Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 02/04/2004 Summary: 4/5 **** HOLY FLAME OF THE MARTIAL WORLD: A mind-bending piece of wu xia fantasy that never once stops to catch its breath in 85 minutes. Full of crazy characters, goofy special effects and tons and tons of wire stunts... a huge amount of fun, but one for those who can take the excesses of HK wuxia only! Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: pjshimmer Date: 01/17/2002 Shaw Brothers really should be given credit for making serial-wuxia-like movies such as this one in the early 80s. This movie has the wildest kung fu action in an old school movie. There's more wire used here than in Moon Warriors. At one point, seeing the creatures in full armor I was worried that the film would turn into a Chinese Super Ninja-like old school actioner, but thankfully it quickly moved on to better subjects. I'm especially impressed with the special effects, which are up to the standards of Kung Fu Colt Master and Sword Stained With Royal Blood from 10 years later. The line between old school kung fu and new wave wire/flying action is just about as thin as it gets. The storyline isn't the best I've seen, but there are no major flaws that I recall. The overall atmosphere and scenery makes one suspect that the film could have been made in the 50s; and in fact it is extremely reminiscent of the 50s wuxia swords series/movies. But one look at the effects and action ensures it comes from a much later time. [8/10]

Reviewed by: STSH Date: 01/16/2001 Summary: Excellent Not quite as slam-bang an actioner as Alex (see "Links") portrays, but it's still an entertaining and fast-paced madness and action fest. This is the only HK film I've ever seen where the guy who does the loud evil laugh is NOT the villain. The scenes where the old master does this laugh, called "Ghostly Cries", are ripping good fun and simply hilarious. I've never been a big fan of Max Mok. Perhaps it was that the first two films I saw him in were of him playing eunuchs with weak characters ! But even wimpy Max is a blast in this one. There's flying people and flying fu, a school of girl fu vs a bunch of other male fu schools, and all the usual romance and intrigue. Not quite the classic Alex makes it out to be, but still highly recommended. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: battlemonkey Date: 12/21/1999 A lot glowing and flying in this tale of kung fu cults. Oneguy has a super-laughing power.