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¯«Às²r±´ (1980)
Challenge of the Tiger


Reviewed by: Brian Thibodeau
Date: 01/09/2007
Summary: Sublime stupidity

Splendidly retarded espionage yarn jerry-rigged from just enough generic action setpieces (fight, chase, surveillance, sex, shootout, fight, rinse, repeat)—much of it rather obviously filmed sans permits in Spain, Hong Kong and Macau—to permit the dubbing team to seemingly improvise the dialogue that ties it all together. Their failure to convince us that the original script was REALLY about various nefarious do-badders scrambling to find (and mass-produce) a serum that will make the world sterile is of little concern in light of the now legendary THREE MINUTE, self-directed introduction of Richard Harrison’s suave playboy character, playing tennis with three sun-kissed topless babes—IN SLOW MOTION to a bouncy cover of Bobby Bloom’s “Montego Bay”—and co-star director Bruce Le’s battle with a fake bull shortly thereafter. These two special agents (they’re never really given job descriptions, and their “agency” goes unnamed) spend precious little time proactively solving the mystery and more time being led around like monkeys—Harrison by his libido, which consistently causes women to get naked with him and bits of which he shows off in as many lolly bags as the running time will allow, and Le by an assortment of goons who want to fight him—most notably Viet Cong gang leader Hwang Jang-lee, who, at least according to the writer of the dub script, is also after “the formula,” and Kong Do and his Spanish mafia pals, whose ready-to-roll formula-manufacturing facility is well stocked with bags of granulated polystyrene resin and uncracked cases of Winstons and Camels(!). Producer Dick Randall, who appears here as “Dick,” previously aided Le on THE CLONES OF BRUCE LEE (1977) and BRUCE THE SUPERHERO (1979), but his most outstanding coup was gaining the production company access to 2nd anniversary festivities at the Macau Trotting Club, during which virtually nothing happens to advance the plot, but the crew snags free and uncredited “guest appearances” by Jane Seymour, Morgan Fairchild and Jack Klugman! An absolute must-see for those who enjoy discombobulated schlock. Le co-choreographed the film’s average fight sequences with Kong Do, Wong Fok-kong, and Johnny Chiang, and is credited as co-writer with Poon Fan, although I’m not so sure what they wrote actually ended up on the screen.

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: Frank Lakatos
Date: 09/29/2005
Summary: This movie was made in 1984........

This movie was made in 1984. If you want to see Bruce Le, Richard Harrison, Hwang Jang Lee, Brad Harris, Bolo Yeung, the Argentinian actress Marushka, and Kong Do all go at it with each other, and cameos by Jane Seymore and Jack Klugman, then, this movie is for you! For it's craziness, worth a watch, but don't expect any great choreography here. It's the usual punch and block movies that Bruce Le just couldn't grow out of. Bruce Le does fight a bull, though. Not really, but he runs in front of a real one a few times. Richard Harrison is out of shape in this one. Nothing compared to his bulked up ninja days that would come a year later. Brad Harris does alot of nice fighting in this one, against Bolo and Bruce. Shot in Spain, Hong Kong, and Singapore. ***/*****


Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 05/27/2003
Summary: Lots of nudity, but .......

This film seems to have been designed according to a formula. That is, a simple good guys vs bad guys plot, lots of young women who all undress to varying degrees, Bruce frequently lashing out with kicks to the baddies.

The lack of subs didn't help, but the result didn't work for me. The first half hour, which is as far as I got, was saturated with nudity, including some full frontal, and featuring a long scene of Richard playing tennis with one of his topless lovelies, the scene filmed in slo-mo and lovingly capturing every bounce, though not of the tennis ball. Inbetween these hijinks, the action moves from either Southern California or Mexico (all the signs are in Spanish and there is a scene at a bullfight, capped off by Bruce defeating a bull with kung fu !) to HK, a few baddies get thumped as they try to kill the cops.

The acting was hammy and terrible (no surprise) and it was all very silly. Perhaps if Hwang Jang Lee had come in earlier and spent more time on screen, I might have watched the lot.

Watch this one if you're bored or curious, otherwise avoid at all costs.

Reviewer Score: 1