Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 05/20/2012 Summary: one of the best films The following is not my synopsis. I borrowed it from someplace to share a laugh with all of you. "Although his father owns a martial arts school, Wong Fei-hung (Gordon Liu) refuses to take his training seriously, opting instead to merely pose as a kung fu expert. But when the master of a rival school issues a challenge, Fei-hung is forced to study for real." Directed by Master Liu Chia-Liang, this kung fu tale features Robert Mak Tak-Law, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, and Ku Feng. It's one of the best films you could hope to see. Seriously. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: ewaffle Date: 11/17/2010 Summary: One of the best from Shaw Brothers Like all of Caesar's Gaul "Martial Club" is divided into three parts. It begins with a spectacular lion dance competition between two competing kung fu schools, moves on to rivalry between the scions of the heads of the schools and ends with (almost) everyone coming to a new understanding of the real worth of martial arts and the place of kung fu as a foundation of Chinese civil society. Along the way we are treated to dazzling action choreography and brilliant execution by some of the best practitioners in the Shaw Brothers line-up. First, under the credits, is a demonstration of lion dancing together with a few rules that must never be broken since to do so shows contempt for one's opponent. Among them are: never sniff the bottom of the opposing lion since this says that it is a female lion, never blink the lion's eyes when approaching the other one and never lifting a leg while engaged in combat. These may not be from the "Ancient Rules of Lion Dancing" but when the Master Lu's school breaks all of the rules it shows they are ruthless but also coarse and unrefined no matter how skilled. The shots looking straight down at the three tiered platforms, each tier supported by a group of students, reminds one of a signature shot from Busby Berkley "all singing, all dancing" musicals. Those shots look great, are much more difficult to do than it seems and can only be accomplished in studio with well equipped sound stages, a couple of hundred talented extras and a bunch of very skilled technicians. Master Zheng's school is having a great time with their lion dance, getting ready to grab the purse and gather all the greens while delighting the young ladies who came out to watch their heroes when Master Lu and his son arrive with their lion in all his leg lifting, eye blinking and butt sniffing glory in order to disrupt the fun. When it seems that the very best Lu's school can accomplish is a draw with a good chance of losing he orders the lion dance abandoned and a general melee between the two sets of students breaks out. This is broken up and Master Wong Qiying arranges a dinner in which the competing sides can calm down, drink a few toasts and get everything back to normal. To no one's surprise this also results in a fight between the schools. There is a third school in town, run by Master Wong. His chief student is his son Wong Fei Hung, the exquisitely talented Gordon Liu. Fei Hung and Yinlin, Master Zheng's protege are friendly rivals--the second part of the movie involves their rivalry and is full of extraordinary fights between the two of them and also with other rivals. Each wants to show superiority but knows they are so evenly matched that a real match pitting them against each other could injure both of them. There are some inventive training sequences one of which introduces Juying, Yinlin's sister. She is played by Kara Hui who once again shows that self-confidence and accomplishment can be very sexy traits--in addition, of course, to her undeniable beauty. The plot thickens slightly but not unexpectedly when Yinlin tells her of the upcoming contest with Fei Hung--each will face a tough fighter and must defeat him using only six moves. Juying isn't happy that her brother is in competing with Fei Hung. What follows are several scenes of individual combat, two scenes of mistaken identity in which the two friends fail to recognize traveling martial arts masters and their pupils. The climax of this section is a terrific fight between Kara Hui and Gordon Liu. Johnny Wang plays Master Shan Xiong a northern master brought in by the underhanded Lu. Xiong is a very skilled fighter, better than anyone in town, but also a bit of a bumpkin who doesn't understand the rules and rituals of southern kung fu and seems easily fooled. Lu told him that he was going to demonstrate some of his northern techniques to Lu's school but the real plan is to trick him into destroying Zheng's school. Master Xiong, for all his peasant naivete and lack of sophistication, is not as dumb as he looks. The high point of the third section is an extremely creative fight, the final showdown between Xiong and Fei Hung. It takes place in Zigzag Alley. Each of them must be ready to either strike or parry, must always know where the enemy is and, like a chess player, have figured out his next several moves. Just before this there is a scene with a very creative use of props--bolts of colorful cloth and bags of rice--which convinces Xiong that Fei Hung will be a worthy opponent in the fight in the ever narrowing alley. Only a couple of clunkers get in the way. In a drawn out and very unconvincing scene Lu's men trick the Zheng people into going to an opera performance without paying, thinking they were invited guests. It was important to the narrative to have something there to show the continued perfidy of Lu and the rectitude of Zheng and company but the scene dragged. It was so noticeable because it was the only one that did. Johnny Wang's character was a bit too good to be true. If he was tricked by the wily Lu he couldn't have been on the right side of things so quickly at the end. If he wasn't fooled then he should have intervened into the internecine warfare much earlier. But these are just quibbles and barely detract from one's enjoyment of the film. There is enough high quality martial arts action in "Martial Club" for two or three movies. It is never more than a few minutes from the next great fight. