The Victim (1980) User Reviews

Above average, fun & memorable Kung Fu flick

[shrame · 8/10 · 22 December 2018]

The Victim (1980) starring Ka-Yan Leung (aka Beardy) and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung & also directed by Sammo Kam-Bo Hung

Decent Kung Fu flick elevated by a cool twist ending. Beardy is definitely one of my favorites & Sammo Hung adds his usual humor & fun to the atmosphere. Add to that an emotionally charged family love story / triangle & countless kung fu action sequences & you've got yourself a recipe for a very memorable, classic kung fu flick.

Sammo Hung does it again

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 27 November 2016]

When Sammo Hung first put on his directing shoes in the late '70s/early '80s, it seemed he could do no wrong. Churning out a string of low-budget kung fu classics like MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER, ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND, and KNOCKABOUT, he proved to be a natural behind the camera as well as in front of it. I'm pleased to say that THE VICTIM follows in this quality tradition, sitting up there with the others as a high-ranking kung fu minor classic that proves to be endlessly rewatchable and utterly engaging.

The storyline is a typical Hung mix of drama, laughs, and action, with the emphasis very much on the latter ingredient. Sammo himself stars as a bumbling martial artist who becomes fixated with Leung's stoic kung fu master. The comedy is very much in the Chinese tradition, full of slapstick and bizarre, outlandish, cross-eyed characters. One of the weirdest moments is a showdown in a bathhouse, in which Sammo beats the heck out of a bunch of butt-naked Chinese guys, which I still can't quite believe happened.

Much of the plot is taken up with the relationship between Sammo and Kar Lan Leung, the latter playing a taciturn and morose hero who is only spurred into action in the last half hour of the movie. Until then, there are many light-hearted battles, full of great acrobatics and feats of agility. The kung fu is old school but it's something I'll never get tired of watching. Power punches, weapon play, high kicking and scenery smashing – this is kung fu as it should be seen, and THE VICTIM has a greater focus on action than just about any other martial arts film I can think of right now. Yuen Biao doubles in many of the fights and his athletic influence is felt as a whole, making the action scenes just about unbeatable.

As with many of these movies, things become more serious (and bloody!) in the last half an hour, which leads to the expected showdown between Leung and his one-eyed brother. As you might guess, this is an extended and violent battle that seems to go on forever but which never drags – instead it's riveting for every second. The last twenty minutes of the film also has many plot twists involving Sammo's character, some of which are a little over the top, but it's par for the course in a Chinese movie like this. Minor roles for many familiar faces in Hong Kong cinema – Lam Ching-Ying, Karl Maka, Billy Chan and Wilson Tong – only add to the experience as a whole. THE VICTIM is a kung fu fan's kung fu flick, offering a ton of fights, an interesting and complex storyline and plenty of laughs along the way. The result is great viewing experience that is only just topped by the other three films mentioned at the beginning of this review.

Ignore the comedy, enjoy the fighting.

[BA_Harrison · 8/10 · 26 June 2014]

In the hope of finding someone worthy of being his teacher, portly fighter Chen Rong (Sammo Hung) challenges random strangers to fight him. After easily beating several opponents, Chen Rong is finally defeated by martial arts expert Chun Yao (Ka-Yan Leung) but is unable to convince him to become his sifu. Not one to give up, Chen Rong follows Chun Yao everywhere, even to his home, where he meets his unwilling sifu's tasty wife Yoo Yi (played by the amusingly named Fanny Wang), who takes pity on the eager young man.

When some really bad men turn up to cause trouble, Chen Rong is amazed to see Chun Yao and his spouse seemingly running scared. Curious, Chen questions Yoo Yi and discovers why Chun Yao flees when he could fight: on his wedding night, Chun discovered his older adoptive brother Chong Ming (Yi Chang) making unwanted sexual advances towards Yoo Yi. Rather than fight the son of the man who gave him a home and raised him as his own, and feeling just a little guilty about being responsible for accidentally blinding Ming in one eye, Chun opts to keep out of his brother's way. Unfortunately, Ming hasn't given up lusting after Yoo, sending countless hired help to try and dispose of his brother and make off with his wife. Soon enough, Chen Rong finds himself involved in the familial fracas, with bloody consequences for all.

The Victim kicks off in classic kung fu comedy mode, with Chen Rong's search for a sifu resulting in some very silly moments against several comical opponents; the broad humour continues when Chen's pursuit of Chun Yao leads to a brawl in a steamy bath house against several naked men. Even when the film enters darker territory, the zaniness persists, with perhaps the film's most tragic moment weakened by an inappropriate gag featuring Sammo Hung dressed as Dracula. The movie's iffy comedy is easily forgiven, however, thanks to the brilliantly choreographed fight action which is frequent, fast and furious, with Hung displaying his incredible kung fu skills and agility to the full, and Ka-Yan Leung performing some amazing moves despite having had no formal martial arts training.

