My Review of "Fist of Fury 1991"

Fist of Fury 1991 was an instant classic when I first saw the movie. Back then it was all about the goofy oddball comedies that we don't get anymore. I kind of miss this genre of comedy in films but I understand why they don't make them anymore.

This one starts off with our main protagonist Ching. The story is loosely based on him trying to look for his friend in the big city. He's lost and basically a fish out of water. This is in most cases with Stephen Chow movies so if you know you know.

Ching oddly has a very strong arm. It's only that one arm though. The rest of him is pretty much normal. He's a country bumpkin and definitely flaunts it. His naivety and curiosity is part of the overall comedy of the movie.

While Ching is trying to navigate this big city he's in he suddenly gets robbed by a man named Smartie. This guy is hilarious. He's basically a street smart city rat that is trying to make ends meet. Of course robbing Ching isn't a great way of making friends with Ching but they do eventually.

It's oddly hilarious how Ching and Smarty becomes friends because in a realistic world this would never work. These two for some reason just start trusting each other and have each others backs for the rest of the movie. There's no real relationship building in fact they're pretty terrible to one another.

The two start to live their daily lives but can't seem to make ends meet. Then on a fateful situation they realize there's this big martial arts tournament that will net them ten million dollars. They opt to try to win this tournament since Ching's arm is so strong. Still they need to find a sensei to help him hone his fighting skills.

Then on we kind of dive into a totally different movie. This movie is all over the place and at times feels like a sketch comedy show. That is part of the appeal to this movie though. I know this might turn off some as it's not a very clear and linear path to a story. The pursuit of a martial arts sensei is convoluted as well but at least there's a bit of a storyline in there.

This is very much a cartoonish movie of its time. When I was younger I didn't understand the sexual innuendo that was sprinkled throughout this movie. As an adult it's still pretty hilarious despite the age. I don't know if it's the nostalgia hitting me hard but I'm still in love with this movie.

I also appreciate the fact that not a lot of people will understand some of the things that happen in this movie. It is very much a culturally Chinese movie. There are many things in this movie that cater to the humor of Chinese people in the 90s. That's not to say that not everyone will understand it. You will understand it but you may find it kind of weird.

Then again they also have homages to North American pop cultural films and general cultural understandings. You'll even see hints of movies like Raging Bull or old Bruce Lee movies. If you're a movie buff you might understand some of these references but today these are really old references.

It's also interesting to go back to a movie like this because there aren't any CGI effects and very limited in terms of special effects. Everything is practical and the times they put in the special effects it's pretty darn hilarious.

Overall, I still had a blast with this movie. It was still had me howling with laughter and I still consider it a classic. By today's standards I don't feel a lot of people will get this movie but I love it. That's why I have to give this movie an 8.5 out of 10. I was able to watch this on Blu-Ray and I have to say they really did a good job on the upscaling of this movie. If you have an opportunity to check it out in this format I would highly encourage you to do so.