Although "Fight to Win" is armed with a cast that contains a likable George Chung, an always enjoyable as a villain Richard Norton, a sharp young Cynthia Rothrock, and Chuck Jeffreys (= Eddie Murphy + martial arts), there are much better martial arts films out there. The plot (pretty much a "Rocky III" ripoff) is VERY slight, even for just 77 minutes, the direction is mediocre, the sound mix is poor, and the fight scenes are average (for example, Norton and Rothrock's work is not even close to what they pulled off in a Hong Kong film they were both in the previous year, "Magic Crystal"). Chung's training scenes work better, and the film does inject a lot of humor into an often too-solemn genre, resulting in some amusing moments. But, as I said, you could do a lot better than this. (**)
5 Reviews
George Chung turns in another winner
tarbosh2200016 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Ryan Kim (Chung) is an enthusiastic young Martial Artist that loves nothing more than training with his Sensei (Ochiai). One day after a tournament, the mysterious Armstrong (Norton) approaches them and offers Ryan the opportunity to fight Tankson (Superfoot). The reason for this is that Sensei has three ancient statues and the wealthy Armstrong wants them for his collection. When Tankson defeats Ryan, Sensei offers a "double or nothing" rematch, which the overconfident Armstrong can't refuse. When Sensei is hospitalized after a heart attack, a new trainer is brought in - a woman named Lauren (Rothrock). At first, the immature and perhaps sexist Ryan doesn't want to be trained by her. But after experiencing her brilliant skill, not only does he fall in line, he also falls in love. The stage is set for the ultimate showdown...and there's even a raid on Armstrong's compound that features Ryan's buddies Michael (Jeffreys), Jerry (Chapa), and Randy ("All-pro football star Ronnie Lott"). It's time for Ryan and the gang to FIGHT TO WIN!
From George Chung (not to be confused with one of the producers here, the prolific George Cheung), the mastermind behind Hawkeye (1988) and Kindergarten "Ninja" (1994), and director/fan favorite Leo Fong, comes Fight to Win, another wacky, screwball blend of Martial Arts, comedy, and an indefinable element that can only be found in the magical productions of the 80's. If you've seen either of the aforementioned Chung outings, here you get more of the same (thankfully) - a low budget, but plenty of energy and upbeat attitude, silly dialogue and situations, and highly-skilled Martial Arts. The dialogue isn't recorded very well so undoubtedly some of Chuck Jeffreys's bon mots are missing in the mix, but the sense of fun is infectious, and the whole movie is imbued with a - dare we say - feeling of childlike wonder and whimsy.
It's really impossible to dislike Fight to Win, and we feel sorry for anyone that does, as they probably have no heart or soul. The cast is killer: We have the aforementioned auteur George Chung, who gives his all here, Chuck Jeffreys, the Eddie Murphy of low-budget DTV Martial Arts movies, doing his usual stellar job, Troy Donahue in a blink-or-you'll-miss-him cameo, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace as Armstrong's tough-guy fighter, David Heavener lookalike Juan Chapa, Martial Arts legends Hidy Ochiai and Master Hee Il Cho, All-pro football star Ronnie Lott, and of course the teaming of Comeuppance hall of fame all-stars Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton, who do interact and have some fight scenes together. With Leo Fong as director, this cocktail can't possibly fail, and it doesn't. Rothrock is as charming as ever and Norton plays the baddie with aplomb. It's a joy to watch everyone's Martial Arts skill on display.
While there's plenty of extensive training which the presence of Rothrock as the trainer helps to make more enjoyable, and some casually-racist Middle-Aged Punks (classic MAP's), truly the showstopper is when the movie essentially stops so George Chung can have a one-man music video where he combines Martial Arts with razzle-dazzle dance moves. With this heady combination of Bruce Lee, Tae-Bo, Footloose, Flashdance, and Zumba, Chung - and thus the movie as a whole - truly shines. This dance element (which was foreshadowed earlier on during one of the tournament scenes) sets the movie apart and makes it stand out even more - and it was already a fairly odd duck to begin with. And we mean that in the best possible way, of course. Fight to Win is a delight from start to finish. Criminally, it never received a U.S. VHS release (and as of this writing has yet to receive a U.S. DVD or Blu-Ray release). The fact that just about everyone in America did NOT see this back in the day is painful to contemplate. Interestingly, it was released on video in Greece under the title "China O'Brian 3", even though it came out three years before the other two sequels! At least they got to see it, however.
