Verdict
Summary
The comedy is fun, and the two main characters and the actors who play them are perfectly balanced with each other, while the antagonists are predictably nefarious and brutal. The film is quite colorful, and the direction by Lau Kar-Leung shows a sure and experienced hand with all the moving parts. This is a good one from the Shaw Brothers.
Plot:
Two friends at rival martial arts gyms get into trouble with another club that threatens them all.
Review:
Two young upstart sons of masters of two separate martial arts clubs – the proud and disciplined Wong Fei-Hung (Gordon Liu) and the arrogant, carousing Wang Yin-Lin (Te-Lo Mai) – become close friends despite their rivalry over who is the better martial artist and which school is the best. When a goofy prank to see which of them is the strongest goes awry when they both bribe the same guy to take a fall during a fight, the two of them inadvertently start a feud with that man’s school, which has hired him on as their muscle. When Wang’s arrogant ways result in him being humiliated and almost killed (think of Samson in the Old Testament falling prey to Delilah and being forfeit to the Philistines), Wong has to pick up the slack and make sure Wang’s defiant sister (Kara Wai) doesn’t kill him for thinking that he is to blame for Wang’s faults and near-fatality. Once all the confusion is set aside, Wong units the two schools against the school full of thugs, deceivers, and miscreants. It will be settled with a one-on-one – between Wong and the hired mercenary who almost killed his friend.
Overlong at almost a full two hours, but still very entertaining with a light, buoyant tone that gets a little rough towards the end, Martial Club has a relatable story with characters you care about and almost nonstop fights and humorous encounters. The comedy is fun, and the two main characters and the actors who play them are perfectly balanced with each other, while the antagonists are predictably nefarious and brutal. The film is quite colorful, and the direction by Lau Kar-Leung shows a sure and experienced hand with all the moving parts. This is a good one from the Shaw Brothers.
88 Films recently released a fantastic Blu-ray edition of Martial Club that is packed with bonus features, including interviews, an insert booklet, a poster, commentaries, trailers, and so much more. The transfer is solid, and the audio track that I listened to was in English, but I did notice some discordant sound and dropping levels of volume. Still, this was an excellent release from 88 Films, all around.
