard to describe, but it is there - for instance, the presence of a crowd prevents the two corrupt martial arts masters from killing the hero in the first fight, and they add a bit to the showdown at the end as well.

Even the final climactic showdown has a slightly different feel to it, as the hero doesn't actually directly kill the bad guys - they fall onto pointy sticks from broken furniture, have roofs collapse on them, etc. It's obvious that the filmmakers wanted to make a film a little different (though a person who isn't a fan of the genre might not notice the difference.)

What keeps "Death Punch/Prodigal Boxer" below a "7" (a very good film) for me, is the fight choreography. While it is pretty good and has some panache (having one of the bad guys be "Iron Punch" while the other is an "Iron Leg" is a great touch), it commits a sin of omission that us typical in a second rate kung fu film: it's missing the element of growth and change necessary for a great example of the genre. For instance, in "The Fearless Hyena", Jackie Chan's character is fighting in a strikingly different, much more exciting and dramatic style at the film's climactic battle than he is in the beginning. Again, this is also true of "Snake In Eagle's Shadow", where he picks up a "Cat's Claw" technique to supplement his fighting style. And the training sequences in these two movies are impressive and grueling. But in "Prodigal Boxer", Feng Si Yu fights in the exact same "Southen Movie Style" at the end of the film as he did in the beginning (with the exception of a weird pigtail/queue move that was never explicitly shown in the training sequences.) He isn't any crisper, stronger, or visibly faster in the later sequences - they could have been filmed in any order except for the ending flurries of punches - and you could argue that the real reason he beats the two corrupt masters at the end is because they attack him one at a time instead of together (as they did in the middle fight where they beat the stuffing out of him). That's kind of lame in a screenplay that is all about the hero growing and getting better until he can finally get his revenge. (It makes no difference in something like "Master of the Flying Guillotine, which about the hero using his considerable skill, wit and cunning to survive an incredibly dangerous adversary). ("MOTFG" gets a "7" in my book, BTW.)

So, not a classic, but a solid entry. I liked it, and was glad to get a chance to see it again after so many years.

Much better technically than most, some interesting plot items.

[aggie80 · 2 April 2004]

The most notable feature of this movie is the spectacular scenery and costuming. This is one of the few Kung fu movies where the majority of the cast wears the pigtail, which made for some interesting observations as well as and interesting weapons related finale. The mother in the movie was pretty enough and young enough to be a sister and was better looking than the 'girl friend' of the plot. Lots of fight scenes but none that were spectacular in my mind.

Typical of the genre is the unusual and strange training method. Some of the expected 'flying' and some less than normal weapons work. I liked seeing some of the more 'normal' aspects of everyday life. The sets/scenery really are a cut above normal and the cinematography is really above average.

Not much to do with Fong Su Yi but not bad at all

[phillip-58 · 6/10 · 14 October 2007]

Often seen as Kung Fu: The Punch of Death though I bought it as a double pack under the name The Prodigal Boxer it has nothing to do with a Punch of Death and precious little to do with Fong Su Yi. The Director is given as Chai Yang-Min (his only film apparently) but I suspect Lau Ka-Wing (who is given as action director and makes a brief appearance towards the end) did most of the real directing - as it has many of his touches. It is unusual for a film of this time in having a strong emotional content, a good female lead in Fei Meng's mother (strangely not credited anywhere I can find) and Lee Lam Lam playing a rather insipid girlfriend type)she did several films with the star). The camera work includes flash backs, a nightmare scene and even a short split screen sequence. And Fei Meng is trained by his mother not a sifu. The training is rather boring by the way and hard to believe it could turn him into such a strong fighter. Kurata Yasuaki is really good in this and really appears to be able to deliver a strong kick. His brother (Wong Chin) who does the hand work is a rather dull character and fighter. The final battle is unusual and as others have said, rather short. It is interesting that all three opponents die almost by accident rather than at Fei Meng's hands - presumably referring to Fong Su Yi's supposed reluctance to actually kill people. Most of the scenes are shot in some very obvious back lot but the production values are a little higher than usual and several well known stars like Fung Hak On can be spotted though have no major roles. Interesting film, worth watching.

A great action movie.

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 7/10 · 17 September 2020]

This is a great movie. It has good acting. It also has a great story line. 5.8 is undrrating this movie. I give it 7 out of 10. A very good movie. See it. It is an awesome movie.

Kung Fu? Check. Punches? Check. Death? Check.