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, honor is upheld and righteousness triumphs to everyone's satisfaction. This is a wonderful movie. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: Gaijin84 Date: 07/23/2006 Summary: A hidden gem from Liu Chia-liang and Gordon Liu... When Master Lu (Jue Tit-Woh) and his son Lu Shanhou (Lee King-Chue) disrupt the Lion Dance of Master Zheng (Wilson Tong)'s students, it sets in motion a dangerous rivalry between the two schools. The mutually respected Master Wong Qiying (Ku Feng) is brought in to mediate a truce, but it only serves to delay another inevitable confrontation. Master Wong's son, Wong Fei Hung (Gordon Liu) is best friends with one of the top students of Master Zheng's school, Wang Yinlin (Robert Mak), and their exploits drag a martial arts master from the north (Johnny Wang) into being a key player in the struggle between the schools of Master Lu and Master Zheng. I had never heard Martial Club referred to as a classic of the Shaw Brothers catalog, but after seeing it I would have to put it in the top tier of Liu Chia-Liang films and a highlight for Gordon Liu. The story really consists of three distinct acts. First is the initial lion dance rivalry, which leads to the introduction of the ever-popular Wong Fei Hung and his friend Wang Yinlin. Second are the pair’s escapades in trying to outdo the other in all manners, especially in their fighting skills. These friendly matches lead to the final (and main) act, involving a master from the north whose skill is highly coveted by Master Lu's school. Although each of the acts has relatively little to do with the next, they are connected them well enough to be enjoyable and not leave any gaping plot holes. The real attraction for this movie is the incredible martial arts choreography and execution by the stars. Gordon Liu is, as always, a standout and his portrayal of Wong Fei Hung is fantastic. The humorous scenes are done very well and his chemistry with Robert Mak is excellent. Kara Hui adds a perfect touch of beauty and dynamite kung fu to the mix as Wang Yinlin (Robert Mak)'s sister. The more I see of her in Liu Chia-Liang's films, the higher I regard her overall presence and rank among the top female action stars in the world. I had not seen Robert Mak in many films, but he was also impressive in both his comedic and action scenes. However, treatment of Johnny Wang's character Master Shan Xiong is the most interesting element of this film. At first he is seen, as most northerners in Hong Kong films are regarded, as a country bumpkin, ignorant to the more cultured ways of the south. However, when his martial arts skills are witnessed, everyone takes him much more seriously and some start to see him as an equal. As mentioned before, this is one of the few films in which Johnny Wang plays a righteous and sympathetic character, and he does a first-rate job at it. Although he is wooed into forming and alliance with the malicious Lu school, he soon sees that doing the morally correct thing is more important than his transient loyalty to Master Lu. Even though Lu and his son see him only as an unintelligent hired thug to do their bidding, Wong Fei Hung sees him as an equal who has unparalleled skills and much to learn from. This leads to one of the greatest pure martial arts fight scenes I have seen on screen, as Wong Fei Hung and Master Shan put their individual kung fu to the test in the cramped and claustrophobic setting of Zig Zag Alley. Overall, Martial Club is one of the best martial arts films from Liu Chia-Liang and Gordon Liu, and an excellent addition to the voluminous adventures of Wong Fei Hung. 9.5/10 Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 12/18/2004 Summary: Another bad SB ending The bad first, i hate endings where the movie suddenly finishes and this is such a movie.The movie should of been more bloodier if they wanted to emphaises the feud between schools. The bad guys are ruthless though. The good, the beginning dragon dance scene is visually beautiful to watch. Johnny Wang Lung Wei plays a good guy for once. The average, the action, though some were better than average, it didn't have any WOW factor for me. Is it me or does a lot of Liu Chia Liang movies have some sort of moral message to it? Overall: 6.5/10 I have seen better action and the ending is just something i can't stand from SB movies

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 12/10/2004 Summary: 9/10 Gordon Liu returns to the Wong Fei Hung role, in the film that Tsui Hark most likely had in mind when he conceived OUATIC. Liu's WFH starts closer to the cheeky, headstrong character as Jackie Chan played him than Jet's matured character - but by the end of the film he's perhaps made that transition. The plot of the film has a few holes - relying on unbelievably dumb actions from a few characters - but makes up for it with an almost endless display of kung fu that reaches incredible heights. Gordon Liu is amazing, naturally, and Kara Hui gives one of her most eye-popping performances, right up there with My Young Auntie or Heroes Of The East. Actor Mak Tai-Lo, whom I'd never really noticed before in the few films I've seen with him, shows skills almost equal to those of Gordon & Kara. The real revelation is Wang Lung Wei though, whom I've always noticed and liked, but in this film gets a meatier role for both acting and fighting - and truly excels in the latter at least. Viewed purely from a kung fu standpoint, MARTIAL CLUB may be as good as it gets. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: battlemonkey Date: 12/21/1999 Wong Fei-Hong and his once-rival, now friend, find themselvesand their martial arts schools pitted against a rival school which uses a kung fu expert from the North to do their dirty work, although the expert doesn't realize he is being evil (they lie to him). Great stuff. This may be the only role in which Wang Lung Wei as the hero from the North isn't a villain. He fights Wong Fei-hong, sure, but as one martial artist to another, and once he discovers that he has been tricked by the bad school, he refuses to help them anymore. Although he beats Wong in the end, they respect one another. Lots of great fights and interesting stuff.