The final fight between the two 'brothers' is bloody, brutal and brilliant, and would have been the perfect way to end matters; unfortunately, the film closes with a bit more silly buffoonery courtesy of Hung which makes no sense whatsoever.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

N.B. All character names in my review come from my DVD's subtitles and are more than likely wrong.

Exciting, hilarious with a pleasantly unexpected ending.

[MovieNut-19 · 10/10 · 25 April 1999]

What a fantastic film. I really wasn't expecting much, it just seemed like a run of the mill 1970s Kung-fu flicks, but boy was I wrong. Chung Yao (Leung), a martial arts expert, has long been on the run from his step-brother who he caught trying to rape his wife on their wedding night. His brother has never given up the chase however, and Chung Yao lives in constant fear that he and his wife will be murdered by the vengeful step-brother. On one of his visits to the village, Chung meets Fatty (Sammo) who is insistent on becoming his servant. Sammo's attempts at winning Chung's favour takes up the first half hour/ forty five minutes of the film, and it's hilarious. Chung has got no patience for a fool like Fatty, and he tries to dodge and lose him in a number of comical and exciting situations including a hilarious set-up at a sauna.

As the film progresses, a really strong story develops, and even though it may initially seem like one of those typical kung-fu vengance movies of that period, it really isn't. There was not one dull moment throughout, and the last half an hour both fight-wise and plot-wise was just mind-blowing. You really wouldn't expect such an powerful and intelligent ending, but watch it and be bowled over. There are some excellent fight scenes between Fatty and Chung, and Sammo gets to do many of his trademark stunts with all the usual wit and energy. But the real icing on the cake has to be the closing fight between Chung Yao and his step-brother, top-notch stuff. From someone who really isn't a fan of the period Kung-Fu flicks of the 1970s/early 80s all I can say is: See it now. 10/10

great martial arts classic

[movieman_kev · 9/10 · 11 October 2005]

Chan-Wing (Sammo Hung) is an arrogant young kung-fu fighter who goes around testing random strangers to see if he can find someone better than himself who can be his Master. After some searching he finds passive Leung Chun-Yau (Ka-Yan Leung) who refuses to be Chan-wing's Master despite his undying and comical determinacy to get Leung to do so, until an ongoing family feud threatens to consume Leung's relatively peaceful life. The light hearted comedy of the first 30 minutes turns to a slightly darker, but none the less thrilling tone for the rest of the film. Excellent choreographed fighting sequences, an engrossing story, and a touch of humorous comedic moments make this a delight for even the most casual Sammo Hung fan. Not to discount Ka-Yan Leung in the least, as he's simply amazing in this film as well.

My Grade: A

DVD Extras: Commentary by Ric Meyers and Bobby Samuels; a compilation 'Martial Arts Theater' trailer; and Trailers for "Running out of Time", "Dragon Inn", "Armageddon", and "the Duel"

Great!

[jugilus · 15 February 2004]

I just watched this movie yesterday and it just might have been the best kung-fu movie i have ever seen!

It was funny and had lots of really great choreography!! Even Jackie and Jet couldn't do any better than this.

Good kung fu fun, and a good story, too!

[sarastro7 · 7/10 · 6 February 2005]

Lightning Kung Fu, a.k.a. The Victim, has a remarkably good and clear plot (besides all its comical elements). It is structured as two parallel plot lines which converge at the end. First we have director and actor Sammo Hung's character, who's a young, arrogant kung fu adept running around challenging everybody, in order to find someone better than himself, so he can make that person his master and learn more. He goes through all the local masters, incl. a feeble Shaolin grandmaster, before finally finding Chun Yao (the excellent Ka Yan Leung), who lives with his wife in a house outside of town. Chun Yao is the best kung fu practitioner in the district, but is strangely timid and passive, and he rejects Sammo's persistent pleas to become his student. So Sammo decides to hang around his house, sleep outside, and just generally stay, much to the annoyance of Chun Yao. Soon it becomes clear that Chun Yao was adopted by the local kung fu master, and throughout his upbringing was hated by this master's biological son, Jo-Wing. On Chun Yao's wedding night, Jo-Wing tried to rape his new wife, Yoo-Yi, and this led to Chun Yao and Yoo-Yi's leaving the household to live outside town. Chun Yao can't do anything about Jo-Wing, because he is his brother, and because he accidentally blinded Jo-Wing on one eye when they were children, so he is bound by honor to respect his elder brother no matter what. That really is the theme of the story: where do the limits to honor-bound obligation go? How much humiliation and abuse can Chun Yao suffer at his step-brother's hand before it becomes too much? Quite a great deal, it turns out. Like in some of his other movies, the master fighter Ka Yan Leung plays a somewhat cowering character who takes a lot of abuse before finally, after it is in fact too late to save his loved ones, takes action. Considering how great his kung fu skills are, this is not a very satisfactory way to tell (and end) the story. However, at least there *is* a clear storyline (which is relatively rare in second-rate kung fu movies), and the quality of the fight scenes is very good, especially the climactic sequences at the end.

