Focus Asia

THE AVENGING FIST

Hong Kong (sar) 2001
Regie andrew lau, corey yuen
Darsteller sammo hung, yuen biao, leehom wang, stephen fung, kristy yeung, gigi leung

Fällt der Name Andrew Lau, lächelt der Fantasyfilm Fan... Im Hong Kong der fernen Zukunft haben Wissenschaftler den Power Glove erfunden, einen Handschuh, dank dem Menschen zu ungeahnten Kräften kommen. Doch nur drei Testpersonen – Dark, Thunder und War21 – haben die ersten Experimente überlebt. Als War21 unvermittelt zur bösen Seite wechselt, explodiert ein bitterer Kampf um die Weltherrschaft. Eine Generation später muss Held Nova die Erbschuld seines Vaters sühnen und zieht gemeinsam mit dem stahlharten Kämpfer Iron Surfer aus in den Kampf für Gerechtigkeit...
A MAN CALLED HERO und STORMRIDERS sind für Freunde des magischen Kinos zu zeitlosen Klassikern geworden und haben unsere Gier nach genialer Action gepaart mit grandiosen Digitaleffekten für lange Zeit gestillt. Doch nun ist es wieder soweit: THE AVENGING FIST zeigt sich als neuer Meilenstein und hält was der Name Lau verspricht. Alle bis dato kreierten Spezialeffekte vereinen sich, um in derart geballter Dosis auf die Zuschauer niederzuprasseln, dass Neulinge ohnmächtig vom Sessel rutschen oder einen Augeninfarkt erleiden könnten.

Andrew Lau is all we need, Andrew Lau is all we want, and Andrew Lau is what we get. Scientists designed the power glove which can activate unknown human power. As one of the three survivors of the experiments turns evil, an explosive fight begins. If you’re into Hong Kong fighter pics this’ll shoot you through the theatre’s roof! Hold tight.

"The Avenging Fist had some anticipation among Western viewers as the filmed version of the popular video game Tekken. Unfortunately for fans of the game, Wong Jing "forgot" to secure the rights before shooting began, and was sued by the game's creators. Of course, Wong wasn't willing to let a little thing like a lawsuit stop him, and so progressed on with a new script. Well, perhaps, "new" might be a misnomer -- this is Wong Jing after all. The Avenging Fist 's story might not be based on Tekken, but it sure has a lot of similarities to another popular video game, Street Fighter II, a game Wong already used for inspiration in City Hunter and Future Cops.
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Taking place in a bleak, Blade Runner-eqsue future, The Avenging Fist centers on a young man named Nova (played by newcomer Wang Lee Hom) whose father, Thunder (Yuen Biao), disappeared at an early age, and so spends his days fighting. Thunder was involved in the development of a device called "the Power Glove" (which in another Wong Jing classic, was actually the name of an old Nintendo peripheral) which enhances a fighter's "internal arts" and makes them near-invincible. An evil general known as War 21 (played by Roy Cheung, in a role swiped from the character of M. Bison from Street Fighter II) is looking to perfect the Power Glove by capturing the world's best fighters and taking their "psychic energy," and Nova and his friends become prime targets.

Well, okay, the story isn't exactly earth-shattering, but remember that this is Wong Jing and Andrew Lau -- the kings of Hong Kong "pop" filmmaking -- we're talking about here. (...) While none of their movies could really be considered "artistic" or "masterpieces," at their best, they deliver solid, if unchallenging, entertainment. (...)

(...) The Avenging Fist is an incredible-looking movie. US films almost have seemed to hit a roadblock in terms of special effects -- even big-budget affairs like Arnold Schwarzengger's Collateral Damage look cheap nowadays -- but each "big" HK movie seems to be getting bigger and better in terms of visuals.

The Avenging Fist is especially impressive, since HK typically has not been known for producing good-looking science-fiction movies. But just one look at the sweeping shots of the future noir city should tell you that HK can really no longer be considered a "bit player" when it comes to special effects. The fights -- aided by these effects -- are also pretty exciting. I'm not saying every movie should use CGI in the fights (in fact, I tend to not like using computers to replace real martial arts ability), but in the video game-inspired world of The Avenging Fist, it works. And, of course, this being a Wong Jing movie, some of the best looking things in the movie are the young actresses, such as Kristy Yueng and Gigi Leung (I suppose female viewers would like Stephen Fung and Wang Lee Hom, but then they also get guys like Chin Kar-Lok and Roy Cheung)." HKFlix.com
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