Reviews (243)

Bruce Lee's got nothin' on the Boss
Jet Li, affectionately called Boss Li in Hong Kong, stars in this remake of Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection (a.k.a. Fists of Fury in China). The difference is this one's better. You don't agree? I'll do my best to convert ya. Li stars as Chen Zhen, a student in 1930's Japanese occupied China. He returns home upon receiving news of his master's death, who was supposedly beaten by a Japanese master in a challenge. Li smells a rat and challenges the Japanese master in return, to find the master's fighting ability's terribly inadequate to have defeated his old master. Li has the body exhumed and tested for poison, and we find that the old master was indeed murdered after all. And Li wants revenge. This is a truly amazing flick. The fights, performed with minimal wire work as found in other period martial arts pieces, are a showcase for the stupifyingly amazing martial abilities of it's star, and standout moments include the opening fight between Li and a slew of Japanese fighters and the duel between Li and his japanese girlfriend's uncle, an older, wiser fighter who, before the duel, insists that older fellas need a minute or two to warm up. Unlike the Bruce Lee film the Japanese are not presented as monsters, and this film goes out of it's way to prove it, whereas the Lee film goes out of it's way to show how heinous they are. Jet Li is a true phenomenon, and to quote the Hong Kong movie oriented book,...'Nuff said.

You Won't Believe What You Are Watching
Fist of Legend is a true powerhouse of a Kung-Fu movie, where 2 minute dialog scenes only serve to bridge the most amazing martial arts fights you will ever watch. This movie is a remake of Bruce Lee's "Chinese Connection", which is appropriate, because Jet Li deservingly surpasses the Master in skill and talent with his performance in this movie. Forget dialog and acting, the fighting absolutely rules this movie, and the story is told thru the fighting, like any good action movie should do. I consider this film to be the Best Matrial Arts movie ever made.

Jet Li plays a star kung-fu student returning from afar to avenge his master's death. Along the way, he fights just about everyone he sees. While there are a couple of large-scale gang wars, most action scenes are 2 man duels. These duels advance the plot and develop the characters while they dish out the action, just like the kung-fu in the Matrix, or the lightduels in the Star Wars films. These fighters dig deep into themselves, get out old grudges they have with old friends, and learn about the mysterious ways of the universe as they watch it flow through their bodies. Everything is present in the punches and kicks of this film - power, grace, spiritual peace, comedy, raging emotion, revenge, personal courage. Wire-work is subtle and restrained, and takes a backseat to Li's amazing speed and precision. If you are reminded of The Matrix you have a sharp eye, because the same choreographer worked on this film, and it shows. Many of the little touches in the Matrix were lifted from this movie, in homage to its genius. One unbelievable moment has Jet Li fighting a Japanese master while both are blindfolded. The finale is a gruelly 40 minute duel between Li and an absolute evil bad-guy, two towering masters giving their absolute 100%. In the end, you are just as exhausted as the fighters are, but you certainly had more fun.

"Fist of Legend" is definitely a must-buy, as you'll get many, many viewings out of this film.

Essential To Any Kung Fu Fan.
I am already a huge fan of jet li, and this is the movie that started my whole fandom. This is my favorite kung fu movies without a doubt, the fighting scenes are terrific, the story line was in my opinion good although ive heard the talk about how this movie copies the bruce lee movie "fists of fury/chinese connection" and to me, that really didnt make the movie any less spectatular. i myself own many bruce lee and jet li movies, and personally i enjoy this movie over all of them, but thats just me.. definately a must buy for any kung fu fan. makes matrix look pathetic, and w/o all the flying either

Inspiring
This is my favorite Jet Li movie of all time. Jet put Bruce to shame with this remake of the 1970s classic. I really enjoyed the way he blended his traditional northern shaolin style with that of Bruce's Wing Chun inspired style.

