Just what I expected

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

A Disappointing Continuation

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Despite the outlandish title, HELL'Z WINDSTAFF is very much a typical DRUNKEN MASTER clone and even features Hwang Jang Lee duelling out in his stock 'master villain' type role. It's a star vehicle for the gently unassuming Hoi Mang, one of those actors who looks anything but a hero but whose endearing character and solid acting gradually wins you over; perhaps that's why he's so effective.The plot really is nothing special here and involves plenty of knockabout comedy and the expected training sequences. Shaw Brothers performer Jason Pai Piao plays in support and various characters show up to betray and fight each other while Hwang Jang Lee lurks in the background looking menacing. Once all the master/teacher stuff is dispensed with, the film climaxes with an incredible, eye-popping, three on one fight climax in the woods which is masterful stuff and features an unexpectedly vicious end for Hwang Jang himself. The Korean bootmaster doesn't get to do much of his famed kicking here but as always he's the best thing about the production.

!979 was a prolific year (if not the most prolific) in the history of martial arts movies. It is always difficult to rate these movies into some kind of Top Ten for many reasons. Yet, for me there is no doubt this is one of the best movies of 1979.These movies sometimes get criticized for having no story yet in the best of these movies the fights ARE the story. Good fight choreography tells the story and advances the plot. The stuff in between the fights could actually be removed and the fights alone would still tell the story. For example a fight where two buddies are clowning around should look totally different from a fight where a student is challenging the skill of a master. Plus a fight where a student is challenging the skill of a master should look totally different when the student is the good guy compared to when the student is the bad guy. If the fight is choreographed well the viewer should be able to skip to the fight and tell exactly what is going on in the story. This movie does all of that plus a side of fries. I was not surprised to see the Yuen clan credits as fight choreographers. Every fight in this movie tells a different part of the story and because of that every fight is unique. It has the expected training sequence with the physical torture and more. The martial arts moves shown during the training sequence are repeated in the final fight to show that they actually have a fighting application.I was unsure of the comedy in the final fight. At first it seemed the final fight should be totally serious and comedy had no place there. The Yuen brothers got it right. There had to be comedy in the final fight. Actually the ridiculous part where Hwang Jang-Lee gets his comeuppance is pure genius.I rate this as mandatory viewing for fans. It is an educational experience in fight choreography in addition to pure entertainment. I rate it as 9 out of 10 and I only gave out one 10 ever.

I don't know why this movie has such a low score, it's got good fighting scenes. Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee delivers great kicks and we get to see him use the bo (stick). The kung fu twins display great acrobatics. The movie also has humor, but it's not too corny. Just like drunken master, this movie features aaaaa looooot of fighting scenes and training sequences. Almost every scene acts as a setup to a fight or training scene (meaning that the talking in the movie is kept to a minimum). Just as any excellent kung fu movie should be.

I had read two reviews on this film before I saw it: one review highly recommended it and another criticized the lack of kicking from Hwang Jang Lee, the Korean super-kicker. I found myself agreeing with the former. I thought it was a really good martial arts film in the Drunken Master vein. The acrobatics performed by the leads are excellent. The choreography is very complex, but never too slow. Hwang gets to show off his excellent legwork, more so than I was led to believe. He does some great kicks in the long finale. There were some violent moments that I didn't care for. Overall, a fine kung fu movie.