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倫文敘老點柳先開 (1994)
The Kung Fu Scholar


Reviewed by: Sydneyguy
Date: 01/03/2009
Summary: Agree with the other reviewers

This movie has a Stephen Chow feel to it, and if Dicky Cheung and Aaron Kwok's were combined into one role, i can see Stephen making the most of the role.
Unfortunately that didnt happen,Dicky Cheung i have always found annoying and Aaron Kwok shows he doesnt need to act to get a part in this movie.

Some of the jokes work but some dont. The action at least was decent and its always good to see Leung kar yan and Gordan Liu on the scene.

I enjoyed it more than i should but its just some entertaining fluff

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: danton
Date: 08/12/2002

Starring Aaron Kwok and Dicky Cheung, this period comedy suffers from lots of untranslatable (and not very funny) word-based humour that lacks the presence of Stephen Chiau, but at least has some well-choreographed fight scenes mainly featuring Shaw Brothers stalwarts Gordon Lau and Leung Kar-yan. The action is of the fantasy wirefu type a la Holy Weapon, Royal Tramp and Flying Dagger, and while the film doesn't quite hold up to those classics, it's nevertheless a good reminder of what made HK cinema so exciting in the early nineties.


Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 06/27/2002
Summary: Loses a lot in the translation

The problem with Stephen Chiau period kung fu comedies is that when you're watching one without him, you can't help thinking how much better it would be with him. Stephen Chiau does not appear in "The Kung Fu Scholar", though Ng Man Tat does appear in an attempt to divert our attention from that fact.

Actually, "The Kung Fu Scholars" would be a more appropriate title, as both Dicky Cheung and Aaron Kwok play scholars who know a little kung fu, and neither really has a bigger role than the other. The bulk of the movie is concerned with the the two lads joining a loser-school and taking courses in pratting about whilst half-heartedly courting Vivian Chow, in a comedy manner. There's a lot of "battles of wit" based around Cantonese wordplay, which are completely lost in the DVD subtitling. The subtitlers either go for literal translations of the words, which suggest what the puns are but make no English sense, or try to convey the meaning of the words - in which case the result is not a pun, nor funny. I suspect it wouldn't have been a whole lot funnier if I understood Cantonese though really.

The scholarly plot rides alongside and almost touches a brief subplot where Leung Kar Yan is a kung fu master on the run to protect some prince, who ends up teaching at the school. Nasty Gordon Liu is on his tail, and when they catch up with each other they naturally fight. The fight scenes are the movie's saving grace to an extent, featuring some pretty decent wire-fu. They can't really mask the fact that the two young stars don't really have any kung fu though, and that the two older stars hadn't been keeping themselves in shape too well by the 90's. Still some decent stuff though.

The movie's a fairly dumb affair and certainly not A-grade for the genre, but it's watchable and sometimes entertaining.


Reviewed by: Souxie
Date: 03/10/2002
Summary: Very funny

Bought this movie cos it was a film Kwok Fu Sing I hadn't seen, and loved it. Very funny, decent story, lots of fights, loads of fun! Kwok Fu-Sing was funny and very cute with long hair, Dicky Cheung was hilarious and the whole movie was over very quickly. Would give this movie 9/10, a good Sunday afternoon movie.

Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/21/1999

A young student witnesses a mysterious stranger being chased by anassassin. He and his classmates suspect their new teacher and soon play detective in this delightful mystery set during the Ming Dynasty.

[Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]


Reviewed by: pablo
Date: 12/09/1999

Kung fu hothead Lau Sin Hoi and his friend go to school and get involved in a political dispute. Ching Ching, niece of the headmaster, tags along. Liu Chia Hui and Leung Ka Yan means good action, but Dicky Cheung means bad comedy.