The fight scenes were excellent, and of course the story was too.

there's no way i'm gonna rate this less than 5 stars, but...
ok, awesome kung fu film, required viewing for any even casual fan of the genre, jet li exhibits amazing speed and skill, little wire work, good costumes, great blindfolded fight, amazing final fight scene, good humor, easy to follow story, excellent fight coreography by the legendary yuen wo ping.

but.

let's face it. american distributors simply have to stop editing these foreign films, dubbing them into english, and assuming it won't make a difference. it makes a HUGE difference, and this is glaringly obvious through this DVD release of fist of legend. while the english dubbing in this film isn't as awful as it could have been, it still takes away immensely from the film. the mood is totally thrown off by the english dubbing, and it's almost hard to take the movie seriously as a result of this. do yourself a favor and hunt down the taiwanese uncut fist of legend DVD with the original language tracks and english subtitles! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Gamera, Japan's favorite jet-propelled giant flying turtle, was Daiei's child-friendly answer to Toho's Godzilla franchise. This decidedly juvenile staple of the 1960s became a modest success, but those early features, with cut-rate special effects and gooey child stars, rate little beyond camp nowadays. With such a legacy, his 1995 rebirth Gamera, Guardian of the Galaxy, is a delightful surprise. Now taking over the franchise, Toho comes through with an old-fashioned giant monster adventure in candy colors with excellent special effects and an attitude that straddles serious science fiction and outrageous spectacle. Gamera, still a hero of the people, is given a mythic back-story and a foe of apocalyptic dimensions, the flying people-eating lizard Gyaos that the government, in all its misguided wisdom, decides to protect while attacking the misunderstood Gamera. There's romance (featuring the best come-on line ever: "Someday I'd like to show you around a monster-free Tokyo"), bureaucratic satire, and a well-meaning environmental message, but that's all gravy to the movie's meat: giant monsters battling it out in the traditional Tokyo war zone, laying waste to acres of lovingly detailed miniatures. That's what Japanese monster movies are all about. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Giant Monster Fans - Enjoy!
This is a qick paced Japanese giant monster movie that fans of the genre will really enjoy. The story is good, though fairly silly fun that fans of the old Godzilla movies will welcome with open arms. The movie is the first in a trilogy of great Gamera movies.

The DVD features very good picture quality and offers the option to view the film in the original Japanese language with English subtitles or with and English dubbed soundtrack. The picture quality is very good as is the audio. Bonus features include an informative 31 minute interview with the director of special effects, footage from the Gamera announcement press conference & the Japanese opening of the movie, behind-the-scenes footage, 3 theatrical trailers, 6 TV spots & more!

All in all a great disk to own.

Gamera almost rivals Godzilla as King Of The Monsters.
Most gamera fans have seen the cheesy 60s and 70s versions of the turtle that tried to be godzilla. But now, Gamera actually defeats Godzilla in FX. The Godzilla series from 1989-1995 (The Hesei series) had excellent to mediocre FX. Now Gamera beats the FX in this one! But not only do FX makes this a good movie, but the plot actually clicks without plot holes, and, IMHO, is well explained.

Synopsis: A floating atoll is discovered and a research team chases after it, while three giant bird-monsters appear and chow down on people. The atoll cracks open and releases a monster turtle called Gamera, a dragon created by an ancient civilization to destroy the evil Gyaos. All but one of the birds are killed, and the survivor grows to a size equal to Gamera's. The bird has been dubbed Gyaos and the military decides to stop attacking Gamera and turn towards Gyaos. Gyaos and Gamera meet in Tokyo and fight to the death.... I can't tell you who wins. END

Gamera: Guardian of Kaiju Credibility
Long ago, back when there were plenty of Godzilla-ripoffs, there was one series that stood above the rest: Gamera. Gamera was the most popular of these, most likely because it appealed largely to children (outside of Gamera vs. Barugon, which may have been the best of the older series.) By and large, the Gamera series was a joke. With cheap, often-poorly designed costumes, poor and predictable plots, and an over-reliance on Gamera, "Hero of the Children," it's amazing it went on for as long as it did.

In 1995, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was released, with a completely different approach. This new Gamera, directed by Shusuke Kaneko, abandons the old plotline, as Godzilla 1985 did with the Godzilla series, and brings the audience into a new, darker Gamera, relying on myth rather than children.

The story begins when a Japanese vessel carrying radioactive material runs aground in the middle of the sea. A mysterious floating atoll has been found and is heading towards Japan. On an island elsewhere, Dr. Nagamine has discovered a giant species of "birds" that have eaten the entire population of the island and one of her fellow scientists. Back at the atoll, a science team led by Professor Kusanagi finds many comma-shaped stones on the atoll, as well as a large 2001-esque monolith buried in it. When the professor's assistant touches the monolith, it breaks apart, as does the atoll. Back with the "birds", the Japanese government stages a plan to capture them as an endangered species, but their efforts are thwarted when Gamera, the creature within the atoll, arrives to destroy the creatures himself.

