King Boxer took world audiences by storm with its tale of a young martial artist who battles his way into a national tournament in the name of love, honour and revenge. His journey from young fighter in training to master of the Iron Fist delves deep into mythic kung fu lore and is laced with explosive action and dazzling fight sequences...

Most of the martial arts in King Boxer consist of slow and boring moves which after a while seem to feel too similar with little variation. The only element of the fights that seems to pick up the pace is when the combatants are in mid air - were they used trampolines to speed things up a bit. Also there are no protective mats used on the floor so when the fighters land it looks a lot more realistic.

At certain parts of the film a siren can be heard. This is used to represent when the iron palm technique is used. Fans of Kill Bill will recognise this sound as it has since been used when the main actor is exacting revenge on somebody.  

The special features on this DVD include interviews with director Chang-Hwa Jeong (4 min, 58 sec); action director Lau Kar Wing (19 min, 23 sec); and film critic and scholars David Shute and Andy Clein. Highlights in the interviews include Chang-Hwa Jeong mentioning the fact that he did not use any strings, but instead used trampolines to make the film seem more fast and fluent, Lau Kar Wing revealing that every choreographer and stuntman needed to know all the different types of martial arts used in the film, and David Shute and Andy Clein mention that King Boxer was the first modern martial arts movie to come out in the US (1973) being released two months before Bruce Lee’s first film.

Other extras include a picture gallery of posters and box covers, an original trail of the film, and three biographies on Quentin Tarantino, David Shute and Elvis Mitchell. There is also a commentary with Quentin Tarantino, David Shute and Elvis Mitchell (1 hour, 32 min 42 sec) where they point out the points in the film where there is going to be action. This is clearly signposted by a certain noise. For example when the three Japanese actors are going to be in the film you can hear their footsteps and then you know there will be a fight shortly. They also point out how condoms filled with fake blood were used so that when they stab a sword in an actor the actor would burst the condom and create a burst of blood across the screen.

King Boxer has a lot of historical background, which will appeal to any serious old school kung fu fan. But for the current generation of fans, this film doesn't give the intense feel or amusement that newer martial art movies can offer.

4

Carl Simpson