Anyway, Sammo's character has a major role at the end also, where we find out that he wasn't quite what he pretended to be. The story has good twists and turns, and just before the end, Sammo actually succeeds in making Chun Yao his master.

All in all a good movie, but with notable shortcomings. The story is good and clear, but some developments are not satisfying. I rate this movie a 7 out of 10.

Maybe the Best Kungfu film Ever Made!

[moviedirector_rob · 10/10 · 2 January 2008]

If you are a Kungfu classic fan, you must get this film. Warning, you must be patient through the first 10 minutes of this movie. If you can survive the first five minutes, you will definitely be rewarded. This movie has absolutely great fight scenes and a cool story. As the movie progresses the fight scenes become more and more vicious. Why this movie is never listed among the great classics like, 5 deadly Venoms, Master Killer, Snakefist and the monkey shadow and so on, is baffling. Though the movie starts pretty silly, things get pretty serious and stay serious for the remainder of the movie. For Icing on the cake, Wilson Tong makes an appearance. I am absolutely positive that it has the best final fight scene in Kungfu cinema History. A Must See!

Jaw droppingly excellent classic martial arts action. Do not miss!

[ChocOrange_ · 10/10 · 12 September 2017]

Sammo Kam-Bo Hung has crafted a masterpiece of classic martial arts action. Do not miss this.

This film contains some of the best martial arts fight scenes ever shot. Long takes, complex action with large numbers of participants, but most importantly, absolutely stunning choreography and plenty of it. Even in intense action sequences Samo can add a moment of humour before the intensity starts again.

The plot is decent (for a martial arts movie). The comedy is slapstick orientated and thankfully mostly works.

As any fan of Asian action cinema knows, it's the fights that matter and these action sequences deliver in spades.

Samo Hung is a legend amongst fight fans, but sadly largely unrecognised outside Hong Kong aficionados for his absolutely massive contribution to action scenes that Hollywood slowly picked up on. Unfortunately, they still don't grasp many of the concepts Samo and his fellows, like Jackie Chan, created in the 80's Golden years of Hong Kong cinema. Fight editing is dire in Hollywood.

Sadly, every copy I can find is not of the best quality, even the DVD. I really wish someone would do a restoration job on it.

I've watched this more times than I care to think about. Every single time, the action makes my muscles tense and I hit the rewind too often. It really is that good!

A solid 10 for martial arts fans. Do not miss this one. 7/10 for others.

Amazing Kung Fu Film

[coconutkungfu-30704 · 10/10 · 19 February 2020]

Brilliant action choreography, a story filled with twists and turns and an unforgettable ending makes this an all-time classic in the genre.

This is one of Sammo's masterpieces and Leung Kar Yan has never looked better fighting onscreen. Wilson Tong earns his nickname of the "Foot Doctor" in this classic.

Highest possible recommendation

A Sammo Hung classic

[abentenjo · 14 April 2002]

Sammo's remarkable masterpiece is ideally a classic vehicle to showcase Leung Kar Yan's talents (he's simply never looked better), but The Victim seems to work on many other levels: the action scenes are worthy of Sammo's legendary status as a choreographer; the comedy touches are subtle enough and occasionally quite funny; and with it's outpouring of high-octane drama - detailing an ongoing family feud - this is thoroughly more exciting than other run-of-the-mill kung fu pulp. Sammo plays his typical happy-go-lucky who seeks out a new sifu, Leung Kar Yan, a man with clearly problems of his own: his brother (Chang Yi) tried to rape his wife and has therefore been on the run ever since. Will Leung ever face up to his enemy or just continue to run? The Victim is a true late night classic; still fresh and entertaining even after all these years.

Instant Classic Kung Fu Flick

[bjcrabb-39864 · 10/10 · 25 April 2024]

I stumbled across this film by complete chance on YouTube and decided to give it a watch. All I can say is that this film is why I love 70s/80s Kung Fu movies.

It has action, it has comedy and it all hits the right marks. One scene in particular where Sammo Hung's character pretends to act out and interaction between himself and his self proclaimed master (Bryan Leung). It's such a simple joke that doesn't need dubbing to be funny.

The fight scenes are incredible and show the amazing skills of all the actors in the film, whether through kicking, punching, throwing etc.

I would urge anyone who likes Kung Fu films to give this film a watch, it's an instant classic.

When Sammo Hung was still young and able to perform moves he is not able to do now if he were older

[jordondave-28085 · 8/10 · 16 June 2023]

(1980) The Victim (In Chinese with English subtitles) ACTION

Directed and starred by Sammo Hung (Hung Kam Bo) which states the situation about a brother picked up when he was an orphan and at the same time hated by the father's biological son who even tried to take his wife away. And making things complicated they both have the exact same kung fu style of using the fists except that the star was a better fighter. This nonsensical plot is nothing more than a device to showcase some amazing acrobatic martial arts when Sammo was still in his prime. So basically this rating is for the "kung fu" and not so much for the plot.