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 24 March 2008]

A friendly game of chess breaks into a free-for-all fight, and one martial arts student dies accidentally. The teachers (one of fists and one of feet) come after the accidental killer and instead find his father and murder him. The son spends the rest of the film trying to avenge his father. Who will win in the showdown to the death? This film is known by many names, most notably "The Prodigal Boxer". I picked it up as "Kung Fu Punch of Death", which is a rather misleading title. There's enough kung fu fighting to make Carl Douglas gag (it's very overwhelming).But although many punches were thrown, there was never a "kung fu punch of death" in the manner I expected (such as a signature kill move).

There are things I didn't really understand fully: if the son killed a student, aren't the masters justified in killing his father? And there is a "waiver of death" at one point which I wouldn't have understood as quickly if I hadn't seen this with my friend Seth, who has seen his share of kung fu films.

Not much to say here that needs to be said. This was sold as a "grindhouse" film -- cheap effects, bad editing and not much plot. If you've seen one bad martial arts film, you've seen them all. Or at least this one. It's good for a night of drinking, but nothing that's going to stand out as a must-see.

Average kung fu film with some tough fights

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 10 August 2016]

On the outside, KUNG FU - THE PUNCH OF DEATH is simply another in a long line of '70s period 'fu flicks. The storyline is completely unremarkable, telling the impossibly overdone tale of a guy seeking revenge for the death of his father, and the characterisation is virtually nil. The action sequences in themselves are passable, with a nice adult edge to them – no overblown comedy here, just guys absolutely beating the heck out of each other and nearly dying in the process. I enjoyed watching them, even if they lack the technical proficiency of a Jackie Chan flick.

No, the most interesting thing about this film is the direction, which is a cut above the standard. Chai Yang-Min is master of the roving camera and he always seems to frame his scenes in unusual, interesting ways. I enjoyed the visual impact of this film a LOT, and it made a nice difference to the usual set-up (choppy editing, static camera midway back, etc.). The quality of the acting is also worth noting – Meng Fei excels as the young, bratty hero and you can really get a sense of his newfound maturity come the climax. Yasuaki Kurata (MILLIONAIRE'S EXPRESS) makes an excellent foe and you never doubt his toughness for a second.

The film is flawed but I was in a forgiving mood. The storyline seems to expire after an hour or so, and there's about twenty minutes of padding which really didn't need to be here – I would have preferred a non-padded 70 minuter rather than a padded 90 minute offering. Still, the climax is typically good, complete with impalements and weapon play, and this is a fine example of an average kung fu film.

A typical early kung-fu film--very entertaining if the like the genre

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 13 February 2007]

If you are a die-hard lover of kung-fu films, then all the problems I mention about this film are pretty irrelevant--you will like the film. It's got all the action you are looking for and all the usual clichés you love and expect. However, for the average viewer, this is a very problematic movie to watch. The biggest problem is the horrendous quality of the DVD. I found it as part of a 9 movie set entitled "Samurai Collection" by St. Clair Video. ALL the movies in the set were grainy and washed-out and most appeared to come from old 1980 era videotapes that had degraded significantly.

The second problem is that, at times, the plot just doesn't make much sense. Let me explain. Two men are arguing over a cricket match. No, I am NOT talking about the British sport but the actual bugs! When the loser's bug is beaten, he refuses to pay up on the wager and a small fight breaks out and one of the men is killed. The clan of this dead man swears revenge and soon afterwords kill the father of the young man who killed the other. The hero, so to speak, spends most of the movie getting his butt whipped by two kung-fu masters from this clan ("Iron Leg" and "Iron Fist" are the guys' names). I liked actually liked watching them beat up the young and cocky guy because this is one of the few times in kung-fu movies when BOTH bad guys beat up the hero at the same time--not taking turns, but actually stomping him together! The inexplicable thing, though, is that twice they nearly kill him and don't finish off the job. This just made no sense at all--after all, he's sworn to kill you both so why would you allow him to escape?! Later, after the cocky hero has learned self-control, common-sense and better fighting skills, he takes on these two guys as well as the clan's leader. Here is where another inexplicably dumb thing happens. The first two fights, the two Iron-guys stomp him at the same time. Here, though, since it's the epic conclusion, they resort to the old cliché of attacking one at a time and waiting for him to see him before they hit or kick him!!! This is pretty lame. And the leader, during all this time, just stands there and waits his turn! Despite this silliness, how he dispatches each of them is pretty exciting and worth seeing--just don't expect the movie to make any sense at all!