Well, there you have it. George Chung turns in another winner. They truly don't make movies like this anymore, and in the self-serious modern era, Fight to Win just stands out that much more.
From George Chung (not to be confused with one of the producers here, the prolific George Cheung), the mastermind behind Hawkeye (1988) and Kindergarten "Ninja" (1994), and director/fan favorite Leo Fong, comes Fight to Win, another wacky, screwball blend of Martial Arts, comedy, and an indefinable element that can only be found in the magical productions of the 80's. If you've seen either of the aforementioned Chung outings, here you get more of the same (thankfully) - a low budget, but plenty of energy and upbeat attitude, silly dialogue and situations, and highly-skilled Martial Arts. The dialogue isn't recorded very well so undoubtedly some of Chuck Jeffreys's bon mots are missing in the mix, but the sense of fun is infectious, and the whole movie is imbued with a - dare we say - feeling of childlike wonder and whimsy.
It's really impossible to dislike Fight to Win, and we feel sorry for anyone that does, as they probably have no heart or soul. The cast is killer: We have the aforementioned auteur George Chung, who gives his all here, Chuck Jeffreys, the Eddie Murphy of low-budget DTV Martial Arts movies, doing his usual stellar job, Troy Donahue in a blink-or-you'll-miss-him cameo, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace as Armstrong's tough-guy fighter, David Heavener lookalike Juan Chapa, Martial Arts legends Hidy Ochiai and Master Hee Il Cho, All-pro football star Ronnie Lott, and of course the teaming of Comeuppance hall of fame all-stars Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton, who do interact and have some fight scenes together. With Leo Fong as director, this cocktail can't possibly fail, and it doesn't. Rothrock is as charming as ever and Norton plays the baddie with aplomb. It's a joy to watch everyone's Martial Arts skill on display.
While there's plenty of extensive training which the presence of Rothrock as the trainer helps to make more enjoyable, and some casually-racist Middle-Aged Punks (classic MAP's), truly the showstopper is when the movie essentially stops so George Chung can have a one-man music video where he combines Martial Arts with razzle-dazzle dance moves. With this heady combination of Bruce Lee, Tae-Bo, Footloose, Flashdance, and Zumba, Chung - and thus the movie as a whole - truly shines. This dance element (which was foreshadowed earlier on during one of the tournament scenes) sets the movie apart and makes it stand out even more - and it was already a fairly odd duck to begin with. And we mean that in the best possible way, of course. Fight to Win is a delight from start to finish. Criminally, it never received a U.S. VHS release (and as of this writing has yet to receive a U.S. DVD or Blu-Ray release). The fact that just about everyone in America did NOT see this back in the day is painful to contemplate. Interestingly, it was released on video in Greece under the title "China O'Brian 3", even though it came out three years before the other two sequels! At least they got to see it, however.
Well, there you have it. George Chung turns in another winner. They truly don't make movies like this anymore, and in the self-serious modern era, Fight to Win just stands out that much more.
Painfully weak, flimsy, and unconvincing; call it "Baby's first action flick"
I_Ailurophile22 December 2023
Esteemed martial artist and cherished actor that Cynthia Rothrock was in her prime, and in some measure continues to be, some of the films she's been involved with are plainly excellent. Some others, unfortunately, are plainly terrible. While the very 80s original music to greet us even over the opening credits is a blast (the last time the music will deserve praise), this particular movie absolutely does not make a good impression from the outset; the first couple minutes, a prologue, struggle with questionable delivery in its narration, curt and inelegant editing, and meager direction. Once the story picks up in earnest thereafter the same problems continue, and raise a deeply skeptical eyebrow, with James Belmessieri and George Chung's writing now joining Leo Fong's direction and the editing in that way. Throw in some major flavors of racism, sexism, homophobia, and chest-beating, toxic machismo for good measure. The dialogue is just awful, and the plot is perplexingly simple, unsophisticated, and light; the actors are forced into small, dubious corners by the writing and direction (alas, poor Richard Norton, and Chung, and Rothrock, and Hidy Ochiai, and Chuck Jeffreys, and - well, everyone). Oh, and while Rothrock is promoted as the chief star of 'Fight to win' (also known as 'Eyes of the dragon,' or 'Dangerous passages'), she actually has a mere supporting part: she doesn't show up until we're already thirty minutes in, and the role definitely isn't written well.