The beginning of the movie is very disjointed, thus the shaky plot summary. However, once the two halves meet, the rest is solid, involving the confused Japanese government trying to capture the birds and defeat Gamera, Gamera's origins as a bio-weapon in Atlantis, and professor Kusanagi's daughter, Asagi, who provides a human link to Gamera and an homage to the giant turtle's earlier role.

If it's different from the older movies, then it must have better special effects, right? At the point of this film being made, Gamera had never looked better (though the sequels continued to improve his look.) His "flying saucer" flight looks spectacular with CG flames, though his half-jet flying won't look good until the next film. The suit is also a bit fatter than in the old series, which is good, since turtle's don't have flat shells. The birds are based on the old Gyaos from the old series, and while they look very good, they're still clearly hand-puppets and marionettes. There are also several other effects with missiles explosions, and the Gyaos's laser.

The music is good as well. While a little hokey at times, the main theme fits wonderfully with Gamera.

While the movie itself manages to reach Godzilla's level of achievement, the DVD far surpasses it. Most Godzilla discs are complete bare-bones; some don't even have chapter-stops. ADV has included making-of featurettes, videos of opening night, a Japanese language track with subtitles (as well as the dub), and a multitude of other goodies. It's everything a fan could want. And there happens to be this box set out. While it's a little more expensive than the movie by itself, it's nice to have a small case for when you get all three films.

And after seeing this one, you will want the rest. A very good kaiju film , high above Gamera's usual standards, and the best is still to come.

Not Your Father's Gamera
Before I review the importance of this film, allow me to digress.
Why is a film that incorporates CGI considered to have "better special effects" than effects done using minitures and costumes? To this point, within a couple frames:

a> You can tell "immediately" if a creature is done in CGI.
b> You can tell "immediately" if a creature is a costume.

In both cases, the effect is ineffective in that you know it's a special effect. Something either looks convincing, that is "real" and you can't identify the technique used to create it, or it does not. It's a boolean thing. Having said that, the Japanese effects >tradition< of using minitures and costumes is as equally unconvincing as CGI - however, the live action style is more vivid, and interesting. I prefer the elaborate minitures, costumes, and physical effects and find them far, far, more entertaining than something produced on a laptop with a 3D software package.

Secondly, realize that most Japanese kaiju flicks are done on a 10 million dollar budget. It was amazing in the 60's as it is now that an effects film can be realized at all with such a paltry budget. The shooting schedule of this films is also break-neck.

The reason this Gamera film is important is that it re-defined a genre. Many films and filmmakers try, few succeed. It's "The Unforgiven" (western) or The Excorsist (horror) of kaiju.

Most negative reviews of this film cite effects techniques and dubbing (it's nearly impossible to accurately dub english/japanese it's a different language, of course the lips won't synch...) These reviewer are xenophobic.

In summary, Gamera is an IMPORTANT film as it redifined an entire genre. Critics who point to effects technics and dubbing are xenophobic. Long live minitures and rubber suits! The Japanese (not the US) make the best anime and big bug, saturday matinee sci fi from the 50's to today.

Gamera is back!!!
Despite the Gamera in the 60's that was aim towards kids this turtle is back!!When i first saw this I was Blown away I mean The SPX effect are ten times better the Newer godzilla films.
This suits and all were just Damm thats look cool.I mean who ever created this new gamera environment had the right idea and Meen damm he did a good job.All i have to say this on the other 2 Gamera films are a 5 star in my book. ... Read more

Reviews (74)

Brought tears to my eyes...
This movie was absolutely excellent. It is undoubtedly the BEST of the newer Heisei series of Godzilla films. This video features awesome music by Akira Ifukube, Godzilla films' musical master (I especially liked Mechagodzilla's theme music), the return of both BabyGodzilla and Rodan (actually Radon), and of course a great new look for the Big G. Mechagodzilla definitely steals the show. He is a much better installation than the 70's version (ick) and literally whips ... until destroyed by Godzilla's more powerful heat beam. Rodan is awesome in the beginning and the battle between him and Godzilla is great too. BabyGodzilla is a million times better than the old one (Minya) and looks much more like Godzilla than he ever did. Godzilla's new suit is somewhat larger and the head is smaller. The eyes were also given a golden hue and the puppet of his head expresses true emotion. The acting is great also. Overall, great music and stunning special effects collide to produce an excellent daikaiju fighting movie that is considered by MANY, MANY fans to be the absolute best of the entire Godzilla series.

this is a Godzilla movie!!!
I watched this movie at 3am on the Sci-Fi yesterday, and I am so glad I skipped out on sleeping! Having recently watched "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah - Giant Monsters Attack," I almost lost faith in Godzilla. But this movie was fun and entertaining!