Meng Fei's performance is among his best

[winner55 · 8/10 · 9 October 2006]

ej's kung-fu capsule review for films of the chop-socky old-school -

1. basic plot type - Young man coming of age as kung fu hero; 'school vs. school' rivalry to-the-death.

2. plot construction - Very good, among the best from this screen-writer (the ubiquitous I Kuang). Weakened by unexplained lapse in continuity editing towards the end.

3. dramatic - Frequently.

4. funny - Rarely.

5. dialog - Acceptible; clichés kept under control.

6. cast performance - Very good - Meng Fei's performance is among his best.

7. crew performance - Solid.

8. amount of fighting - Plenty.

9. quality of fighting - Very good for the era.

10. special any cast or crew notes - Somewhere between this film and the rest of his career, Meng Fei lost his humility, recapturing it only once for the classic Snuff Bottle Connection.

But here, he's entirely believable, and even demonstrates the character's maturing over time, which lays a solid foundation for the film's themes.

11. big positive - The final fight scene - rapid, strong, violent, and completely in keeping with the characters and themes.

12. big negative - In the scenes immediately leading up to the final fight, continuity gets lost; very distracting.

bottom-line - who should see this movie - It's a solid action film for those who like unarmed combat of any kind.

So bad it's good at times but keeps me coming back for more.

[fzwwchrw · 5/10 · 7 July 2023]

So for this movie I've seen it at least a few times and if I'm honest yes this is more of a movie I watch solely for the fights and rocky like story about overcoming great odds in the face of certain death and suffering. However, the acting and what strings the plot together is so bad it's funny sometimes. Some of the scenes make no sense like randomly breaking into fights for no apparent reason and the badly dubbed English and also some of the acting and scenes are so cheesy. However if I may say one thing the plot is genuinely engrossing at times. With everything else improved this could be an underrated gem. One part that still sticks with me after watching it over and over is how the character deals with defeat. No details to avoid spoilers, but when it showed the character's pain and what lead to his situation he was in I felt genuinely angry and sad at once even knowing what was next. I believe it's as good as a movie of its kind can get because some other movies of this type fail to even get close to being interesting at the end of the day or the overall plot is very bad. Everything in general isn't very bad, but these issues I mention earlier keep this movie from being a 3.5 to 4 star movie the kind that makes it into a collection of some of the best. Still recommended if you can get back some of the other nonsense.

A worthy kung fu film about folk hero Fong Si Yu

[BrianDanaCamp · 7 August 2001]

THE PRODIGAL BOXER is yet another entry in the series of films on legendary Chinese hero Fong Sai Yuk (usually referred to as Fong Si Yu), although it wasn't produced by Shaw Bros., the source of several films in the 1970s featuring Fu Sheng as Fong, nor does it get into the Shaolin Temple phase of Fong's life.

Here the character of 'Fong Su Yi' (as pronounced by the English voice cast) is young, callow, and reckless and instigates a dispute with a corrupt rival martial school that results in his father's death and his and his mother's exile. When Fong (Meng Fei) goes after the rivals, Iron Fist Tan (Yasuaki Kurata) and his brother (Wang Ching), he is so badly beaten that it takes months to recuperate under the watchful care of his mother and a young girl he'd helped out. His mother puts him through rigorous training and an herbal bath that will make him invulnerable (no mention is made of the weak point--his rectum!--that figures in so many other films about Fong). Eventually he is able to take on Iron Fist and his brother.

The film is very well mounted and shot on lavish studio sets and sprawling locations. The tape available offers a beautiful widescreen print in all its letter-boxed glory. The action is quite good and the voice dubbing above average. The film pays a good deal more attention to cinematic technique than most kung fu films and offers unusual camera angles and several subjective point-of-view scenes, including a nightmare sequence experienced by Fong. There are also far more reflective moments than usual for the genre. The actresses playing Fong's mother and girlfriend are attractive but not conventionally pretty in the usual Hong Kong fashion. They have more character and display a more authentic look and give the movie a strong emotional undercurrent. The original Chinese music score is retained for the English-dubbed version.

While there are good fight scenes throughout, they usually wind up with the hero getting beaten. In the final bout with the Iron Fist brothers, Fong beats the two villains far too easily in a conclusion that's not as satisfying as this otherwise exciting film deserves. Even so, this is an above-average kung fu film available in an excellent-quality copy.

