Really Surprised!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Not 'fantastic' as in 'really good', but 'fantastic' as in 'beyond belief'. A Hard Way to Die is a bizarre martial arts tale set in an Old West that definitely isn't the Old West. In this Old West, the population is equal parts Asian, African-American, and White, and they all work, relax and fight together in equal measure. When they play pool in the local bar, they all happily listen to country-western music. I thought at first the film was making some tenuous connection to the construction of the railroads, but that doesn't seem to be the case: characters refer to being on an island, and many of them are dressed in modern-day wear. The acting style is best described as 'flowery', the dialogue stilted, and the dubbing alone worth the price of admission (or the dollar you might pay for the tape at a garage sale). As bad as it is, it's way more interesting than your average chop socky affair.

In 1978 Jackie Chan made "Drunken Master". A month earlier, Billy Chong made the same movie only he called it "Jade Claw" or "Crystal Fist". In both movies a kung fu wannabe works in the kitchen of a kung fu school and meets his master there. The storyline similarities go on and on but let me just make one remarkable point. The master in both movies was Simon Yuen. Soon after both actors tried to break into the American market. Again Billy Chong beat Jackie Chan to the release. This time he also beat Jackie Chan by making a western and a black/Chinese buddy movie. To truly appreciate "Sun Dragon" I compare it to "Battle Creek Brawl". Still, I can't understand where that horrible dubbing came from. I can't believe a movie could play in theatres with those idiotic voiceovers. Anyway, putting the sound aside, "Sun Dragon" certainly wins for action and for hitting all the pluses that USA audiences would go for, like making it a western too. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of skill from the "Hollywood" stuntmen. The stuntmen in Jackie Chan's movie dragged the film into the ground. Carl Scott fought like Sammo Hung spray painted black and I mean that only as a compliment. Nevertheless both movies flopped and the motion picture industry worldwide pulled the plug on kung fu movies after 1982 and that was the end of Billy Chong. It was not the end of Jackie Chan because he made action comedies with great stunts that had a lot of fighting too (but not kung fu movies). That's another review though.

Who cares about the dubbing or the editing or the mambo jumbo. If you've seen enough b-kung fu movies like me you'll appreciate this one. It's loaded with fights and weapon fights. They may not be up to par with jackie chan's drunken master 2 but they are a little more complex then fist of fury. Seriously if you see the part where billy does the hurricana on the one guy in the cabin then you'll understand what im talking about. This movie makes everyone who can't fight seam like they can fight. Heck even Carl Scott is damn good! I've seen seen almost every Van Damme movie, every Jackie Chan movie, most of Sammo Hung's movies, etc.. and this thing is action packed! I found it at walmart in a double pack with another Billy chong movie which isn't as fun as this one. Anyhow don't listen to the other review and go find this masterpiece! One of the best b movies out there!

You may think that the secret to becoming a kung fu master is years of practise and dedication. But let me tell you; you'll never be truly good unless you see your family killed by evil kung fu men who laugh crapulently as they inflict that final blow on your dying father. Only after witnessing this heinous crime will you be able to study under the master who lives down the road, ultimately revenging yourself.But I digress. What of the this film? Invoking standard kung fu plot #1, with a couple of minor variations involving American actors, Zhu zai xie lei (or Sun Dragons as my copy was called) could, on a generous day, be described as below average. I'm in such a generous mood, so I'll try to be kind regarding this film's myriad flaws.Let's start with the dubbing. This won't be a problem for everyone watching the film, but if you see the same print I did you're in for a treat; the single worst dub in the history of cinema. Trying to encapsulate such awfulness in a few words is impossible, it really does have to be heard to be believed. Then there's the really bad editing. The dismal plot. And the kung fu.If you're of the opinion that quantity will make up for quality, then this is the film for you. Containing as it does more than the average number of fights, you'll be reasonably happy as long as you like watching one guy beating the crap out of six people at a time. However, these scenes are too frequent and too long to hold the interest for long, and I found myself keeping an eye on the foot fodder in background, patiently waiting for another opportunity to get kicked in the face by one of our heroes.The traditional bosses, who we would expect to give us a decent show, fail to do so. After the unremarkable fights leading up to the end, the viewer has the right to at least hope for something better; this does not happen.Overall, the film is sufficiently cheesy and fight-filled to keep one watching, and it does have a tendency to fall into the 'so bad it's watchable' category occasionally.This is a movie that's bad enough that it shows you how a movie shouldn't be made, but not sufficiently bad that you'll find yourself unable to stick with it.