In this movie, the human scenes aren't boring, and they don't drag its feet around like the previously mentioned movie. The human scenes are actually fun - maybe not as campy as I like it, but it definitely works for me.

As for the monster scenes, they're great! In this movie, you feel like the monsters are the focus...and rightly so! There is tons of city-stomping in addition to the required monster-on-monster action.

Just to let you know, there are 3 fight scenes:
1) Godzilla vs. Radon
2) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
3) The Final Showdown consisting of:
- Mechagodzilla (with help of the aircraft, Garuda) vs. Radon
- Godzilla vs. Supermechagodzilla

[note: I'm not sure why they refer to Rodan as "Radon" in this movie]

[also note: Supermechagodzilla = Mechagodzilla combined with Garuda]

Overall, the scenes flowed well together. The pacing was great. And I was never once bored; whereas in "Giant Monsters Attack," I had to slap myself several times to keep myself awake.

That's right. Godzilla movies are meant to entertain you...not send you to sleep.

I only have 2 gripes with this movie:

1) the monster-on-monster action consists primarily of ranged attacks (e.g. heat beams, atomic breath, missiles, etc) and not very much of that WWE Smackdown variety that's so fun to watch. Nevertheless, the fight scenes are still enjoyable.

2) I didn't like the Godzilla costume for some reason. For one thing, he seemed too lengthy. Secondly, his snout reminded me of a dog's. In fact, his snout remdined me of that giant, white dog from "Neverending Story."

MechaGodzilla Upgrade
What more can you ask.You got Mechagozilla looks bad ass I mean there was alot of major upgrade to him.Godzilla looking cool as ever espcially in this flick the suit was pretty cool.You got a new and improve Rodan!!Yup Rodan!! hes back and blast rays from
his mouth.Storyline very original I mean godzilla vs Mechagodzilla theres really no storyline you know whats going to
happen a big monster battle.Minya looks cool better then that retarded one in the showa ages.Akira Ifukube's music score is awesome the master of all godzilla music.I mean this is a must see flick and must have.

My Favorite Godzilla Movie
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II is my favorite Godzilla movie of the entire series, and I don't think I'm alone! This movie has everything, and I do mean everything, that I expect from a good Godzilla movie. It has tons of monster action as well as human drama. Best of all, this film has the monsters as the central focus without losing the human element, which makes for a perfectly balanced motion picture.

The plot is simple, understandable, entertaining, and easy to follow. It unfolds at a fast pace, but not so fast that the viewer gets lost. This movie is part of the Heisei series (second series, 1984-1995) of Godzilla movies. It picks up after "Godzilla and Mothra"(1992). Here's a plot summary. In 1992, the U.N. salvages the remains of Mecha King Ghidorah (from "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" [1991]) and use the technology to build two robots, Garuda and Mechagodzilla. Meanwhile, a research team on remote Adonoa Island finds a huge egg and a giant mutated Pteranodon, called Rodan. Godzilla arrives and fights Rodan, seemingly killing it. The research team takes the egg to Kyoto, where it hatches a baby Godzillasaurus (an unmutated Godzilla). Godzilla comes looking for it, and is confronted by Mechagodzilla. Godzilla defeats his robotic counterpart and the military, and leaves when he fails to find the baby. Later, a plan to lure Godzilla, with the baby as bait, is carried out. But Rodan arrives and takes the baby away. Mechagodzilla and Garuda confront and badly injure Rodan. Godzilla shows up and Garuda and Mechagodzilla combine to form Super Mechagodzilla. Who will win this ultimate battle? This movie was highly entertaining and very exciting. It never gets boring or slow. It remains interesting and engaging throughout the whole thing.

