We are starting with this one, since it is the first movie to have a fight scene that features Jackie for more than a second or two. This film takes place in 1934, and as the title suggests, is meant to showcase the Hapkido fighting style. The star of this is the oft forgotten, but quite amazing Mao Ying, and Sammo Hung.
Jackie plays a young Hapkido student(he has no given name in the film), and only appears briefly.
In his first bit of action, he is quickly dismantled by the Hapkido master in a training session and has no offense(Rating 1/10).
In his second appearance here, he is in a group brawl in a market against Sammo Hung. The students are being jerks. Sammo goes shirtless and proceeds to make all of these students regret ever living. This is actually a pretty decent fight scene, thanks to Hung and his insane ability, in spite of his impressive girth. It’s a one side beatdown, but a fight that fit in with the time period. (Rating 2.5/10).
The third fight scene here follows the pattern of the previous one, with all of the students vs Sammo Hung. It is again very one sided(as fights during this era tended to be), and Jackie being a “blink and you miss him” performer here. Rating on this one is slightly higher, due to a bit more variety. There are a couple of big stunts, Sammo take a few licks and hucks a 50 gallon drum at a guy. Then he finishes it off with a dropkick onto two guys from about a 15 foot ledge. (Rating 3/10)
Jackie’s final appearance here is in an extended Mao Ying showcase. It is your typical “master beats the snot out of a bunch of dudes” late 60’s-early 70’s one sided fight. What sets this one apart is the unbelievable skill of Mao Ying. It’s not hyperbole to call her the female Bruce Lee, she has that level of skill. She dismantles all of the students easily and with no regard for human life.
None of the students have any offense. They all end the day ashamed of themselves, and Mao moves onto better things. (Rating 3/10).
If you are familiar with the 60’s and 70’s Raymond Chow films, you know what to expect here. Compared to the stuff that would be put out about 10 to 15 years later, this seems somewhat tame in comparison, and we’ll see severl more movies like this one going forward. Period pieces like this dominated the landscape at the time, and really created an entire generation of martial arts fans.
Final verdict: Skip it.
Project Jackie 