Pretty Good

People are voting emotionally.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I do not are that the costumes were wrong or that a Colt 1911 wa used 11 years before it was developed. My concern is the plot and whether the dialogue can keep things flowing. There are some choppy moments in this, but most movies have them. I was impressed that once more Chi Kuan-Chun (Shui Feng-Yun), my go-to Kung Fu Movie actor, plays a stoic character capable of seeing both sides of the issue. Alexander Fu Sheng (Tseng Hsein-Han) is Feng's Blood Brother, who wants justice for China. Everyone in a leadership position in this movie has an agenda. The Foreigners want to split up China into tiny pieces for themselves. The Dowager Empress wants someone to fight for China, even if its the Boxers, who are definitely seeking power. The local Boxer leader, Lung-Wei, is out for power and is willing to sacrifice all who come to fight in the name of China to get it. The Boxers tell followers that their "spells" can make them immune to the foreigners' bullets. It's total crap, but people fall for it. The Boxers do have a Kung-Fu style that makes them "immune" to typical Chinese weapons. It takes YEARS to master. Innocents are collateral damage to both sides of the Rebellion. The first "battle" Feng & Tseng encounter is more a sacrifice of fellow Chinese to Japanese guns. Hundreds are killed by Gatling guns. Swords are not exactly the best defense against bullets. Even Feng's friend Chen knows he won't return from the "battle" but has go to avenge his fallen brother. People pan this movie and Martial Arts films for their view of foreigners. It is no different than how American Westerns Portray Native Americans as the enemy. It should be expected these will be shown from the Chinese POV. I am not sure what "sugar" some reviewers say in this movie. There was definitely a lot of blood being spilled. Mainly, Chinese, for the benefit of others. Feng and Tseng defend fellow Boxers against Japanese who have followed from the battle. 9 Japanese are killed in the process. Feng and Tseng leave with the surviving Boxers. Lung-Wei's character encounters the aftermath as more Boxers appear. He takes credit for the Japanese deaths in an attempt to perpetuate his "spell" is working. The 9 dead Japanese quickly inflates to 90 then 900 then 9000 as news of the "battle" heads toward the Dowager Empress in Peking. Feng, Tseng, Lung Wei and other Boxers are invited to visit the Empress and "show off" their skills. Feng and Tseng have to watch in silence as Brother Boxers are killed in demonstrations of being "immune" to Foreign weapons. The pain of WAR's reality is ever visible in Feng's eyes. The reality that killing an enemy soldier will not stop the War and may result in more enemy attempting to get a foothold in China. weighs very heavy upon him. He also learns someone he once trusted has secrets of her own that make the situation worse. Feng and Tseng become trapped in Peking with only one foreseeable way out between the Boxers and the Foreigners. They become Public Enemy #1 for standing up to the German "in charge" of slicing up Peking and all of China. Feng and Tseng make a plan to head South for reinforcements no matter which makes it out of Peking. Feng is well aware they may die in the process. The loss of one to save millions is what must happen. Some refer to this as the Godfather of Kung-Fu movies. I like this movie far better than the Godfather series. Another reason I like it is it is a Who's Who of Shaw Brothers actors. There are several familiar Shaw faces, aside from Chi and Fu, in this film. Their presences actually move the story along and are not just there to being a movie, like some films who use actors for cameos.

BOXER REBELLION starts off well enough, with several kung fu men (led, more or less, by Chi Kuan-chun) arguing that it's folly to bring a knife to a gun fight; the Foreign Devils have Gatling guns, while the Chinese freedom fighters are armed only with swords and spears (and, well, Magic that protects them from bullets...). Logical argument- but then Chang Cheh gives us a scene in which a kung fu man charges a machine gun nest, takes a burst full in the chest, wrestles the weapon away from the machine gunners (taking another burst full in the chest as he does so) and then proceeds to beat them to death with their own automatic weapon. WTF...? Having heard the rather sensible argument that such a thing wasn't possible, we then see that it IS possible (at least in this movie, though the actual freedom fighters fared less well against the coward's weapon- the Gun). The first half of the movie is often slow, but it heats up in the second half when Kuan-chun and Fu Sheng set about harassing the occupying forces. Well worth seeing, though some viewers may wonder why it takes our heroes so long to get in gear.

I saw this film a couple of times when it was on Black Belt Theater. I think the thing I remember most about Boxer Rebellion was the fight scene at the end of the movie, between Alexander Fu Sheng, and foreign soldiers: who were armed with rifles and bayonettes, while Fu sheng took them on bare handed. I didn't care if the soldiers whose butts were getting kicked were white or not, I just wanted to see Fu sheng kick some butt. But I agree, Chinese martial art's films tend to steriotype the Russians, and the Japanese, and other nationalities too. You tend to expected that in Chinese films, especially with the Japanese, because the two countries had a propaganda war going on between them. I don't know if Bloody Avengers was a good movie or not, Maybe it had too much sugar in it for a kung fu movie. If thats the case, then it was crap. I just remember that Fu sheng was in it.

This movie was just another convenient vehicle for Hong Kong movie producers and writers to indulge in their Sino-centric and xenophobic fantasies. ("Once Upon A Time In China I, II, and III" are some other recent examples of these Sino-centric fantasies.) These Sino-centric movies invariably portray Chinese as quasi-saintly, self-sacrificing heroes while portraying most foreigners as black-hearted villains. This movie did just that. The leaders of the Boxer Rebellion were portrayed as pure-hearted heroes while the foreigners (especially Japanese, Russians and Germans) were portrayed as one-dimensional greedy idiots. As many of us know, political struggle and war are not battle between totally good and totally evil. The world is more complex. The real world is filled with shades of gray, not just black and white. It is clear even to the most unsophisticated movie goer that the simplistic, one-dimensional portrayal of the Boxer Rebellion in this movie absolutely lacks credibility. Moreover, this good-guy portrayal of the leadership of the Boxers is contrary to the historical evidence. Historically, although some of the leaders of the Boxer Rebellion were indeed pure-hearted patriots, the barbaric deeds committed by the Boxers and their leadership are historical proof that most of the Boxers and their leaders were merciless zealots who had no scruples about massacring defenseless women, children and babies.During the screening of this movie, not only did I question the validity of the plot and characterization, but I wondered if Hong Kong movie producers hire historical consultants? I used to think Hollywood's historical inaccuracies were bad, but the historical inaccuracies of some Chinese movies are just awful!! IMDB comment section is just too short to mention all the blatant inaccuracies of this film, but I shall mention some of them: 1) Why were American soldiers and officers wearing Civil War era uniform? The American soldiers who were sent to Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion wore uniform totally different from the ones worn during the Civil War. (They probably wore khaki hat and pants and dark blue shirts, a uniform similar to those of the Rough Riders.) 2) The Russian uniform is totally inaccurate. The uniform in the movie does not even resemble the real uniform. 3) A Japanese naval officer in the movie had shoulder length hair. Japanese naval officers were not allowed to have shoulder length hair. 4) Why were so few Chinese in the movie wearing the so-called "pigtail" (or queue)? In spite of the portrayal of this movie, vast majority of the residents of Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion were required to arrange their hair in the Manchu style (i.e. pigtail). Most Chinese men did not cut their pigtail until 1910's or 1920's.Many people say a movie goer should not be too rational if he or she wants to enjoy a movie. However, with such a plethora of historical inaccuracies and incredible character portrayals, no logical human being can fully enjoy this kind of movie. Such a cheap plot and shallow characterization should not even belong in a cartoon.