Hong Kong independent that qualifies as a minor classic

[InjunNose · 8/10 · 3 May 2013]

"The Prodigal Boxer" isn't a Shaw Brothers film, but solid fight choreography by Liu Chia-yung and above-average production values go a long way toward making it look like one. In his finest role, a baby-faced Meng Fei plays Chinese folk hero Fang Shih-yu, whose martial skill is exceeded only by his arrogance and short temper. When Fang accidentally kills another young man in a fight, the victim's kung-fu instructors (Wang Ching and the brutal Yasuaki Kurata) retaliate by attacking Fang's family. His father dies, but his mother survives and trains him for the inevitable confrontation with the murderous instructors. Typical martial arts movie plot? Yes, but what holds the viewer's interest here is Meng Fei's convincing portrayal of the painful character-building experiences that Fang Shih-yu endures. Fang is not at all a sympathetic figure in the beginning: he's a cocky, hateful brat. But he suffers so terribly--and the villains are so unrepentantly vile--that you start to root for him as he pays his dues, and by the middle of the film you're with him all the way. Exciting, well-choreographed fights, especially during the finale. If you're a fan of the genre but haven't seen "The Prodigal Boxer", put it on the top of your list. (8 and 1/2 stars)

A worthy addition

[groovycow · 7 September 2003]

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

Only after watching KUNG FU: THE PUNCH OF DEATH did I realize I had just seen a Fong Sai Yuk movie, and that makes it even better. This movie, while not based on an original premise (guy gets beat up, guy must train, guy exacts revenge), throws in some interesting twists and manages to keep the viewer's attention.

Fong Su Yi (as he's referred to by the dubbers) is played here by Meng Fei, and he seems too engrossed in messing around with his buddies to care about anything else. In the first fifteen minutes, however, his father is murdered and he and his mother must go into hiding from the Iron Brothers; one is "the punch master," the other is "the kick master." This sequence is well done, with the camera showing one guy reaching back for a punch in the courtyard, and then cutting to another guy getting punched in the market, for example. It provides a nice contrast between Sai Yuk's carefree fighting and his parents' fight for their lives.

As the movie goes on, the typical I'm-good-enough-to-get-revenge fight seems to come about forty-five minutes early. Indeed, Fong actually gets beaten within an inch of his life (!) and must be nursed back to health by his mother and kinda-girlfriend (both of whom act fairly believable in their grief). Not only that, but after another half-hour, Fong gets beaten AGAIN (doesn't this guy learn his lesson?)!!

Of course, the movie comes around to the ultimate showdown in a public duel between Fong and the Iron Brothers, as well as their master (I'm guessing as to his identity...). Another nice little twist happens here: Fong isn't even directly responsible for their deaths! The Iron Brothers are both impaled on wooden stakes after poorly-guided falls :) , and their master is crushed under the roof that he takes out with his spear! Cool! Naturally, the movie ends with "THE END" over a freeze-frame of our lucky hero jumping in the air.

This movie has some interesting twists, as you can see, and has some interesting camera angles and fight moves; pick this up if you're looking for a little deviation from the typical formula! My rating: 7.5/10

A fun chopsocky revenge opus

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 14 September 2008]

Cocky and immature young Fong Su Yi (nicely played by the handsome and likable Fei Meng) accidentally kills a martial arts student in a fight. The two evil instructors of the martial arts school in turn murder Fong Su Yi's father. After undergoing strenuous and extensive training under the hard and exacting tutelage of his formidable mother (an excellent performance by a fine actress who oddly receives no billing), Fong Su Yi vows to get his revenge. But getting revenge proves to be easier said than done. Director Chai Yang-Min relates the gripping story at a constant brisk pace, keeps the tone serious throughout, and stages the copious martial arts fights with considerable skill and panache. The unusually sound cinematography makes nifty use of swift pans and occasional graceful slow motion. The roaring dramatic score likewise does the trick. The martial arts fight set pieces are every bit as bloody, violent and exciting as they ought to be. Moreover, this film further benefits from solid acting from a capable cast: Meng is an engaging lead, Yasuaki Kurata and Wang Ching are appropriately hateful as the nasty main villains, and the adorable Lam Lam Lee lends charming support as sweet and fetching love interest Siu Ping. The flavorsome period setting and gorgeous countryside scenery are also up to speed. An enjoyable romp.