It's not that this flick is 100% rubbish, but unfortunately, it's no less than 75% rubbish. The best descriptor might be "astonishingly weak." The production values betray how very indie and low-budget this was, with no especial art direction or costume design to speak of; the filming locations, for example, seem to reflect places that Fong could secure on the cheap, or with the generosity of friends or acquaintances. For as rotten as the dialogue tends to be, the scene writing is weirdly halfhearted, giving us only the most basic idea of a given moment - which is kind of incredible, considering how mild and unbothered the narrative itself already is; if I say it feels like Chung and Belmessieri's screenplay was nothing more than a bare-bones outline, I'm being generous. The intended humor is achingly dull and childish, and like some of the fight scenes that flounder, and the bizarrely soft direction and acting, make the feature feel at many times like the sort of kitschy, kid-friendly presentation of martial arts training that we might see in an educational segment on 'Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.' The least that can be said is that Rothrock, specifically, gets a fair chance to demonstrate her martial arts skills here (and some others, to a lesser extent), but nothing else in these eighty minutes comes off well. 'Fight to win' is a fighting movie, after a sort, but it's an astoundingly flimsy, unconvincing, awkward representation of the genre.
Maybe a third alternative name should have been "Baby's first action picture." Hugely emphasizing just how quizzically meek the production was, just before the one-hour mark we get a scene where the boom mic is very prominent at the top of the frame (and not for the last time), and I couldn't stop myself from laughing hysterically. As we enter the third act ideas are introduced into the plot that all but come out of nowhere. There really are some facets of 'Fight to win' that come off well, but these can be attributed almost exclusively to Rothrock's skills in the fighting disciplines (and, again, to some lesser extent, those of others). I don't like to repeat myself, but in this case it feels very necessary, for I must reiterate that pretty much everything else is either just altogether bad, and/or painfully infirm and tacky: characters, dialogue, scenes, story, action, humor, acting, direction, music, filming locations, wardrobe, hair, makeup, editing, cinematography, and so on. There is value here, but it's vanishingly tiny, and we can get that same value elsewhere; one is surely best served by just watching something else to begin with. If you're a huge fan of someone involved then there might be a reason to sit for this, but otherwise it's a film that can safely be disregarded as the scarcely-known, flummoxing, feeble curiosity that it is. Even for as tiresome as 'Fight to win' is I guess I'm glad I watched it; the thing is, I'll also be glad to never watch it again.
It's not that this flick is 100% rubbish, but unfortunately, it's no less than 75% rubbish. The best descriptor might be "astonishingly weak." The production values betray how very indie and low-budget this was, with no especial art direction or costume design to speak of; the filming locations, for example, seem to reflect places that Fong could secure on the cheap, or with the generosity of friends or acquaintances. For as rotten as the dialogue tends to be, the scene writing is weirdly halfhearted, giving us only the most basic idea of a given moment - which is kind of incredible, considering how mild and unbothered the narrative itself already is; if I say it feels like Chung and Belmessieri's screenplay was nothing more than a bare-bones outline, I'm being generous. The intended humor is achingly dull and childish, and like some of the fight scenes that flounder, and the bizarrely soft direction and acting, make the feature feel at many times like the sort of kitschy, kid-friendly presentation of martial arts training that we might see in an educational segment on 'Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.' The least that can be said is that Rothrock, specifically, gets a fair chance to demonstrate her martial arts skills here (and some others, to a lesser extent), but nothing else in these eighty minutes comes off well. 'Fight to win' is a fighting movie, after a sort, but it's an astoundingly flimsy, unconvincing, awkward representation of the genre.
