The film begins with the evil Emperor (incorrectly dubbed as "King" for the English language version) wiping out an entire extended family just for something he perceived as a minor insult even though it obviously wasn't. However, two young girls escape execution and, true to the standard Kung Fu cliché, work for years to perfect their skills so they can whip the Emporer's butt! The film is almost non-stop fighting with few connecting scenes. Along the way, the two girls meet up with two nice guys who are also masters of kung fu and together they battle lots of baddies--including two "gorillas" and their masters who have tongues that are about three feet long (I am NOT exaggerating). Plus, in the end there is a showdown with a guy in super-bizarre bug-eyed makeup.
It's hard to take this movie seriously and I am sure the movie makers didn't as well. Because of this, it's a shame I really have to give the film a numerical rating--it's a great example of a terrible movie that is fun to watch. So, should it get a 1 or 2 or even an 8 or 9?!? I rate it a 3 for technical skill and acting--and this is being very generous. As for the script and production values, it deserves a 1 at best--especially due to the gorillas and guys with the Gene Simmons-like tongues. The gorillas consist of two people in the worst gorilla suits I have ever seen--much worse than the monster in ROBOT MONSTER and worse than gorilla suits you see around Halloween. They are so stupid, they are wonderful in a very tacky way. The tongue guys, as I mentioned in the first paragraph really have three foot tongues and seeing them fight in even more hilariously silly than the gorillas--though both might result in you rolling on the floor laughing.
As for the print, it was a cheap mess of a DVD--the type they sell for a buck. The print was very washed out, fuzzy and the picture was severely clipped to fit the screen instead of letter-boxing it. This resulted in many occasions where you either saw someone fighting with someone off camera or even BOTH characters who were in a scene were absent, since in the original print they both were standing on the extreme right and left! I almost wonder if someone put a video camera up and recorded the film as it was shown--it was that bad. Also, this version was the dubbed English version, not subtitled. For a 1970s dubbing, it wasn't too bad, though I am a purist that always likes films subtitled. Plus, being dubbed, you have no idea what the original film was like--as so often the plots were re-arranged or changed in the process. However, even if this DID occur, there still were the stupid gorillas and big tongued guys AND so many of the punches and kicks didn't even come close to landing--yet they were accompanied by the loud slapping sound.
What was the only plus other than it was so stupid it was entertaining? Well, the film ended very well--a cool conclusion to the reign of terror and a triumph for good and niceness!
It's hard to take this movie seriously and I am sure the movie makers didn't as well. Because of this, it's a shame I really have to give the film a numerical rating--it's a great example of a terrible movie that is fun to watch. So, should it get a 1 or 2 or even an 8 or 9?!? I rate it a 3 for technical skill and acting--and this is being very generous. As for the script and production values, it deserves a 1 at best--especially due to the gorillas and guys with the Gene Simmons-like tongues. The gorillas consist of two people in the worst gorilla suits I have ever seen--much worse than the monster in ROBOT MONSTER and worse than gorilla suits you see around Halloween. They are so stupid, they are wonderful in a very tacky way. The tongue guys, as I mentioned in the first paragraph really have three foot tongues and seeing them fight in even more hilariously silly than the gorillas--though both might result in you rolling on the floor laughing.
As for the print, it was a cheap mess of a DVD--the type they sell for a buck. The print was very washed out, fuzzy and the picture was severely clipped to fit the screen instead of letter-boxing it. This resulted in many occasions where you either saw someone fighting with someone off camera or even BOTH characters who were in a scene were absent, since in the original print they both were standing on the extreme right and left! I almost wonder if someone put a video camera up and recorded the film as it was shown--it was that bad. Also, this version was the dubbed English version, not subtitled. For a 1970s dubbing, it wasn't too bad, though I am a purist that always likes films subtitled. Plus, being dubbed, you have no idea what the original film was like--as so often the plots were re-arranged or changed in the process. However, even if this DID occur, there still were the stupid gorillas and big tongued guys AND so many of the punches and kicks didn't even come close to landing--yet they were accompanied by the loud slapping sound.
What was the only plus other than it was so stupid it was entertaining? Well, the film ended very well--a cool conclusion to the reign of terror and a triumph for good and niceness!