My Martial Arts Theater copy was sold to me with Sammo Hung as the star. Not true, the real stars are Lee Ka Ting and Charles Heung. It is odd to see Sammo Hung as a rapist and killer and though he puts in some good moves, as the other review points out he just disappears at the end. As usual the story makes little sense and the acting is pretty poor but the fights are well done, especially the end fights which go on for a very long time. The sex scene is extremely graphic and is strangely set to music from 'Enter the Dragon'. My copy is titled 'The End of the Wicked Tiger' which may be meant to be Han Ying Chieh who puts up some good fights with fist and stick. Wilson Tong fights well too. At least the scenery is not another HK back lot and one fight on a hill has a beautiful back drop. Eddy Ko has only as small part and a poor fight to the death against Han Ying Chieh. Average except for the very good final fight.
3 Reviews
Okay but could be better
ckormos112 June 2019
The movie opens with the bad guys bullying everyone in town. After the Ocean Shores VHS opening credits Sammo Hung does a rape scene. Next cut to the gangsters collecting a road toll. Enter our two heroes played by Charles Heung Wah-Keung and Lee Ka-Ting.
The fight scenes were frequent and overall good left me with the feeling that they could have been better. This could be because they tended to look alike and lacked creativity. The fight with Sammo using a three section staff against an opponent with sais could have risen to a higher level but was just average as the rest. There was also one fight scene that went on and on where they beat up a guy who could not fight back. This type of scene is just nothing to watch and not even needed in any movie.
Even with a gratuitous sex scene at about 40 minutes in the movie had a quick run time of about 83 minutes. Plus the final 25 minutes were pretty much solid fight time.
Today this movie would only draw the attention of fans of martial arts movies of the golden age from 1967 to 1984. I rate it just average for the year and genre.
The fight scenes were frequent and overall good left me with the feeling that they could have been better. This could be because they tended to look alike and lacked creativity. The fight with Sammo using a three section staff against an opponent with sais could have risen to a higher level but was just average as the rest. There was also one fight scene that went on and on where they beat up a guy who could not fight back. This type of scene is just nothing to watch and not even needed in any movie.
Even with a gratuitous sex scene at about 40 minutes in the movie had a quick run time of about 83 minutes. Plus the final 25 minutes were pretty much solid fight time.
Today this movie would only draw the attention of fans of martial arts movies of the golden age from 1967 to 1984. I rate it just average for the year and genre.
Average kung fu film: long on fights, but low on star power
BrianDanaCamp4 July 2003
END OF THE WICKED TIGERS (1977) is an average kung fu film with an adequate story and several good fights,but lacks any strong characters of note and is not terribly well edited. The simple storyline lends itself well to the usual array of kung fu battles between an oppressive gang and the two heroes who stand up to it. In a remote town in turn-of-the-early 20th century China, a new police captain, Ling (Lee Ka Ting), and his men confront a town boss, Chang (Han Ying Chieh), whose son (Wilson Tong) and henchmen have had the run of the town to themselves for years. Tong and his buddies, who include Sammo Hung, are seen brutally beating and killing, in two separate incidents, unarmed innocent men who don't have a chance against them. Only one townsman, Ma San (Charles Heung), is willing to stand up against the Changs, but any action he takes against them puts his brother (Eddy Ko), who works for Chang, in danger. Ma San is soon framed by the Changs in the poison deaths of three children and he has no choice but to take the law into his own hands. Eventually, Ma San and Ling take on the Chang gang in a pitched final battle.
There is one thoroughly gratuitous sex scene, involving ample nudity, that's the most explicit such scene I've ever seen in a kung fu film. It involves two minor characters, the gang member who did the actual poisoning and a prostitute at the local brothel, and seems to have been added to pad out the running time of the film (already a short 83 minutes).
What the film really needed were the missing sections of the final battle. As Ma San and Captain Ling are fighting Chang and Tong, Sammo Hung and the other henchmen are beating hell out of the other policemen. That's the last we see of Sammo and company. So the final action is never satisfactorily concluded.
The two leads, Charles Heung and Lee Ka Ting, are competent, although they're not the most familiar of kung fu performers. (Heung may be known to Hong Kong film fans largely for his portrayal of "God of Guns" in the GOD OF GAMBLERS films). But they do face three formidable villains in Han Ying Chieh, Wilson Tong and Sammo Hung. (Han and Hung both worked on the fight choreography.) The photography is nearly all on outdoors Taiwan locations and is generally pretty crisp. The fights are largely well staged, except when they're completely forgotten about, as in the case of Sammo and co. at the end.
There is one thoroughly gratuitous sex scene, involving ample nudity, that's the most explicit such scene I've ever seen in a kung fu film. It involves two minor characters, the gang member who did the actual poisoning and a prostitute at the local brothel, and seems to have been added to pad out the running time of the film (already a short 83 minutes).
What the film really needed were the missing sections of the final battle. As Ma San and Captain Ling are fighting Chang and Tong, Sammo Hung and the other henchmen are beating hell out of the other policemen. That's the last we see of Sammo and company. So the final action is never satisfactorily concluded.
The two leads, Charles Heung and Lee Ka Ting, are competent, although they're not the most familiar of kung fu performers. (Heung may be known to Hong Kong film fans largely for his portrayal of "God of Guns" in the GOD OF GAMBLERS films). But they do face three formidable villains in Han Ying Chieh, Wilson Tong and Sammo Hung. (Han and Hung both worked on the fight choreography.) The photography is nearly all on outdoors Taiwan locations and is generally pretty crisp. The fights are largely well staged, except when they're completely forgotten about, as in the case of Sammo and co. at the end.
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