Highly Overrated But Still Good

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Director Cheh Chang helms another solid bit of marital arts for the always amazing Venom Mob stable of martial arts actors. This film is a tale of Shaolin vs. Wu Tang and is a typical Cheh bloodbath (in one early scene, a character actually has their man- parts ripped off during a fight!). The story is basically Lo Meng wanting revenge on the Wu Tang clan who killed his family when he was a child. The film starts strong, but has a slump in the second act and the fighting kind of drops off until the climax, but the fight scenes that are here are amazing! Overall, this isn't the best from The Venom Mob, but it's still pretty darn amazing.

Another Shaw Brothers classic directed by Chang Cheh. This one is neither as violent or as iconic as some of the director's other films, but it still a completely entertaining movie, running the usual plot lines with finesse and efficiency. One thing I found about the film was that the characters were once again more involved than in your usual martial arts film. Each takes an opposing stand on the side of good or evil and the mix of loyalty and adversity is a good one. The plot involves the usual treachery and deceit, mixed in with plenty of action so that there's nary a dull moment.Most of the Venoms are present in the cast here, albeit with the likes of Phillip Kwok missing. Lu Feng has a typically strong role and Chiang Sheng is as goofy and likable as ever. I always get a kick out of seeing Sun Chien in these films too. The fight sequences, when they come, are outstanding. There are tournaments and tests of strength here, and things inevitably build to a splendid climax in which multiple heroes and villains do battle on a big scale. The usual violence is present, with opponents being castrated and impaled by needles and flying daggers and the usual blood spray stuff. The choreography is outstanding and once again this is a highlight of the genre.

The Poison Klan aka The Venoms have several entertaining martial arts films and 2 Champions Of Death is no exception. This film pits the Wu Tang against the Shaolin. As with a lot of martial arts films revenge and betrayal are behind the action. The fights are fluid and there are plenty of them. These guys don't seem to pull their punches!! Sun Chien is a terrific leg kicker and he showcases his talent very well in this film. I found the storyline easy to follow and interesting enough to hold my attention between fights. Also, picture quality and sound were adequate. The Poison Klan were martial arts experts introduced in the film Five Deadly Venoms. They each had their own lethal fighting style. The actors that played The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, The Lizard and The Toad gained popularity and went on to star in several martial arts films together. Collectively, they are known as The Venoms. In addition to Sun Chien, The Venoms include: Lu Feng, Wei Pai, Chiang Sheng and Lo Meng.

I had some problems with how dumb they made Lo Meng in this one, :facing a un-known enemy and performing feats of strength as his introduction, again doing the strong-man act later almost to his death. the thing that saved it for me was a lot of good fight scenes, my favorite being the one where Sheng Chiang faces a fighter who over extends his kicks so instead of wasting time or energy he just reaches out and removes his testicles. I do enjoy the Venom gangs movies alot, the best being the ones with Sheng Chiang & Philip Kwok working together in their fights - that is the only thing missing in this film I think.