The acting is good. The characters are likeable and entertaining. They play a vital role in the movie, while allowing the monsters to be the real stars. Megumi Odaka reprises her role as Miki Saegusa, who she played in every Heisei Godzilla movie since "Godzilla vs. Biollante" (1989). The actors in the monster costumes gave outstanding performances. Godzilla showed intelligence, emotion, and animal-like actions. Mechagodzilla's movements were 100% machine-like. The baby Godzillasaurus showed emotions effectively. It showed curiosity, affection, and fear, all like a real baby animal.

The dubbing isn't too bad, but still isn't that great. The translators showed emotion and reaction in their voices. Unfortunately, there are only a few people dubbing over the dialogue, which makes for several minor characters having the same voice. Also, Rodan's name was not translated in the dubbing. All the characters refer to him by his Japanese name, Radon. Still, don't let bad dubbing make you think any less of the movie itself. Besides, in the original Japanese version, the characters already speak English a lot of the time.

The special effects are extremely well done. They're some of the best of any Godzilla movie. The miniature cities are very detailed and look real. The destruction was all very convincing. The only CGI-effects in the film are the very nicely animated ray and beam attacks from the monsters, and computer simulations that are watched by the characters. This movie was made in 1993, the same year as "Jurassic Park", which had flawless CGI. But the suitmation and miniatures looked just as convincing as any CGI could. The monster costumes were all very real-looking with great attention to detail. Godzilla looked tough, mean, and intelligent. The animatronic Godzilla head displayed good facial emotions. Mechagodzilla looked awesome. With such excruciating detail in his design, he really looked like a 394-foot metal robot. Rodan looked very fierce and intelligent, but his wing movement looked bad at times. The baby Godzillasaurus, despite his large eyes, looked real. This movie is definitely one of the best G-movies in terms of special effects.

The music and sound effects are outstanding. The sounds of destruction are very real. The monsters roars are all very cool. Godzilla has the same traditional roars that he had in the previous G-movie "Godzilla and Mothra". Mechagodzilla has a high-pitched, very cool-sounding, mechanical cry. He also makes machine-like whirs and hums when he moves, just like a real robot. Rodan has his classic screeches, and his wings make realistic flapping sounds. The baby Godzillasaurus has a high-pitched crying sound, but usually only makes grunts and gurgles. The music is truly wonderful. Classic Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube does a magnificent job with this movie. His classic themes for Godzilla and the monster attacks are very nice. Mechagodzilla's new theme is very cool. The music for the more emotional scenes is very touching.

If you're wondering why this movie is called "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II", let me explain. It is NOT a sequel to 1974's "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla", which is part of the Showa series (first series, 1955-1975) of Godzilla movies. In this movie, the two robots, Garuda and Mechagodzilla, are sometimes referred to as Robot I and Robot II, respectively. Garuda is occasionally called Garuda I throughout the movie. And if Garuda (Robot I) is Garuda I, then Mechagodzilla (Robot II) is Mechagodzilla II, hence the title.

As for the VHS itself, the quality is terrible. It's in SP mode, which is good, but the picture is frequently jumpy and occasionally calls for tracking adjustment. The sound is occasionally bad too. Sometimes it's too quiet, needing the volume to be cranked up just to hear it. But most of the time, the sound is good. I've viewed this tape on several VCR's, and it's been the same on all of them. Who knows, maybe my copy is just bad.

Overall, this is an outstanding Godzilla movie. This is Godzilla at his very best. If you see this movie, you'll understand why I, as well as many other Godzilla fans, consider it as a favorite. It's action-packed, entertaining, serious, fun, exciting, and has a good moral at the end.

A Great Movie For the whole family
I have been a Godzilla fan for almost all my life.Since I was 3 or 4 I loved Godzilla.I first saw this movie it was on sifi.My mom told my brother and I that Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla was on.We rushed up stairs grabed a tape and recorded it.But so far this is my favorite.SuperMechagodzilla was awsome.The one thing I don't get is why Mechagodzilla can't fight at close range.The first battle was my favorite battle.In the final battle was awsome.It looked like Godzilla was down for the count.But Baby(the baby godzillasaur)woke up Radon.Radon some how reconstatuted Godzilla's second brain.It was kind of hard to under stand.But over all a great movie. ... Read more

Reviews (243)

