Fans of Sammo Hung's TV series, Martial Law, will enjoy Enter the Fat Dragon, the second film Hung himself directed. He plays a young pig farmer who idolizes Bruce Lee and comes to Hong Kong to work in a food stall with hi... more »s uncle. In no time at all he finds himself brawling with a crew of street toughs, whom he dispatches with dazzling skill--but unfortunately wrecking his uncle's stall at the same time. From there, the plot involves a millionaire art expert with three powerful bodyguards and a long-lost girlfriend, who just happens to be a waitress at the restaurant where Hung starts working as a dishwasher. But it doesn't matter if the story is nonsense--the point is the spectacular fight scenes and broad jokes. It's amazing to watch cheerful, roly-poly Hung whirl and kick with devastating speed; somehow his girth makes his skill all the more impressive. In one scene, Hung gets hired as an extra for a kung fu movie with a Bruce Lee imitator. Unsurprisingly, Hung is disappointed in the fake's abilities and teaches him--and the rest of the stunt crew--how it's done. The scene is not only a tremendous display of fighting prowess, it's also a charming depiction of a young man who clings with childlike wonder to his idols, and yearns to achieve the same glory. Perhaps it's a bit of a self-portrait. --Bret Fetzer« less
Enter The Fat Dragon is worth it's weight(GROAN) in fun!
D. Wilson | NY by way of Cali | 02/16/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Indeed a guilty pleasure! One of Sammo's greatest(and unjustly forgotten) films, Enter The Fat Dragon stars Hung as a pig farmer obsessed with his "hero" Bruce Lee and who spends most of his time getting into trouble and hamming it up(get it? Pig farmer... ham? Sorry, that's the last one I promise) while doing it. Rarely has Sammo been able to balance action with comedy so flawlessly. Don't get me wrong, I'm an enormous Sammo(get it? Enormous... Sammo? He's fat people, and THAT is the last one... I hope) fan but... we all know that he nearly always brings great action, but his comedy? It doesn't always work so well, I mean there have been moments in his other movies but nothing like this, which plays out ridiculous scenario one right after the other that actually provide laughs... and when all else fails, he resorts to mimicking Bruce Lee in uncanny and amusing fashion(sure to induce smiles EVERYtime). Now obviously my 5 star rating will be more than a little skewed for most. I mean, can the movie really stack up to other so-called cinematic "classics" such as ET, The Godfather, or Citizen Kane? The answer is "hell yes!" Well, for fans of Kung Fu and Sammo Hung at least... Sammo using Jeet Kune Do on a herd of unruly swine, Hoi San Lee(36th Chamber Of Shaolin, Last Hurrah For Chivalry, Twin Warriors) painted black and sporting an afro and puffy purple shirt as an African American fighter(not the most PC thing ever... but bizarre and must-see to be sure), and my personal favorite scene featuring Sammo breaking up the filming of a Bruceploitation film by taking on the main imitator and his entire entourage(in a matchup featuring plenty of Lee's trademark howls and posturing). This film comes highly recommended for fans of classic martial arts mayhem or even those with any passing interest in this films star OR the man he obviously greatly admired. As for the DVD from Crash Masters? It's complete garbage unfortunately, with an awful print of the film and subtitles that are so small and light in color that they become near illegible oftentimes(and even when you can see them, they rarely read right... like the word "is" whenever "have" should be used), also no dubbed track is available here either. An extremely poor, bare-bones release for a film worthy of far more... hopefully someday it will get the release, and viewing public, that it rightly deserves."
Bruce Lee parody hits the funny bone!
