Hapkido


 
Director:  Wong Fung
Year: 1972
Rating: 8.0
This one is a classic kung fu film. There is not a minute of downtime or a minute of levity anywhere in this film. It is straight up serious and intense from beginning to the very last deadly kick. The kung fu is fabulous and nearly non-stop. I am not really a fan of these older kung fun films, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Angela Mao, Carter Wong and Sammo Hung are Hapkido students in Korea, but upon graduation they return to China to set up their own school. Almost immediately there are problems with a judo school that is owned by the Japanese. The Japanese influence has gotten very strong throughout China and their arrogance and cruelty has made them hated by many. Their leader has a little Hitler moustache to make sure you know that he is a bad guy.

All three of the main characters have many brutal and wonderfully choreographed fights against numerous opponents. Sammo has three long solo fights and shows some great moves.  Angela attempts to keep her cool until finally circumstances give her no option but to fight. And when she does, she does so with a vengeance. It is terrific to watch. I really wish that she had been around for the great girls with guns films of the 80’s. She could have made some amazing films alongside Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima.