Ba bai luo han

Wang Hsing Loy's swan song as a director is quite an interesting film. It's like a mix of a Shaw Brothers production, with its intense kung-fu action and even gory violence, along with shades of a Mainland Chinese film which leaves a few of the characters looking like they've stepped out of a Peking Opera production. The result may be a bit of an uneven story overall, but nothing that takes away from the great action on display!

Don't get me wrong, Arhats In Fury is definitely worth a watch (at least once) for many reasons. For example; there's the lead monk who happily sits on the ground while birds attack him violently until he tears one of them apart, before dripping its blood into his dying masters mouth to revive him. A live cow is ripped in two in a violent scene (cut). There is a cast of thousands, which looks highly impressive with many colourful costumes and great weapons. Half-way through, our hero monk whistles once, calling upon armies of monkeys and eagles who tear the enemy a new one, in a 'has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed' scene. The cinematography is actually quite beautiful a lot of the time, showing some incredible settings in the Szechuan Province - and although camera work on the fight scenes is kept wide to allow the actors to show what they can do, close-ups could have been captured better. And of course, there is the kung-fu action...

Directed by Hong Kong actor and fight choreographer Huang Ha, star of many Shaw Brothers classics, Encounters Of A Spooky Kind, Miracle Fighters, Heart Of The Dragon and many more, the fights in Arhats In Fury are a fantastic mix of Chinese Wu Shu combined with (minimal) Hong Kong style wire-enhanced reactions and stunt-work. There's no denying the skills of each fighter on screen as the fights offer quite lengthy battles with some great choreography and moves. Huang Ha is joined by Steve Mak Fei Hung, an actor and choreographer from films such as 10 Magnificent Killers, Godfathers Daughters Mafia Blues, and a host of Shaw classics. Together, they mix some beautiful Wu Shu moves with bloody violence and some nice stunts in a mix of one-to-one fights, and huge battles.

Although made as the kung-fu movie was dying out to make way for the Hong Kong style, modern action movie, Arhats In Fury still holds up as one of the best and last of its era. Given that his previous film (Angry Young Man), was a sight disappointment, one can't deny the scale and effort of Loy's last production, ending with an epic finale that will please any die-hard, kung-fu fan!

Overall: This 2006 UK release was cut due to animal cruelty, which is understandable, but Arhats In Fury still entertains and delivers as a kung-fu film worth watching!