As far as kung fu movies go, the story in Daggers 8 is relatively straightforward. Meng Yuen Man stars as Chu Chi Ching, a mischievous young man who is forbidden by his grandfather (played by co-director, Cheung Sam) from practicing kung fu. Chu Chi Ching decides that he’s had enough and runs away from home, searching for someone to teach him kung fu. He meets three people that he agree to teach him, each with a different style of fighting. But everytime Chu Chi Ching gets a new teacher, they each get murdered by an assassin (Wilson Tong) who wields eight daggers. Chu Chi Ching eventually must combine his new skills and face this formidable fighter in order to avenge his teachers.
Besides a basic story, Daggers 8 has a lot to admire. Meng Yuen Man is fantastic as the main lead. He's very funny, likable, and his acrobatics are amazing. It's just so much fun seeing him learning these different styles in some very inventive training sequences. The teachers are also fun characters to watch and they're played by some familiar names including Peter Chan (who usually plays the comedic sidekick, but this time gets to show some skill), Alan Chui, and Lily Li.
The fight scenes in this movie choreography by Wilson Tong are also great and the finale between Meng Yuen Man and Wilson Tong is especially exciting. It feels rewarding to see him using the skills he learned to avenge his teachers. The funky soundtrack definitely adds to my enjoyment of the film. And albeit sporting a simplistic story, this movie feels incredibly fast-paced and exciting. Daggers 8 has action, characters, and comedy, and all of these aspects are done tremendously well. Daggers 8 is one of those movies that I could easily watch over and over. It's definitely one of my favorite kung fu movies starring one of the most underrated kung fu stars.
*I'm sorry that I couldn't get out a full-length review today. I simply didn't have the time to these past few days. There should be a full-length review coming this Friday. Sorry for the delay, but I hope that this short review suffices for now. Thanks.
Image from The 36th Blogger of Shaolin (aka Guts and Uppercuts). Check out his blog on Tumblr for tons of rare kung fu movie memorabilia and fun gifs related to the martial arts genre.
Besides a basic story, Daggers 8 has a lot to admire. Meng Yuen Man is fantastic as the main lead. He's very funny, likable, and his acrobatics are amazing. It's just so much fun seeing him learning these different styles in some very inventive training sequences. The teachers are also fun characters to watch and they're played by some familiar names including Peter Chan (who usually plays the comedic sidekick, but this time gets to show some skill), Alan Chui, and Lily Li.
The fight scenes in this movie choreography by Wilson Tong are also great and the finale between Meng Yuen Man and Wilson Tong is especially exciting. It feels rewarding to see him using the skills he learned to avenge his teachers. The funky soundtrack definitely adds to my enjoyment of the film. And albeit sporting a simplistic story, this movie feels incredibly fast-paced and exciting. Daggers 8 has action, characters, and comedy, and all of these aspects are done tremendously well. Daggers 8 is one of those movies that I could easily watch over and over. It's definitely one of my favorite kung fu movies starring one of the most underrated kung fu stars.
*I'm sorry that I couldn't get out a full-length review today. I simply didn't have the time to these past few days. There should be a full-length review coming this Friday. Sorry for the delay, but I hope that this short review suffices for now. Thanks.
Image from The 36th Blogger of Shaolin (aka Guts and Uppercuts). Check out his blog on Tumblr for tons of rare kung fu movie memorabilia and fun gifs related to the martial arts genre.