Warriors Two

For the layperson, there seem to be as many styles of kung fu as there are Marvel superheroes. The result – in both cases – is an invigorating blend of action and backstory that can very easily become overwhelming.  But the birth of Wing Chun got a boost from the Ip Man saga, which popularized the origin story of what is the most contemporary style of martial arts.  But Sammo Hung actually got there several decades earlier with Warriors Two (1978), his third time behind the camera for Golden Harvest, challenging himself and his performers to bring an entirely new form of fighting to the screen.

 

Anxious for payback against the thugs who murdered his mother, Cashier Wah (Casanova Wong) begs to become a Wing Chun student under Master Tsang.  But his personal vengeance is against the moral code of this exclusive martial art.  After some prompting by a fellow student, Kei Cheun (Sammo Hung), Tsang agrees to pass along his skills…just before he’s killed in cold blood by the same gang of bad guys.  To restore his honor, Wah and Cheun use their master’s technique to even the odds against one invincible foe after another.

 

Warriors Two is a slow-starter by any standard.  Hung, who typically hangs his hat on comic relief, seems to feel obligated to treat Wing Chun with a bit more respect than usual.  The film begins with a rushed overview of its history, then gets down to the predictable master-pupil training session.  But just when audience interest is starting to wane, the film hits you with finale that packs in 30-minutes of non-stop fight sequences full of dazzling choreography and visual invention.  

 

The tide turns after the death of Master Tang, who fights a mismatched battle with one of his legs caught in a bear trap!  Hung follows it up with a shorthanded spear duel inside the tight confines of a bamboo forest.  Then takes things up a notch with Wong facing a steel-chested master assassin whose Achilles heel might be just that!  Each fight is progressively more challenging and Hung, as a director, makes sure all that hard work shows up onscreen.  Warriors Two is just the sort of technical showdown you’d expect from someone who worked their way up through the Shaw Brothers system and came out on top.

 

Arrow Video’s limited-edition Blu-ray adds another jewel to their Golden Harvest crowd.  It looks great, with a new 2K restoration, and includes both the theatrical Hong Kong  and shorter Export Cut.  Both versions include new audio commentary tracks by the usual suspects, along with a lengthy archival Making Of, archival interview with co-star Leung Kar-Yan, a fold-out poster, collector’s booklet and reversible artwork.

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