Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu (1982) User Reviews

Unintelligible garbage, Godfrey Ho style

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 25 March 2017]

RAIDERS OF BUDDHIST KUNG FU is another very poor quality film from director Godfrey Ho, who seems to have taken an old-fashioned South Korean martial arts movie and spliced in his own footage featuring Gordon Liu in a role that amounts to little more than a brief cameo as a villain who goes around looking brooding. The whole production is nonsensical and largely dull, featuring a general lack of coherence and entertainment value for the fans.

A lot of films made during this era seem to feature a young guy dressed up as an old master, Simon Yuen style, complete with a bedraggled grey wig, and this movie is no exception. Mike Wong is the hero of the piece, injured by villains but recovering and gunning for revenge. The film is one of those that features inserted shots of a circling hawk replaced by a very obvious dummy for the scenes in which it attacks. This is virtually unintelligible garbage.

It is pretty bad kids

[supermonkeychan · 3/10 · 13 January 2001]

Well I'd have to say that I do own this film and I only like the ending. The movie is boring and slow but the final fight is so funny. Lets just say that if the fake bird didn't attack the main evil guy this movie would be a 0 out of 10. The bird though makes it a 3. If you are truly bored or want something terrible to watch rent this and fast forward to the final battle.

star-rating wouldn't do this film justice - nothing could

[winner55 · 28 June 2006]

The recent retitled release of this film on DVD isn't very good; they don't even seem to be using the print that was once used for release of tape, but an inferior copy.

Many of the old school Hong Kong chop socky films that Americans think are just so bad they're funny, are actually rather good, once the viewer gets what it is the filmmakers themselves think they're doing, and what audience they think they are doing it for. But that is not the case here. This really is so bad it's funny. Cardboard characters portrayed by hammy actors; unconnected scenes strung together for no apparent rhyme or reason; absurd stereotypes like the slavering hunchbacked would-be rapist; dialog that seems to have been copied off a bubblegum wrapper by a scribe on acid; cheesy special effects (like the trained "hawk" that is clearly stuffed and hanging from a wire); yep, this film has it all.

It must be said that fight scenes are pretty good; nonetheless, even in these one finds reason to chuckle. During a duel with staffs, the bad-guy knocks the good-guy's staff away, then steps away to boasts "At the long-staff I am the master!' Then he - throws his staff away! Heck, how dumb can a fighter get? If you have a weapon for which your opponent has no defense, the first thing you do is get rid of it?! The film has tens of little bits like that, and grand ones too. I'm sure there's a plot here, but i could never figure out what it was. best seen at three in the morning and you're suffering from insomnia and your brain's numb. Whew! from the creative team Joseph lai and Godfrey Ho, of course. Special guest star Gordon Liu, who looks like he's rehearsing for the role of Yul Brynner's corpse - a must see-to-believe, at least once.

Gordon Liu starring with a bunch of no-talents.

[bao · 1/10 · 27 November 1999]

This film was bad. I believe Elton (or is it Mike) Wong starred in it. Anyway it was the Wong that didn't have that goofy grin and looks meaner. He plays a man who is hit over the head and suffers brain damage. He recovers and gets revenge. Gordon Liu is the only one worth seeing in this film, but he doesn't get to do much. But what little he does seems to make the

others pale in comparison. Also, the film has some cheesy rubber hawk that the Wong guy controls. This film is not worth renting or buying.

So bad, it's brilliant: One of the funniest films I have ever seen

[pete_cottrell · 8/10 · 18 September 2008]

This film has everything you need for a hilarious night indoors with your friends.

Poor film quality? Cringe-worthy Kung-fu choreography? Hilarious dubbing? Awkward and disjointed dialogue? Cameraman incapable of keeping the camera still or focused on the right characters? Cliché characters including samurai and plucky child side-kick? Plucky child side-kick has a dead bird on his shoulder which is actually meant to be a live pet? Random white guy with an afro appears from a bush in the middle of a fight scene and joins in? Absolutely ridiculous and memorable ending? All of these aforementioned qualities, and more, are all available for your viewing pleasure throughout the course of this movie.

To be sincere for a moment, this is an absolutely appalling film which is barely worthy of a single star. As soon as it begins, one can hardly believe that this was a genuine attempt at a serious movie. You can only reason that films back in 1980s had especially low standards. But if you do not take it seriously and simply relish the examples of pure incompetence both on the part of the actors and director, this film will have the entire room roaring with laughter.

Essential viewing.

8/10 - A film that simply surpasses the level of "Terrible" and transcends into the realm of "Beautiful" (marked down from 10. Regardless of how funny it is, points must be deducted simply because of how terrible it is)

Worst (ab)use of Gordon Liu ever!

[arisaema · 11 November 2002]

The unwary viewer must endure nearly an hour of an otherwise unintelligible story, which may or may not involve long-lost brothers, cruel kung fu teachers and corrupt leaders, waiting for Gordon Liu, cast as a shiftless and evil royal, to get up from his fancy dias and show the other players a thing or two about martial arts. When the script finally does get around to putting Gordon on his feet, in swoops that stupid bird -- apparently the other member of the cast with any significant athletic ability. For the die-hard collector only -- and then perhaps best used to prop doors or discipline household pets.