Any Which Way You Punch (1980)
"Lie ri kuang feng ye huo" (original title)

During China's 1920s Republican Period, warlords carve out personal fiefdoms across the country and impose self-serving laws with the barrel of a gun. Into this anarchy rides a masked ... See full summary »

Director:

Shing Yuan Sun

Stars:

Angela Mao, Fu Sheng Tsui, Chi Ping Chang

Cast

Credited cast:
Angela Mao	...	Violet
Fu Sheng Tsui	...	Warlord Tung Ta-Chou
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chi Ping Chang
Yi Chang	...	Master Wu
Chin Hai Chen
Hsin Yi Chen
Tien-chi Cheng
Chien Chin
Wan Hsi Chin
Ben Ko Chu
Fei Chu
Phillip Ko
Chi-yu Kong
Chiang Li
Wen Tai Li

Storyline

During China's 1920s Republican Period, warlords carve out personal fiefdoms across the country and impose self-serving laws with the barrel of a gun. Into this anarchy rides a masked feminine Zorro, nom de guerre Violet, to do battle, right wrongs and foment rebellion against the most corrupt and brutal warlord of all, Tung Ta-Chou. Unbeknownst to Tung, however, Violet is his own daughter. Tung orders his psycho enforcer Master Wu to track down and dispose of this pesky rebel queen. Meanwhile, Violet begins a flirtation with an attractive stranger who comes to town with the other half of a treasure map held by Tung. Ultimately, Master Wu betrays the warlord on the lure of the complete treasure map, enabling Violet and the stranger to apprehend Master Wu and beat the warlord at his own game.

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts master | mask | hand to hand combat | asian | martial arts | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Any Which Way You Punch

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kwong-Yi Motion Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Lesser kung fu tale with good cast but weak story

SCORCHING SUN, FIERCE WINDS, WILD FIRE is a Taiwanese-filmed kung fu drama offering plenty of fights and six top-ranked performers, none of which quite make up for the meandering, confusing storyline. There are so many major characters and so many tangents followed that no one quite emerges as the hero of the story, which is supposed to be about warlords and rebels, bandits and soldiers in the early days of the China Republic. There is a plot thread about a search for the second half of a treasure map, but it's conveniently forgotten at various points. The period detail is so casual that much of the film looks like it could have taken place hundreds of years ago, yet when the head of a prison visits a chain gang, he is driven up in a late 1960s-model American car.

The most underused performer here is kung fu diva Angela Mao, who is visible in only three fights, two of them quite brief. She plays the daughter of a warlord and has a secret identity as the masked freedom fighter Violet, who rides the country righting wrongs and organizing rebels (similar to Zorro). Tien Peng plays a mysterious stranger who comes to town looking for the other half of the map. Lo Lieh and high-kicking Tan Tao Liang play prison inmates who escape and wind up in the thick of things. Chang Yi plays Master Wu, the security chief who does most of the fighting for the warlord. Jimmy Lee plays one of Violet's band. There are lots of other familiar kung fu faces in the cast.

Chang Yi was a great villain (EAGLE'S CLAW, TRAITOROUS, IMPERIAL SWORD, CHALLENGE OF DEATH, FATAL NEEDLES FATAL FISTS) and does such an efficient job fending off the good guys here that one can easily be forgiven for rooting for him. It's fun watching all these performers in constant fighting motion, mostly at outdoors locations, but one wishes there were some semblance of a real storyline and some reason to root for one side over the other.

ADDENDUM (9/8/10): I don't know where IMDb got the title, ANY WHICH WAY YOU PUNCH, but I've never seen this film referred to by that title anywhere else.