Wu Lin sheng dou shi (1992) Online

DEADEND OF BESIEGERS is an unsung 1992 kung fu film featuring two top stars of the new wave kung fu revival of the 1980s-90s, Yu Rong Guang (IRON MONKEY himself) and Cynthia Khan (IN THE LINE OF DUTY 3, 4 & 5), in strong roles, abetted by superb writing, expert action staging, spectacular photography and production design, and an excellent supporting cast. While there are some wire-enhanced stunts, this is more of a straight kung fu film along the lines of BLADE OF FURY and FIST OF LEGEND, rather than a "wire fu" spectacle like DRAGON INN, IRON MONKEY, TAI CHI MASTER, BUTTERFLY AND SWORD, or SWORDSMAN II.

The plot is quite original and deals with the case of a Japanese martial artist, Wuwechimato (played by Yu Rong Guang), who journeys to China to learn Chinese kung fu but finds himself on board a boat filled with Japanese pirates whose only mission is plunder and pillage. When he intervenes on behalf of an adolescent Chinese girl about to be kidnapped, he is targeted by the pirates while also assumed by the Chinese villagers to be one of the pirates. Only when the girl hides him and teaches him some of her language, does he manage to convince other important villagers of his innocence. However, it's a long, grueling road to get there and he suffers much abuse and punishment along the way, even getting nailed shut into a coffin at one point. But he also gets to learn Dog Fist style kung fu from Cynthia Khan, as the girl's older sister, Cui Gu. At some point he is even permitted to train at Shaolin Temple.

Eventually, the Japanese pirates return with the secret help of a Chinese traitor in the walled city where the villagers have taken refuge, setting the stage for a rousing final battle. There are many fights throughout the film, all staged amidst picturesque locations and settings in Mainland China, including a towering, multi-storied hilltop temple which the pirates have taken over as their hiding place. Both stars are in extremely fine form here and fight each other several times before teaming up against their Japanese opponents. This film easily ranks among the best work of each performer. Cynthia, in particular, is beautifully costumed and made-up throughout but also gets to participate in the action almost as much as her co-star, who is also credited as co-director of the fight scenes.

But what gives the film its charm and emotional pull is the relationship between the spunky young girl, Mao Tou, and Wuwechimato. She has to keep him hidden, fed and cared for, and has to pull off a ruse in which he masquerades as her crazy uncle to disguise the fact that he can't speak the villagers' language. The two have many scenes together in which they try to communicate and she ultimately manages (in suspiciously short order) to teach him enough of her language to keep him up to speed. A piece of text displayed at the very end asserts that Wuwechimato went back to Japan and invented karate.

The Japanese-speaking characters, including Wuwechimato, speak in Japanese. The villagers speak Cantonese or Mandarin, depending on which language track one chooses on the DVD. Wuwechimato has a flashback to a scene in Japan in which he was beaten up on the street by a European fighter (Dale Cook) who speaks English to him. The DVD also has an English dub track. The Cantonese track is preferred because the Cantonese voice performers are more expressive, particularly the voice of the endearing Mao Tou.

DEAD END OF BESIEGERS is a kung fu period film made in 1992, during this particular subgenre's resurgence. It was produced outside of Hong Kong, apparently one of the few movies shot in Quanzhou, and seems to be an all-around respectable little adventure. Not being a frequent patron of Chinese flicks, I may not be able to judge this picture with an opinion as astute as when I review western martial arts pictures, but there are enough aspects here that appeal to me on a base level, and I think I can safely state that while far from perfect, this is a fun time-waster worth tracking down for fans of the involved performers.

The story: After being humiliated in combat in his native Japan, martial artist Wuwechimato (Rongguang Yu) travels to China to learn kung fu, but is mistakenly associated with a group of murderous pirates (led by Chun Hua Ji). His only ally is a precocious little girl whom he relies on to forge a connection with his sifu-to-be: the lethal Cui Gu (Cynthia Khan), heir to the Dog Fist clan.

I can't find a complete record of the casting, but some of the major role decisions are rather strange. Wonderful as she looks in all of her fancy dresses, I don't think that Cynthia Khan is best suited to play period parts: she has a contemporary edge about her that defies the context, and while certainly serviceable when it comes to kung fu, there's no denying that she looks more comfortable in movies where she can use tae kwon do. Making a surprise appearance is champion kickboxer Dale Cook, wearing a truly embarrassing costume as the foreigner who disgraces Wuwechimato in a flashback; I have no idea what he's doing in this picture, but perhaps it's the trade-off for teaming with Cynthia in FIST OF STEEL.

The writing is more entertaining than I'm used to. Not all of the humor hits home, but it's intriguing to see Wuwechimato undergoing culture shock. There's a good deal of cultural comparison, and it's pleasing to see that Japanese martial arts aren't entirely downplayed. During an exhibition against kung fu practitioners, Rongguang Yu surprisingly holds his own, making it unclear why he wants to learn this other style, but allowing for a silly joke wherein the mother of Khan's character takes offense to him "embracing" her during a judo maneuver. Yu delivers an enjoyable dramatic performance, as does Yu Hai as the lovestruck patriarch of an opposing clan.

The action content is sort of a middle-of-the-road thing for me, but could easily be valued more highly by connoisseurs. The nine fights feature some wirework but tend to remain grounded, and are split between hand-to-hand and sword fights. Disappointingly, almost all of them - even the one-on-one encounters - occur during mass battles, which makes it a bit difficult to focus on single exchanges. The Dog Fist style, with its many ground-fighting applications, seems to be relatively well-represented, but it's mainly Cynthia Khan demonstrating it and, again, she only appears half-comfortable with traditional kung fu.

I was glad to be able to catch this one on TV, but it's probably worth paying a reasonable price for if any of what I've written appeals to you.

The movie opens on a slave boat. Our hero character played by Yu Rong- Guang thought he was on a boat with traders but actually is on board with pirates. (I've made that mistake myself , written in "sarcasm" font.) Cut to a festival. The village is attacked. Ji Chun-Hua (former leader of the White Lotus Clan in another good movie) plays the pirate leader. Our hero saves one of the children. The villagers retreat to a fortified city. Yu Rong-Guang gains entrance by pretending to be insane. He ends up holed up in a cave and brought food by the little girl.

A subplot develops involving mixing kung fu styles and marriage. Our hero has come to China to learn "Dog Fist Style" as shown in a flashback. In Japan he was defeated by a white guy and was about to commit suicide because of loss of honor. A monk intervenes and convinces him to go to China to learn Dog Fist style. This is also Cynthia Khan's style.

The action is top notch. Wires are used unobtrusively and the fighting is realistic. Also some of the scenes involve language misunderstandings and mispronunciations that will never be appreciated by the English language viewer. My copy is both subtitled and dubbed in English but still misses the Chinese/Japanese language humor.

I rate it above average for the year and genre and recommend it for fans.

DEADEND OF BESIEGERS is a bizarre and low budget little wuxia movie that goes for a historical angle. The great Rongguang Yu plays a Japanese guy who is humiliated by a Western fighter (played by cameoing champion Dale Cook) and heads off to China to train more. Once there he learns kung fu but falls in with some evil pirates and has only a little girl as a friend. Eventually she introduces him to a top female fighter, played by the great Cynthia Khan, who gets way too little screen time. Eventually Yu beats the bad guys and heads back to Japan, where his character goes on to found a karate school. This film's an odd little mix of humour and some action, but none of it really impresses. The only time it seems to have the energy of something like Jet Li's Once Upon a Time in China is right at the end, during the violent showdown in the firework factory. The rest is a mere mish-mash of themes and scenes done better elsewhere.