Bruce Lee's got nothin' on the Boss
Jet Li, affectionately called Boss Li in Hong Kong, stars in this remake of Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection (a.k.a. Fists of Fury in China). The difference is this one's better. You don't agree? I'll do my best to convert ya. Li stars as Chen Zhen, a student in 1930's Japanese occupied China. He returns home upon receiving news of his master's death, who was supposedly beaten by a Japanese master in a challenge. Li smells a rat and challenges the Japanese master in return, to find the master's fighting ability's terribly inadequate to have defeated his old master. Li has the body exhumed and tested for poison, and we find that the old master was indeed murdered after all. And Li wants revenge. This is a truly amazing flick. The fights, performed with minimal wire work as found in other period martial arts pieces, are a showcase for the stupifyingly amazing martial abilities of it's star, and standout moments include the opening fight between Li and a slew of Japanese fighters and the duel between Li and his japanese girlfriend's uncle, an older, wiser fighter who, before the duel, insists that older fellas need a minute or two to warm up. Unlike the Bruce Lee film the Japanese are not presented as monsters, and this film goes out of it's way to prove it, whereas the Lee film goes out of it's way to show how heinous they are. Jet Li is a true phenomenon, and to quote the Hong Kong movie oriented book,...'Nuff said.

You Won't Believe What You Are Watching
Fist of Legend is a true powerhouse of a Kung-Fu movie, where 2 minute dialog scenes only serve to bridge the most amazing martial arts fights you will ever watch. This movie is a remake of Bruce Lee's "Chinese Connection", which is appropriate, because Jet Li deservingly surpasses the Master in skill and talent with his performance in this movie. Forget dialog and acting, the fighting absolutely rules this movie, and the story is told thru the fighting, like any good action movie should do. I consider this film to be the Best Matrial Arts movie ever made.

Jet Li plays a star kung-fu student returning from afar to avenge his master's death. Along the way, he fights just about everyone he sees. While there are a couple of large-scale gang wars, most action scenes are 2 man duels. These duels advance the plot and develop the characters while they dish out the action, just like the kung-fu in the Matrix, or the lightduels in the Star Wars films. These fighters dig deep into themselves, get out old grudges they have with old friends, and learn about the mysterious ways of the universe as they watch it flow through their bodies. Everything is present in the punches and kicks of this film - power, grace, spiritual peace, comedy, raging emotion, revenge, personal courage. Wire-work is subtle and restrained, and takes a backseat to Li's amazing speed and precision. If you are reminded of The Matrix you have a sharp eye, because the same choreographer worked on this film, and it shows. Many of the little touches in the Matrix were lifted from this movie, in homage to its genius. One unbelievable moment has Jet Li fighting a Japanese master while both are blindfolded. The finale is a gruelly 40 minute duel between Li and an absolute evil bad-guy, two towering masters giving their absolute 100%. In the end, you are just as exhausted as the fighters are, but you certainly had more fun.

"Fist of Legend" is definitely a must-buy, as you'll get many, many viewings out of this film.

Essential To Any Kung Fu Fan.
I am already a huge fan of jet li, and this is the movie that started my whole fandom. This is my favorite kung fu movies without a doubt, the fighting scenes are terrific, the story line was in my opinion good although ive heard the talk about how this movie copies the bruce lee movie "fists of fury/chinese connection" and to me, that really didnt make the movie any less spectatular. i myself own many bruce lee and jet li movies, and personally i enjoy this movie over all of them, but thats just me.. definately a must buy for any kung fu fan. makes matrix look pathetic, and w/o all the flying either

Inspiring
This is my favorite Jet Li movie of all time. Jet put Bruce to shame with this remake of the 1970s classic. I really enjoyed the way he blended his traditional northern shaolin style with that of Bruce's Wing Chun inspired style.

The fight scenes were excellent, and of course the story was too.

there's no way i'm gonna rate this less than 5 stars, but...
ok, awesome kung fu film, required viewing for any even casual fan of the genre, jet li exhibits amazing speed and skill, little wire work, good costumes, great blindfolded fight, amazing final fight scene, good humor, easy to follow story, excellent fight coreography by the legendary yuen wo ping.

but.

let's face it. american distributors simply have to stop editing these foreign films, dubbing them into english, and assuming it won't make a difference. it makes a HUGE difference, and this is glaringly obvious through this DVD release of fist of legend. while the english dubbing in this film isn't as awful as it could have been, it still takes away immensely from the film. the mood is totally thrown off by the english dubbing, and it's almost hard to take the movie seriously as a result of this. do yourself a favor and hunt down the taiwanese uncut fist of legend DVD with the original language tracks and english subtitles! ... Read more