Genre Grandeur – Rumble in Hong Kong (1973) – Movie Reviews 101

 

For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Hong Kong Martial Arts Movies, here’s a review of Rumble in Hong Kong (1973) by Darren of Movie Reviews 101.

Thanks again to David of Blueprint Review for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s genre has been chosen by James of Blogging By Cinema Light and we will be reviewing our favorite Shakespeare on Film Movies.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Dec by sending them to shakespeareanJim@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice James!

Let’s see what Darren thought of this movie:

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Rumble in Hong Kong Review

 

Director: Mu Chu

Writer: Mu Chu (Screenplay)

Starring: Charlie Chin, Qiu Yuen, Betty Pei Ti, Chin Hu, Jackie Chan, Nan Chiang

 

Plot: Ho Mei Fong is a young woman in trouble, running from a gang of criminals with something of importance hidden in her purse. She dies in Chien Chen’s taxi while trying to escape, but not before hiding the purse. Chien Chen is now involved whether he likes it or not, along with Ho Mei’s sister, who turns out to be an undercover Hong Kong policewoman. They must solve the mystery of the missing purse and what it contained, while being pursued by the criminals and their hired thugs

Tagline – Before The Bronx there was..

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Martial Arts 101

 

Story: Rumble in Hong Kong starts when Chien Chen (Chin) picks up a woman in distress running from a gang in Hong Kong in his taxi, she is wounded and dies in his cab, hiding her purse before doing so. The gang led by (Chan) comes after him next demanding the purse, leaving him beaten and bruised, before the woman’s sister Jo Mai-Hua (Yuen) arrives to take on the gang and find out what her sister was hiding.

 

Thoughts on Rumble in Hong Kong

 

Characters – Chien Chen is an innocent taxi driver, he keeps his nose down can handle himself one on one in a fight, but finds himself being targeted by a gang of one of his passengers, he doesn’t know who to believe either as they are desperate to get what he doesn’t know he has. Ho Mai-Hua is the sister of the victim (I think, this isn’t the best copy the film I have seen) who has become distant from her and is looking for answers about her disappearance. The gang is led by the thugs who will beat up anybody who gets in their way no matter who they are or what they want.

Performances – This is a film where the performances can only be judge on the martial arts skills, the fights all look good for the era without being anything more than they should be, while the basic side of the acting is simple enough. Let’s be honest I only watched this because Jackie Chan was plastered on the poster.

Story – The story here follows an innocent man that finds himself in the middle of a battle between a gang and a policewoman trying to end the battle which to her sister’s life. The story does everything it needs to without doing anything fancy, we know how this will play out without being anything fancy and by the end of the film you will be left feeling satisfied enough by the outcome. This is a story which does follow one person as each chapters get unlocked without showing us too much up front.

Action – The action in the film is martial done to the basic, it never feels like they are as hard hitting as the modern style, but does everything he needs to.

Settings – We are set in Hong Kong for most of this film as we see the different types of people that might get met through the time here.

Scene of the Movie – First proper fight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t see enough Jackie Chan, considering he is on the cover.

Final Thoughts – This is a simple martial arts movie with nothing more than the simple stuff being done well, it is being sold on Jackie Chan, who is barely in the film either.

 

Overall: Simple Action.

Rating 5/10