MAGNIFICENT FIST is a stock kung fu adventure for martial arts star Carter Wong, here playing a country bumpkin at odds with the evil Japanese. The plot is so shallow as to be barely existent. Wong goes into the forest to collect some rare ginseng for his ailing father only to have it nicked by the Japanese. His father dies so Wong swears to avenge his death by kicking all of the Japanese out of the country.
There's little more story to it than that, but at least MAGNIFICENT FIST packs plenty of action into the brief running time. Wong was never one of the top-tier martial artists although John Carpenter did pay a nice tribute to him by casting him in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, but he's pretty likable here and certainly skilled in the fights. The baddies suffer from being undistinguished but the film has a lightness of touch that serves it well. This was a South Korean/Hong Kong production with a Korean supporting cast, most of them playing Japanese.
There's little more story to it than that, but at least MAGNIFICENT FIST packs plenty of action into the brief running time. Wong was never one of the top-tier martial artists although John Carpenter did pay a nice tribute to him by casting him in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, but he's pretty likable here and certainly skilled in the fights. The baddies suffer from being undistinguished but the film has a lightness of touch that serves it well. This was a South Korean/Hong Kong production with a Korean supporting cast, most of them playing Japanese.