Mark Savary | Seattle, WA | 12/18/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Good gracious! A 70's Hong Kong martial arts film available in widescreen?! Let's hope it's a trend! While the movie is probably worth three stars, I have to tack on one more for the widescreen presentation.A loving parody of Bruce Lee and his fans, this 1978 film follows the trivails of a young man who idolizes Bruce, and comes to the city in order to help his uncle run his food stand. Bad guys try to muscle their way to a free lunch, and Sammo makes them pay the check.Then his girlfriend is kidnapped because she reminds a clownish rich bad guy of the only woman to turn him down. Enter three more bad dudes on the rich guy's payroll. One is a karate expert, and another is a redneck kickboxer. Most laughable is the "black" fighter, who's really an Asian gentleman with really bad make-up (complete with an afro that looks like a beehive hairdoo wig from the 50's, 70's sideburns, and blazing red bellbottoms). Obviously a parody of Jim Kelly in "Enter the Dragon, the guy is sheer rediculousness incarnate.Sammo is amazing, transforming from overweight buffoon to kung fu king with just a few quick motions. The idea, as far as I can tell, was to recreate some of the actual fights from Bruce Lee's films. If so, they appear seamless. Best fight scene other than the climax would have to be Sammo taking on a Bruce Lee impersonator and his movie stunt crew. Then, in the climax, Sammo uses found-objects in a warehouse to combat the three enforcers, much like Jackie Chan does in his films. Overall, this 1978 effort is most easily described as Jackie Chan-lite, and as such, gives the viewer an hour and a half of light martial arts comedy.For those like myself, not really steeped in Bruce Lee lore, the movie is at the very least a fun time with a young Sammo battling bad guys. Despite all the kung fu action, the film is totally harmless if you want to give a copy to the kids. Nobody really gets hurt all that much, and they'll find the slapstick and kung-fu comedy enjoyable."
Worth watching.
Andrew Saroch | wellingborough, england | 12/07/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"As the title suggests, Sammo once again shows the self-mockery that he's well known for. Naturally, this is part of his enormous charm. Unlike Hollywood's representation of the hero - who more often than not is handsome and nearly always gets the girl - , 80's Hong Kong cinema usually featured a hero with not much going for him and that wonderful innocence that has sadly gone. In 'Enter The Fat Dragon', Sammo is naivity personified, but is also blessed with extraordinary skill; his scene with the nunchukas is worth the price on it's own. The poor quality of the Dvd and the lack of remastered subtitles hinder the marks for this film, but if you want to see the real Sammo (not the watered-down Martial Law one), check this excellent cult-classic out"
The Most Hilarious Movie I've Ever seen!
Andrew Saroch | 04/10/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I went in to this movie in a Bad mood, but within five minutes into the movie he had me rolling with laughter! It is absolutely hilarious. however, you should be a Bruce Lee Fan to enjoy it to the fullest."
A bumpkin's best Bruce Lee
Mantis Lake | Detroit, MI USA | 10/23/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This movie is simultaneously a tribute to Bruce Lee, and a scathing indictment of "Bruceploitation" flicks. Director Sammo Hung plays a pig farmer, obsessed with Bruce Lee, who goes to the big city to help his uncle run a tiny outdoor restaurant. He immediately gets into trouble, helping out a co-worker with some thugs. Things pretty much just escalate from there. The more Sammo tries to lend a hand to the folks around him, the more things go crazy. I'm reminded of the irony in the mid-90's cartoon "Eek the Cat", whose main character's slogan, "it never hurts to help" always did.
The fights are a lot of fun and occur frequently. Sammo does his best to imitate the movements, noises, and facial expressions of Lee rather humorously, and without insulting his memory. This flick is full of comedy, and while most of it's not hilarious, it's not painful either. You likely won't crack-up, but you may just crack a smile. Lee Hoi San, doing his best "Al Jolson" in a giant afro, should produce a chuckle if you're not offended by it. You certainly shouldn't be.
Crash Cinema's DVD is nicely widescreened with decent picture quality, but has no dub, and subtitles that blend in with the background about 30% of the time. Honestly, it's not really that big of a deal. This movie is easy enough to follow. Some extras would've been nice, but I'm just happy to have finally seen it. The rating is up for debate. It's probably more along the lines of a 3.5, but this is one that I'd likely watch repeatedly, so "4" it is. I may even go so far as to say that Sammo Hung does a better Bruce Lee than anyone else, right down to the nunchaku. Recommended.