bcheng93
kung-fu movies just don't get better then this. i wish they would make more kung-fu movies like this old school classic then the CGI'ed stuff that we get today. many people consider this as the all-time best kung-fu movie and i can and can't disagree with that. i would definitely put this in my top ten though. every in this movie was top-notch. the people involved in this movie outdid themselves.from the kung-fu to the storyline, to the acting, everything was awesome. i must've seen this movie at least 20 times and have never got bored. it is one of my all time favorites, not just in the kung-fu category.every major player in kung-fu movies at the time was there except for jackie chan and bruce lee had been dead for a few years already. my favorite fighting guy in the movies is here and his name is " Dick Wei " one of the two bodyguards( not the one who does mantis style ) although the other one is very good also. if you've watched enough kung-fu movies you'll know who i'm talking about.yuan baio shows that hes got solid acting chops besides also in my opinion as being the most athletic and having the cleanest moves. if you've watched other movies where the 3 stars are together, movies like...( twinkle twinkle lucky stars, millionaires express, dreadnaught, dragons forever0 and it goes on and on, he always gets the hardest fighting moves and they are not always the fanciest though.its hard to find a perfect kung fu movie and this is probably as good as it gets, and they were also able to blend the comedic elements in seamlessly which is always hit or miss. i love movies like this and there were cameos by well known character actors of hk cinema including one from Lee Hoi San and another from James Tien.if you are a kung fu movie fan you cannot not watch this alltime classic. it is a must see for kung fu movie fans, just make sure you find a high-def copy which is not hard to do nowadays and enjoy! i guarantee multiple viewings from anybody that watches this movie.
Golgo-13
With annoying lead characters, pretty lame humor, and just average fights, I found The Prodigal Son to be mostly a disappointment, given the high rating and all. It does have ninjas though, who appear at the midpoint. They're jumping and rolling all over the place (needlessly, of course) to position themselves for a good ol' mass throat slicing. Soon after, there's a fight where a few of 'em use flaming flagpoles on our heroes (one of them Yuen Biao), resulting in some cool, slow-mo action shots. Nonetheless, that's not enough to redeem this flick. Sammo Hung has directed much better films than this, such as Warriors Two and Eastern Condors.
Dan
I saw the Prodigal Son today, and I must say that it wasn't a waste of time, it was actually fairly entertaining. However, the Prodigal Son wasn't a great film, its fights weren't overwhelmingly stunning, but its plot was very good and interesting.The story was about a rich kid whose parents pay fees for all the kung fu fighters in their area to be defeated by their son. One day, the kid meets a real kung fu master who tells him the truth, the kid becomes very disappointed with everybody. Therefore, he demands that the kung fu master take him as his pupil, however , the kung fu master refuses to take him as his pupil for some reasons. Later on, the bad guys appear, and the kung fu master agrees to take him as his pupil.The Prodigal Son has some good jokes and cheesy kung fu fights along with bloody fights. Morever, there is even a good scenes which contains ninjas. I can certainly recommend it to fans of kung fu cinema, however, there are better movies out there. 6/10
trianglesamurai
I cried from laughter at the pair of marbles they put in Yuen's sidekick's mouth to make him look stupid. Go watch every movie you can that has both Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, I'm going through them as quickly as I can, and I have yet to be disappointed. I particularly recommend "My Lucky Stars" and "Knockaround." In this movie they clearly pay tribute to their Peking Opera heritage (where they and Jackie Chan received their earliest training). Really, these guys made far better movies after Jackie Chan came to America to make unbridled steaming piles of "oh look, I can hurt myself!" I do realize, however, that these movies aren't for everyone. However, if you're even reading this, your interest must be great enough that you've searched out this movie on purpose, in which case, you must go get it.
AD
