Even Bruce Lee once acknowledged the elephant in the room regarding modern day martial arts action. The problem being a bad guy could simply just use a gun. So often this dilemma would simply be ignored by filmmakers, which on occasion would make characters look a bit ridiculous. This paradox would be faced head on by Sammo Hung in what was a rarity for the local industry: a war movie.
Buy This Title
Hong Kong cinema doesn't have a large history in this genre if you discount the period epics. Whilst some may have had a conflict as a back drop, Chang Cheh‘s “Seven Man Army” and John Woo‘s troubled production “Heroes Shed No Tears” are the only two actual war pictures that spring to mind during that era. The 1997 handover has resulted in more gung ho Chinese productions but prior, a full on war movie was a rarity.
Lieutenant Colonel Yin (Lam Ching-ying) is sent on a dangerous mission to destroy a bunker of weapons left behind in Vietnam by the American military. Selecting a squad of prisoners for in effect a suicide mission he learns, just before setting off, that it is cancelled. Continuing with the mission he enlists Ming (Sammo Hung) into his confidence. Liaising with some female guerrillas led by Joyce Godenzi they take a detour to a village, encountering Chieh and his insane godfather (Haing S. Ngor). After several shoot outs and capture by the Vietcong, the group discover not all are who they claim to be As numbers dwindle with a Vietcong General (Yuen Wah) in pursuit, the explosive final battle is inevitable.
As mentioned previously, “Eastern Condors” is a rarity in terms of its genre. It is also a rarity in how Sammo Hung presents himself. Normally, in his own productions, he is a walking punchbag and takes a lot of punishment in his fight sequences. Here for quite possibly the only time, we get a slimmed down “bad ass” Sammo that is borderline indestructible. Whilst he as always gives others the opportunity to showcase their talents, he is clearly front and centre in both stunts and action. Compare the duel with Billy Chow in “Pedicab Driver” to this one for example. Both high impact but this is much more one sided.
This is Sammo and his stunt team at their apex. The action is brutal, swift and manages to successfully merge the gunplay and hand-to-hand sequences. Stand outs being Yuen Biao and Sammo's stalking of the Vietcong using knives and jungle accessories and the incredible final reel inside the armoury. Often we get wide shots to emphasise the stunt, again not something we see too often from Hung but reinforces the spectacular. Normal criticism of his brutality towards female characters can be dissected here as all are equal in the viciousness. Joyce Godenzi is an intense presence and her guerrilla is as tough as any of the soldiers and treated as such. It's to her credit that she never looks out of place.
Yuen Biao's athleticism gets a good outing but is also permitted a bit more of a character as the wired mercenary Chieh, frantically trying to protect his “godfather” who he believes has access to hidden treasure. Standing out amongst all the supporting cast though is Yuen Wah as the Vietcong General. Not entering until an hour in, he proceeds to steal the show with an eccentric performance, forever using a fan and uttering a high pitched giggle before unleashing his own prowess as we reach the explosive climax. The rest of the cast is a who's who of 1980's Hong Kong cinema. Lam Ching-ying is cool authority as the Lieutenant Colonel Lam, Billy Lau gets some good lines as the loud mouthed Ching and amidst the soldiers we find Corey Yeun, Yuen Wo-pin, and Chin Ka-lok. The Vietcong feature the best of the worst so look out for Billy Chow, Dick Wei, Yasuaki Kurata amongst numerous others. Part of the fun for seasoned watchers is spotting the cast members. Incidentally the trailer features them all singing the theme song!
“Eastern Condors” riffs on several classic war movies. Starting in with it's “Dirty Dozen” crew of military prisoners to a reworking of the Russian roulette sequence from “The Deerhunter”. There is an underlying cynicism with Ching expressing it best when after an anti American tirade, admits he would immigrate to America anyway. The futility of the mission and the guerrilla's ambition leading to survival are the only true victory.
This alongside “Pedicab Driver” is Sammo Hung's masterwork. The pace is relentless and the action exceptionally choreographed. With a deep cast of the best talent Hong Kong had to offer in the hands of one of the best action choreographers in the business you can hardly go wrong. Whilst an anomaly amongst both Sammo Hung's career and in Hong Kong cinema in general, it remains purely and simply a classic.
