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Starring
:
Too
Siu Chun
Fennie
Yuen
Yip
Chuen Chan
Chiu
Cheung Gwan
Gai
Chun Wa
Lily
Li
Director
:
Wai
Hon Tiu
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ONE
ARM HERO (1994)
A.K.A.
- One Armed Hero; Sam The Iron Bridge 2; Martial Arts Trilogy
3
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
In
this third part in the 'White Lotus Cult' trilogy, heroic
fighter 'Iron Bridge Sam' returns as the commander of the
local navy. Sam still has to contend with the seething hatred
of his bitter rival Mu who continues to exert influence over
those in power. As a married man, Sam now attempts to bring
some peace to his busy life, but this is shattered by the
constant battles with Japanese pirates that take up his time.
Sam finds the pleas to his superiors for guns to combat the
foe falling upon deaf ears though and he instead stirs up the
animosity of top kung-fu man and friend to Mu, Hing. After he
sees more and more of his men killed by the pirates, Sam takes
the initiative and secretly uses the royal funds to buy
weapons for his troops. The results are highly successful as
the invading hordes are finally repelled, but the distressed
hero is investigated by Mu and Hing, therefore bringing about
harsh punishment. The chain of events that follow destroy
Sam's life as he loses his wife, his friends and one of his
limbs.
Having
only seen the first part of this trilogy before going into
'One Arm Hero', I was surprised at how accessible this was.
The various characters were easy to absorb after a short time,
though watching the three films in sequence is always going to
enhance enjoyment. Compared to 'White Lotus Cult' - the
introduction of Sam's character - 'One Arm Hero' proves to be
a far more assured production. The pacing of the original was
unsteady as the narrative lurched from one scene to another
while the action was adequate, but hardly satisfying. This
final chapter manages a greater sense of equilibrium and
allows the fully developed characters a bit more room to
breath.
'One
Arm Hero' doesn't qualify as anything more than an
entertaining new-wave film though. The reason for this is
that, although it manages to improve on 'White Lotus Cult', it
still has obvious faults throughout. The attempt to weave
several sub-plots into the narrative proves to be a flawed
idea as strands are used and discarded with little effect. The
'Once Upon A Time In China' films proved that weaving extra
storyline layers into an existing narrative can be achieved
with aplomb, but 'One Arm Hero' creates interesting moments
and then lets them fizzle out. Although better than 'White
Lotus Cult', the fight action may nonetheless disappoint avid
genre lovers. Hong Kong legend Kuo Chui crafts some watchable
fight scenes, but they never reach the potential that is
initially promised. It also seems to take an eternity for the
excitement to happen - something that cannot be a good thing
for a new-wave kung-fu film. 'One Arm Hero' has its moments,
though they don't help the finished production achieve
anything more than the entertaining.
Rating:
 
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