Black Spot (1994) User Reviews

It has a little something for everyone

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 23 September 2022]

Wong Lung (Le) is a living the good life as a Martial Arts instructor, and along with his girlfriend Fanny (presumably Fanny Hill in her only film role to date), the two seem to have it all. When a group of goons interrupts his all-female Kung Fu class, he knows he's in trouble. A former drug kingpin that was "in charge of Southeast Asia", Lung turned his life around. But now some baddies, including a man known only as Mark (Lo Lieh?) are forcing him to use his former expertise as it relates to a massive drug operation in the Golden Triangle. With no place left to turn and with crimefighters such as Nora Badine (likely Rossieo Badin) closing in under the banner of a joint operation called White Horse Action, Wong Lung must wage the ultimate battle for his life. But will he win? And what is this mysterious BLACK SPOT we keep hearing so much about? Tune in to find out...

Ever since we saw Challenge of the Tiger (1980), we've been big Bruce Le fans. When we first see him in Black Spot, he's working out on his home gym while his blonde girlfriend Fanny - of course her name is Fanny - is prancing around in a white one-piece bathing suit. So far, so good. Wong Lung wears a Eurogroup Film sweatshirt and we really root for the guy. There are a lot of nice 80's-style musical stings on the soundtrack, and a lot of funny yelling as well. It's mostly entertaining despite a couple of slow moments.

Apropos of nothing, suddenly Wong Lung is in a cage, facing off against a hulking brute in a Punchfighting match. While most people might drink water or Gatorade during such a contest, this particular brute drinks fresh-squeezed sheep blood. Lung is going to have to be extra resourceful to get out of this situation. Black Spot covers a lot of action bases: it starts off as more of a chop-socky-type film as you might expect from Le, but then there's some Punchfighting, and the last third of the film is more of a war situation with soldiers, tanks, machine gun fire and guard-tower falls. The more fun and ridiculous moments come towards the beginning, as the movie cycles through its changes.

Black Spot is a rare movie that we had been looking for for years. It was released in America on a Tai Seng VHS but quickly disappeared and that was the end of Black Spot for us. Thankfully, some helpful soul put it up on YouTube for the world to enjoy. If you like the Asian action boom of the 90's, and have seen a lot of the Golden Harvest-type stuff with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li or movies directed by John Woo and the like, and you want to check out Bruce Le's addition to that canon, Black Spot would fit the bill perfectly. It has a little something for everyone, and that's basically a good thing.

Bruce Le's temporary comeback

[damonfoster · 5 February 2006]

Bruce Le's 1990 comeback (before his return to obscurity, I guess?) is a typical modern HK actioner, derivative of the stuff John Woo & Jackie Chan were doing at the time. Plenty of chases, captures, escapes, re-captures, re-escapes, gunplay and martial arts (i.e. a duel in the ring). Released to video in 1991, it's another of Bruce Le's attempts at making an 'international blockbuster', in fact it's the most expensive movie of his career--but I preferred him as a Lee imitator in the 1970s, because he was funnier. But the production company was impressed by his 1980s 'epics' (i.e. FUTURE HUNTERS and REVENGE OF THE KICKFIGHTER), and invested the money hands-down, to make BLACK SPOT. Throw in plenty of Thai & Burmese extras, crew members from THE LAST EMPEROR, the cooperation of the Thai army (for usage of their tanks & soldiers), supporting roles by blond actresses Rossieo Badin & Fanny Hill, and you get a pretty typical action-war film along the lines of EASTERN CONDORS and BULLET IN THE HEAD.

Bruce Le still fights well, but looks so different (aging) that I almost didn't recognize him. BLACK SPOT was three years in the making, and Le broke a leg doing a stunt for the movie. Ever the trouper, he directed the remainder of the movie while in crutches.

Le plays a kung fu instructor at a health spa full of hot chicks (blond super-model types), but unfortunately, he must leave this dream job when mobsters (i.e. Wong Tao & Lo Lieh) pressure him into smuggling drugs at some Golden Triangle. Plenty of explosions and bad acting before Bruce Le himself gets shot dead by one of his own comrades who's gone trigger happy. BLACK SPOT was filmed in HK, Taiwan, Red China, Thailand and even France (where it was also a box office hit). I just thought it was okay.