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惡客 (1971)
The Angry Guest


Reviewed by: cal42
Date: 05/27/2006
Summary: Have Bulldozer, Will Travel

Wen Lieh (Ti Lung) and Fan Ke (David Chiang) are back in Hong Kong following their exploits in Thailand. Wen Leih has joined his brother’s martial arts school, working there as an instructor and respected by all. However, it seems that the gang boss they confronted last time has escaped from prison and is out for revenge. What’s more, he was merely a henchman working for a much larger organisation in Tokyo. The Yakuza strike swiftly, killing Wen Lie’s mother and kidnapping his girlfriend. It is now up to the two reunited brothers to get her back – and deal with their “Angry Guest” Katsu (Yasuaki Kurata).

This is a rare thing indeed – a sequel to a Chang Cheh film. Yes, that’s right – at the end of DUEL OF FISTS, both lead characters were still alive and kicking. Neither had been shot, stabbed, disembowelled, dragged apart by horses or skewered on a bamboo pole. My guess is that Chang Cheh was wetting himself with laughter so much at David Chiang’s outfits in the first film that he clean forgot about killing his leads in a gruesome way.

What we have here in essence is more of the same only this time in Tokyo. It’s a shame that Ti Lung’s kickboxing is only showed briefly at the start of the film, as it really did set him apart from the other characters he played around this time. Also, it appears that David Chiang’s wardrobe assistants were fired along the way, as his apparel in this film is sadly not too outlandish.

At just 90 minutes long, this film does tend to avoid some of the pitfalls of the first film, but does still seem like an advertisement to visit Tokyo. Some of the establishing shots go on for far too long again.

Chang Cheh himself appears as the Yukuza boss Yamaguchi, and proves once and for all that no matter how many hit films you’ve had for Shaw Brothers it doesn’t guarantee you a dental plan with the company.

Some good stuff is on show here, particularly in the final half hour, but overall not one of the best films by any of those involved. We do get to see Bolo, however, and that’s always a point of interest.

Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 12/12/2005
Summary: Takes a while to warm up .........

... but pretty full on action from about the half-way mark. Very colourful, especially the clothes. Well, it was the 70s, after all. The crowd fighting choreography is impressive. The acting is over-wrought and there's a fair whack of mugging from most of the fighters, but that's nothing unusual.

This is quite a grim movie. The only laughter is derisive scoffing, when one gang is provoking or getting the upper hand over the other. Otherwise, joyful and uplifting it ain't.

That said, my (Japanese) partner thought this movie was hilarious. She scoffed at the number of gang members committing harakiri (or an abbreviated version thereof). The Yamaguchi are a famous yakuza clan in real life, and harakiri amongst members would be rare. More likely they'd simply have to chop off a finger. Still, that's not exactly pleasant either.

Overall, plenty of fisticuffs, trechary, murder, smouldering looks, all packaged in an A-grade production. Pretty damn good.

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: mpongpun
Date: 11/09/2003

This flick is a sequel to DUEL OF FISTS. Everybody is dressed in bell-bottoms, butterfly collars, and polyester suits. A guy named "Killer"(Chen Sing) escapes from jail to wreck havoc against Wen Lieh (Ti Lung) Fan Ke (David Chiang). In this story, a big time Triad boss (played by Chang Cheh himself!) from Japan wants the two newfound brothers, Wen Lieh and Fan Ke, to run his crime operations in Thailand by using Wen Lieh’s girlfriend (Ching Li) as negotiation. The two brothers decide enough is enough and head out to Japan, save her, and then go back home to Hong Kong. They are successful but soon "Mr. Big" sends some men, along with top fighter, Katsu (Yasuaki Kurata), to try and kill both Fan Kei and Wen Lieh. A big fight scene at the end of the movie ensues in which the heroic brothers are left unscathed.