Fearless Hyena (1979)

Director: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung)

Producer: Hsu Li Hwa

Writer: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung)

Action Director: Jackie Chan

Cast: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung), Yang Yee-Kwan (Yen Si Kwan), Li Kuen, James Tien, Shih Tien

Running Time: 94 min.

Plot: Jackie Chan's grandfather and teacher, Master Chen, have come to live in Jackie's village, having fled the evil Ching dynasty. Jackie's desire to fight is forbidden by his grandfather, who fears that his martial arts skills will make him a target for the dynasty. Jackie's world is turned upside down when he is forced to witness his grandfather's murder, and vowing revenge, he begins to sharpen his skills under the watchful eye of Master Chen, who schools him in the ways of Kung Fu. The training is brutal, but Jackie acquires powers that make him invincible, and masters the devastating "death blows". Jackie has lost his grandfather, but gained something no one can ever steal, and he tracks down and crushes the Chings in a spectacular finale.

RO'S REVIEW: I almost didn't watch this one because of the title, but I'm glad I did. Actually, it's a lot like Snake In The Eagle's Shadow. Jackie plays the sort of lazy grandson of a master who's teaching him kung-fu. He gets a job with a couple of con artists who are supposed to be starting a school, but it's basically Jackie getting paid to fight people. He does it in disguise to put them off their guard, and that part's hilarious! One of his disguises is a woman, so he spends the whole fight fending off the amorous advances of his (obviously sight challenged) opponent. You can't tell me he wasn't influenced by The Three Stooges as much as Buster Keaton! Then, his disobedience gets his grandfather killed and his training is completed by an old cripple. Yet again, the training scenes are incredible! Watch for him doing sit ups while hanging upside down from a tree! The negatives include the 'slap,block,kick,block' slower style of fighting prevalent in the 70s and Jackie not dubbing his own voice. However, the 'emotional' style of fighting he uses adds humor to the final fight scene and the positive of Jackie doing the training scenes shirtless WAY outweighs the negatives.

RO'S RATING: 7/10 (add a star if you like the shirtless scenes)

MASTER OF THE STICK'S REVIEW: This movie has everything that I like about old school kung fu movies: zany comedy, a wacky supporting cast, a fiendish villain, and a cheesey plot that strings together fight after fight after fight! What more could you ask for? Obviously, Jackie borrowed a lot from Drunken Master when he made this one, but it's still a damn good film. Even his best movies have average plots compared to the rest of the cinematic world, and anyone who watches them for the stories is missing out. So, for me, the lousy plot just added to the coolness factor. In short, you wouldn't want to show this to someone who's never seen a Jackie Chan movie before, but for the established Chan-fans out there, it's a great flick. I loved it.

MASTER OF THE STICK'S REVIEW: 9/10

MARCIA'S REVIEW: Looking at this title, I was afraid. Very afraid. But once I learned that _this_ was the film where we get to see a crossdressing Jackie (having unfortunately seen clips of that in one of those ripoff montage films), I decided to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised; it wasn't terrible. Although I have a hard time overlooking the annoying "grandfather" (knowing the actor is actually of comparable age to Jackie, having seen him in several of the other Lo Wei films), the rest of it is OK enough. The "emotional kung fu" (which Jackie totally made up just for this film) is weird and rather lame, but I'd certainly rather watch this film than many of the earlier Lo Wei works.

MARCIA'S RATING: 7/10

EXOTHRASH'S REVIEW: This movie is great! It has stupid music, strangely named characters (Stoney Egg, Iron Head, The Great Bear, Unicorn...), and cool fight scenes. I especially like the training scene with the pots and bowls on the floor. It has good training scenes with Unicorn, a good staff scene with Jackie's Grandfather, the crossdressing scene when Jackie dresses up like a woman and fights that big dude, and it also had people with really fake wigs. The staff vs. sword scene was humorous and well done, as was the spear scene after Unicorn was crippled. I liked this movie a lot, and I highly recommend it.

EXOTHRASH'S RATING: 9/10

CODY'S REVIEW: In my opinion I think this movie is pretty good. It has some pretty corny scenes, here are some of them:

• 1. The dorky music when Jackie is practicing in front of his grandpa in the beginning of the film.
• 2. The stupid henchmen that cry after Jackie beats them.
• 3. And the silly wigs.

CODY'S RATING: 8/10

DJ NIXON'S REVIEW: Wow, this was a really good JC film. It was a Drunken Master clone but it was still sweet. The fighting was amazing and there was good comedy too! I thought the best part was not the last fight but when Jackie fought the three men with the swords. It was just amazing! Jackie could have killed him self with one wrong move! I mean, just think of it, this guy puts his life on the line just for a movie! This was a really good movie, but it was just like Drunken Master with a different plot (if there was really a plot). Good movie.

DJ NIXON'S RATING: 8.5/10

TYLER'S REVIEW: Well the Fearless Hyena...what a name,you know it's from Lo Wei. Well this film is about a young trouble maker\kung Fu kid (Jackie Chan) who gets taught a goofy style called Fearless Hyena from a beggar after Jackie's Grandfather is killed by the Chings. A pretty boring and bland "old skool" film (you know the type). "I'm going to avenge my masters death." The film quality is very bad, I could barely see JackieÕs face. I mean if you really want to see a good "old skool" flick, rent Drunken Master or The 18 Bronzemen. The last fight scene is the only thing that saves this film. The style is a little funny, but nothing to get reaved up about. Overall this film is garbage, I frankly like the "cut & paste" sequel.

