Leofwine_draca 36 CRAZY FISTS is one of those cheap and cheerful kung fu efforts that were all the rage in the '70s. This one is a lot poorer than most, with an absolutely bottom dollar budget that means we only get a handful of different sets and actors throughout the movie. Most of it takes place in a field someplace where guys fight for what seems like an age. As well as the bad production values, this one suffers from an absolutely appalling dubbing job (one of those jobs by the 'Cockney boys'), rubbish editing, even worse acting and a director whose idea of comedy is to speed the film up and have his characters speaking gobbledegook.In fact I reckon this film would be totally forgotten about today (and with good reason), if it wasn't for the participation of Jackie Chan. There are dubious claims that he helped out with the direction and fight choreography here, although he's uncredited for both; personally I can believe the latter but am not so sure about the former! To be fair, the fights aren't too bad, and in particular the extended final bout is a good one – lengthy, hard-hitting, against one of those white-haired supervillains so beloved of the genre.Although some of the cast are familiar – including the master guy and Fung Hark-On as a typical thug – for the most part they're undistinguished. Kuang Hsiung is just another Chan or Lee imitator. The plot is the worst part of the film, a simple, boring amalgamation of all the themes that were popular in '70s period kung fu flicks, from drunken beggars who turn out to be kung fu masters, to the evil clans, the Buddha-praising monks and the pretty girls (one of whom strips off for a cheesy/sleazy topless bedroom moment).Sadly it all feels false and by-the-by and you never really understand the main character's motivations. Worse still, there's little excitement to be had from the seen-it-all-before feel of the film, and there's nothing here which hasn't been done better elsewhere. 36 CRAZY FISTS is one to avoid, unless you're a real completionist.

Arlis Fuson So many people whine that they got this and it wasn't a Jackie Chan movie, although he's on the box...He was in the first part of the movie with the other guy as the credits start, but he's not in the actual movie. I love martial arts films, and most are lost and forgotten, so if putting Jackie Chan on the box makes it sell then more power to it. I am not a huge fan of Jackie Chan's movies anyway, but I love kung-fu cinema.This movie is pretty much your cliché typical movie. The directing is basic, the acting is OK and the fights are pretty good, but nothing too spectacular. The old drunk man is the best thing abut the movie.When a young man's village is destroyed by bad guys he seeks help from a great kung fu master, but his real lessons come from a drunk old man, he basically learns kung fu by accident and seeks his revenge.As I said, I enjoyed the film, but it's not that great as far as kung fu goes. One guy wrote a review that he kept hearing how this was the best martial arts film from everyone, and I personally have a lot of friends who worship the genre and we all agree it is mediocre at best. These old movies focus a lot on comedy and this one went a bit overboard..It's worth a watch only for fans of the genre, but it's not a great film, I give it five stars out of a possible ten cause I like the genre and some of the fighting was okay.

groovycow 36 CRAZY FISTS, while directed and choreographed by martial-arts legend Jackie Chan, doesn't feature him in any recognizable role. One is inclined to feel cheated because of this, and I would generally have to agree; 36 CRAZY FISTS may've been a great film if it had starred Chan, but as it stands, it is simply a mundane movie.It features the overly-typical revenge plot, along with the old master, the bumbling sidekicks (complete with trombone "waaahh" sounds!) and the clever-yet-flighty girl we've all come to know and love (?) from the kung-fu genre. The fight scenes are not all bad, especially the final few between the old white-haired guy (a sure sign of martial-arts mastery, apparently) and the young student. Also along for this final fight sequence are the student's two (count 'em, TWO!) teachers, a fellow disciple of the old man, and at least three other guys who just throw around insults. Wow, that's some fight!Maybe the most notable thing about 36 CRAZY FISTS (and this isn't a good thing) is its title; it suffers from PNS (Poorly-Named Syndrome), in that the 36 "crazy fists" are only one of dozens of technique the student learns. Moreover, they aren't even fists but sweep-chops! Oh well.In short, this movie doesn't have anything special going for it...move along, move along. My rating: 5.5/10

horizontrans Good movie! Bad DVD source. :) Jackie Chan yet again. Seems like this guy couldn't have anything more to do with the Kung Fu Movie scene and then i find about 10 more DVDs. If you like Jackie Chan then this is a must see movie. Not one of his best but definitely an original work of Kung Fu Art!