Search - The Legend of the Wolf AKA The New Big Boss on DVD

Widescreen.....NOT!

Colin Skurnik | U.S.A. | 12/12/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is not too bad for one of Donnie Yen's first directorial efforts. The biggest problem is that it's not really a widescreen transfer. It's not even letterboxed. Unless you consider the eighteenth of an inch at the top and bottom of the picture a widescreen/letterboxed edition. The poor transfer really makes some of the decent fight scenes difficult to watch. It's ashame that Amazon doesn't review the titles before releasing the information.If you enjoy martial arts/action movies, this one is worth giving a try. It's not Donnie's best, but it's not his worse either."

Sad Review for a Martial Arts Hero

Dragon Man X | Sunnyvale, CA USA | 03/08/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Also known as The New Big Boss (after Bruce's film), this is one review I am sad to write because Donnie is one of my favorite martial artists...this movie is just plain bad, and I understand this was one of Donnie's early start in directing, but that doesn't save it from being bad...story?...Man with amnesia goes back to a temple that is familiar in his dreams and searches for a woman that he sees in his dreams as well hoping to get some answers to his identity...the village nearby is constantly being terrorized by bandits and Donnie, miraculously remembering one thing-his fighting abilities, helps fight them off...the movie is mostly about rememberance, bloody fights, and a reblossoming love...now the bad part, the fighting caught on camera is horrendously awful and a big waste on Donnie's part...the camera is way to close to the fighters and all you see are hand movements with less body movements...it seems everything is sped up as well for that ultra fast fighting appeal...it just makes it worse...you can't see the fighting in its true form because the camera is too damn close, and there were a lot of good moves by Donnie that were put to waste cuz you couldn't really see them...other than this, the fighting is extremely unrealistic...I mean there were several occasions were Donnie took out literally 100 men by himself and this just made me think "O please"...what kept me watching was the love story tho and I would've given this film at least a rating of 2, but the whole end scene, just a little before the last battle sequence of this film just destroyed that possibility...if you ever watch this, just keep that in mind...This is by far one of Donnie's worst movies, and I've seen most of his flicks...I think he even knows that this movie was bad, but great actors every now and then understandibly make bad movies...go ahead and rent it to find out, but for heaven's sake don't buy it unless you gotta have everything Donnie made...The Legend of the Wolf version of the film is presented with original chinese language with english subs, and the sound is 2 channel surround...The New Big Boss version is only an English Dub with a 5.1 dbd track...I don't recommend either haha, this movie is just bad, but usually chinese is the way to go for me...check out better Donnie fims like Tiger Cage 2, Iron Monkey, OUATIC 2 alongside Jet Li, Wing Chun alongside Michelle Yeoh, and Drunken Tai Chi...Hope this review was helpful, check out my other HK reviews as well... Laters"

Stuck between a 3 and a 4

morgoth | omaha, NE | 08/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The movie is absolute briliance if you look at the budget. $500,000!!!!!!!

Now if you are a kugn fu fan then you NEED to get this. Fans of Iron Monkey may enjoy the super revved up action, but even if you don't like it when they majorly undercrank films, this may still catch your eye.

The movie is all a flashback story. Donnie Yen is old and is telling a kid a story about when he was young and lost his memory. By the end both stories get wrapped up very nicely. But the end scene absolutely blew me away. There is somethign that happened right before the final fight scene that boosted this up to a 4. I guess I wasn't expecting any real movie moments, but this had a hell of a lot of them.

Now the action scenes I have to say are one of a kind. There is a match with a guy who is usign chains to fight donnie, that was my favorite. ALL of teh fights are unreal but awesome. The one with the guy using like monkey or tiger style was INTENSE. If you are prone to seizures then I highly suggest you do not get this movie.
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Donnie Yen should be commended for this gem...

morgoth | 06/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie has been criticized excessively by many for being too different from the usual martial arts genre. Indeed, if you enjoyed Iron Monkey and are looking for something similar in a Donnie Yen film, such as people precisely executing each martial arts technique, pausing deliberately after several exchanges of punches and kicks, and sometimes even yelling out the name for a particular move, Legend of the Wolf may not be the movie for you. Not all the criticisms are justified. Unlike Yen?s previous masterpiece which showcases his finest skills as a martial artist, Legend of theWolf exhibits a remarkable combination of raw energy and artistic elegance, and this movie is nothing short of spectacular. Like Yen?s subsequent effort, Ballistic Kiss, Legend of the Wolf has excellent cinematography, wonderful camera work, good music in addition to its kinetic if somewhat disorienting actions, which suit the film?s dark mood perfectly. Look beyond the norm of martial arts genre, you may find this film interesting to watch, and may even find yourself wowed by its power and beauty."