TYLER'S RATING: 3/10

RINTOR'S REVIEW: The movie kicked major @$$. My friend had told me that this was a good movie so I bought it. I love it. It was hilarious when JC dressed up as a woman to beat that huge guy. My favorite line is when that guy with the sword comes to fight JC: "Name please. I am the Willow Sword. What, Shit Sword?" The final training scene where JC is learning the Fearless Hyena Kung Fu style is awesome and Hilarious. (Though it doesn't match up to Drunken Master) I had forgotten how JC killed the Big Bad Guy,so when I watched it again I was suprised that JC kills him by busting the dude's nuts. While watching this movie again I decided to take notes for your benifiet. Here's a list of everything that is used to fight with: Stools, sword, staves,oranges, a brick, a piece of wood, a punching bag, cane, and cool Chinese spear type things. In conclusion, I will swallow a sword while kicking 5 armed men's @$$E$. Just kiding. 15 armed men. HEH HEH. Bye bye...

• Produced By: Some Bum
• Directed By: Clawed Balls
• Characters: Rintor as Some Bum Critic
• Best Boy: I. P. Freely
• Music By: Aerosmith and ZZTop "Jackie Chan,He's The Man" ©1998 Empire Records.

RINTOR'S RATING: 7/10

ANDREW'S REVIEW: This film was ok. I thought the supporting characters were kind of goofy. The fighting at the end isn't too bad. I'm almost embarased to say it, but I liked Fearless Hyena II a little better, even though it's a farce.

ANDREW'S RATING: 5/10

BEJITA'S REVIEW: One of the best JC films ever. Even though the plot is a typical revenge story, i.e. you killed my grandfather, so I will kill you, the film is excellent. Tien Jun is very good in his role as the grandfather. This film puts all of Jackie's recent films to shame. Yan Sai Kuen makes an excellent villain as General Yen. My second favorite JC film.

BEJITA'S RATING: 10/10

NUMSKULL'S REVIEW: Career milestone or not, I don't like this movie at all. Frankly, I don't think it's any more amusing than the "sequel" (in spite of Lo Wei's *AHEM* questionable film-making techniques). The problems here are that (1) the storyline is nothing more than a cliche and (2) that there's no good fighting. Jackie either gets his ass kicked or employs his Buster Keaton routines, which are funny once in a while, but in general, I find them quite dull. There IS a scene where he takes on three guys with spears, but it looks quite fake and is almost a chore to sit through. Two things I like about this movie, and two things only: the way the main villain (he of the shifting hairstyles in the "sequel") says "How dare you bite me!" in his ultra-gruff voice, and the little musical blurb at the end (don't ask why). Fans of Jackie's physical comedy will find merit in this, but give me a mindless chop-socky flick like Spiritual Kung Fu or Hong Kong Face-Off any day.

NUMSKULL'S RATING: 3/10

CLINT'S REVIEW: I don't really care for this movie all that much. First time i watched this movie i thought it was below average, second time it was a tad better, third time, same, every time after that, still average. The fighting is mediocre, but the training sequences are great, the scene with the chopsticks is classic, as is the scene when JC is walking across the pottery. With all that said, i should love this film, but alas, i still get no enjoyment out of watching it. Sorry to offend all the fearless hyena fans.

CLINT'S RATING: 5/10

SUPERMAN'S REVIEW: This was the first old school blackbelt JC movie I saw. I must say that I enjoyed it every bit as much as his newer films. His use of obscure weapons in this one is amazing. He kicks butt using benches, Swords, Staffs, Oranges (which also doubled as his fake Chi-Chi's in a cross dressing scene) and the Hyena kung-fu style. If you shy away from his older stuff you just might enjoy this one. I haven't seen Young Master yet , but this ranks right up there below Drunken Master. This one is also easily available, so sit back relax about the lack of story and just enjoy the show.

SUPERMAN'S RATING: 8/10 (yes 8! Its cool corny fun!)

THE GREAT HENDU'S REVIEW: If the three guys at the beginning of the film are the Three Stooges, then Jackie must be Shemp. He is one funny guy! This movie has a very simple plot but still rates as a great kung fu/comedy. If you like a little light humor with your martial arts, in the same ratio that you might put butter on your toast, then see this film. It's grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

THE GREAT HENDU'S RATING: 8/10

YUMMYSPAM'S REVIEW: This movie is pretty bad. Though not as terrible as some of his other kung-fu flicks, it's still pretty bad, especially compared to his later stuff (Project A and onward). Maybe it's unfair to compare these kung-fu "classics" to his modern films. Allright. Then this movie sucks compared to Drunken Master and Half a Loaf of Kung-Fu. This movie sucks for many reasons. One is that there's just not enough fighting. The end is pretty good (what else for a HK flick?), but the beginning and middle seriously lack. Secondly, we don't have any reason to care for any of the characters. There is nothing about them even remotely likeable. Jackie is some stupid brat kid. This movie is also one of the many "Student goofs off, Students father is killed, Student learns kung-fu from some weird old guy, Student takes revenge" types of movies. So the plot is as transparent as a window. This was one of Jackie's first movies he directed himself. I guess he had to start at the bottom to reach the top.

YUMMYSPAM'S RATING: 1/10

DUSTY'S REVIEW: This was the first Jackie Chan movie I ever saw, and it captured my heart, so for certain personal reasons, I like this movie, but besides that, I think it was really very good. This movie was kind of an early version of what was to come of Jackie in films like Supercop and First Strike. It contains much of what is expected in his movies now, except for the big stunts. There is fighting (of course), and a lot of humor. Jackie dresses up in different costumes during the movie and shows off his comic talent. There are humorous characters in the movie as well. This humor, combined with good fighting scenes (one of them with a series of benches) and that special Jackie charm, make it a well-rounded movie.

DUSTY'S RATING: 8/10