Maybe a third alternative name should have been "Baby's first action picture." Hugely emphasizing just how quizzically meek the production was, just before the one-hour mark we get a scene where the boom mic is very prominent at the top of the frame (and not for the last time), and I couldn't stop myself from laughing hysterically. As we enter the third act ideas are introduced into the plot that all but come out of nowhere. There really are some facets of 'Fight to win' that come off well, but these can be attributed almost exclusively to Rothrock's skills in the fighting disciplines (and, again, to some lesser extent, those of others). I don't like to repeat myself, but in this case it feels very necessary, for I must reiterate that pretty much everything else is either just altogether bad, and/or painfully infirm and tacky: characters, dialogue, scenes, story, action, humor, acting, direction, music, filming locations, wardrobe, hair, makeup, editing, cinematography, and so on. There is value here, but it's vanishingly tiny, and we can get that same value elsewhere; one is surely best served by just watching something else to begin with. If you're a huge fan of someone involved then there might be a reason to sit for this, but otherwise it's a film that can safely be disregarded as the scarcely-known, flummoxing, feeble curiosity that it is. Even for as tiresome as 'Fight to win' is I guess I'm glad I watched it; the thing is, I'll also be glad to never watch it again.
Talent + A Sense of Fun = A Good Time Had By All!
jeremyfredrikson14 March 2005
I bought this movie for $1.50 at a VHS blowout sale after seeing that Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, Bill Wallace, and Hee Il Cho were among the cast. I figured it would be pretty cheap and dull with a few good moves by each of the three. Boy, was I wrong! Fortunately! I had never heard of the star George Chung before, but that guy has athleticism and charisma to spare! He's funny, sarcastic, and kicks like a whirlwind! Then there's Leo Fong (BLIND RAGE, BLOOD STREET). This guy's a true living legend of the martial arts, and deserves an honorary black belt in comedy as well! Chuck Jeffreys (BLOODMOON, SUPERFIGHTS) adds to the fun with Eddie Murphy type lip-offs and dynamic martial artistry. Even the supporting players get into the action with witty dialog, ("Man, this is bull$@#& that we gotta work every Sunday!) and goofy gun-toting action. Football great Ronnie Lott even stops by to make a gratuitous cameo on an ATV telling how he "got cut" from the team before he casually guns down a henchman. This movie is tongue-in-cheek all the way, and it's too bad that more American martial arts movies didn't go down this same road. FIGHT TO WIN can be summed up as: great martial artists having a good time while poking a little fun at the sometimes all too serious martial art/action film genre. HIGHLY recommended to those who like martial arts, and cheesy low budget 80s movies that entertain not because they are so bad, but because they are so good!
Everything works in this film! A great gathering of talent!
Everything works in this film! A great gathering of talent!
Hilarious!
chrissie_g8 July 2004
I admit I was being sceptic about this movie, but since I only paid about $3.50 for the DVD I was all game. I didn't expect much - only good fight scenes ( I mean Cynthia Rothrock, her boyfriend (at that time) George Chung, Richard Norton, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and Chuck JEffries)
But that movie is so much more! First of all - there IS a story, which might not be worth an Oscar, but considering it's a B-movie, it's actually good.
Nobody in the production claims to be an actor - but if you give the film a chance, wait until Rothrock enters the scene. From that moment on the movie gets better and better.
This movie never takes itself seriously. Especially the endfight is just so much fun. I think I never laughed so hard about an action B-movie! Soo great!
**Disclaimer: You should like action/martial-arts-B-movies. Although it's extremely funny, it's not a standard comedy and does not intend to be.
But that movie is so much more! First of all - there IS a story, which might not be worth an Oscar, but considering it's a B-movie, it's actually good.
Nobody in the production claims to be an actor - but if you give the film a chance, wait until Rothrock enters the scene. From that moment on the movie gets better and better.
This movie never takes itself seriously. Especially the endfight is just so much fun. I think I never laughed so hard about an action B-movie! Soo great!
**Disclaimer: You should like action/martial-arts-B-movies. Although it's extremely funny, it's not a standard comedy and does not intend to be.
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