When those who love HK movies think of "groundbreaking", "trailblazing", and "important" when it comes to a film or an actor, a fan's most immediate response would be Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or John Woo. But all three of the descriptions above suit the one watershed film that started it all, KING BOXER aka FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH. In the book SEX AND ZEN AND A BULLET IN THE HEAD, it was stated that if it wasn't for this movie, even Bruce Lee wouldn't have been given his due...and in every respect, that statement is exactly right. This is the first HK film (chop socky, kung fu, wuxia or otherwise) to break through to theaters in the U.S.A., and it did so with a bang! Even today, watching this movie, it holds up well in comparison to contemporary fare. (More so considering the "idol" movies of late like THE MAN CALLED HERO with Ekin Cheng.)

These days it would be considered your average "school vs. school" movie, a theme repeated ad infinitum in HK actioners...but it can safely be said this is one of the first to establish and explore that particular theme, along with FIST OF FURY. (Whether that's a positive or a negative is up to you!) It would also, like FOF, help establish foreigners -- ESPECIALLY Japanese -- as stock villains. (Very much a negative for perpetuating national-racial schisms.) The idea of putting local actors in Japanese garb, putting them in black fright wigs, and calling them Japanese (with the exception of their leader) is still as insulting as a caucasian actor putting on shoe polish to give him a "black face". It's also interesting to note that Lo Lieh, who plays the hero in this film, would subsequently play villainous characters!

And let me tell you, villains have rarely been as bad as they've been in KING BOXER! (Almost overkill for the upright Ji Hao!) The master of one school is so obsessed with the thought of seeing his son -- and his school as a result -- win an upcoming tournament, he hires a group of Japanese mercenaries to cripple his son's only real competition (Ji Hao) by breaking his hands! And if that wasn't enough, he has the mercenaries kill Ji Hao's adopted father and teacher, THEN gouges the eyes out of the jealous student who helped set Ji Hao up! And as the film rolls along, they get to do even more bad things! If I'm describing this film as a bloodfest, it really isn't. There are bloody moments, but they're few and far-between for this exciting -- if slightly too melodramatic -- kung fu movie!

If you want to know why you were ABLE to see great actors from Jimmy Wang Yu and Angela Mao to Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, and watch great films from DRAGON INN to DRUNKEN MASTER 2, watch a literal piece of history...it'll be worth your while! Highly recommended!