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Cast:
Yeung
Chun Ngai
Ken
Chang
Paul
Rapovski
Jacqueline
Li
Patricia
Ja Lee
Action:
Stephen
Tung Wai
Producer:
David
Chan
Shi
Jiu Hui
Director:
Stephen
Tung Wai
Score:
 
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EXTREME
CHALLENGE
AKA:
C3 Fighters
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
For
a film that only lasted a week at its local box office and
flopped badly, 'Extreme Challenge' has already gained a minor
reputation in the UK prior to its release. Covered in a number
of UK magazines as a return to the tournament style of movies,
people are obviously excited remembering such classics as 'Bloodsport'
and of course: 'Enter
the Dragon' (in which EC's director, Tung Wai, can be seen
receiving instruction from Bruce himself.)
It
is clear that those buying this film are interested in one
thing only - good fights, and for the most part EC delivers.
There are a number of fight scenes, and they are based in
reality, with grounded, realistic fighting techniques. Many
weapons are also on show, from Escrima to fan favourite
Nunchaku's, and each bout is intricately choreographed and
well executed, but something is still lacking. Ultimately, the
fights are not exciting enough, and the choreography, while
intricate, is not exciting. Little utilisation of flashy kicks
or gymnastics reduces the "Wow" factor and only a
couple of fights really impress.
The
worst part of the movie overall is the dialogue. Plain and
simple, it is cringingly atrocious! The dubbing of certain
actors is diabolical, and most of the conversations are in
English. I for one would prefer a return to the good old days,
when everyone spoke Cantonese. At least it sounded more
natural, and was to be expected from a Hong Kong movie.
Instead we see actors struggling with the words, or being
dubbed by monkeys. I expect the average movie fan would be
unable to sit through it!
As
long as you don't expect too much, there is enough interesting
action, and impressive choreography on show to entertain you.
However, it is unlikely that this would be watched from start
to finish more than once. I have given it 3 stars for the
fights, but if I was to base my score on the dialogue, it may
have only received one!
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