Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

poe-48833 WU TANG MAGIC KICK gives us Mar, whose business interests are threatened by the nefarious Fang Kang gang. Before you can say Kung Fu, he's ruined (when he listens to a rundown of all the commodities he's lost- thousands of tons of goods- one can certainly sympathize with him; he runs his hands over his head, which hangs low over the table as he listens, and one can almost FEEL the blood pounding in his brain). His home is infiltrated, as well, and his wife kidnapped. So much for Mar's promise to his wife not to use his "magic kick." Despite his impressive kicking ability, he ends up a prisoner of the Fang Kang gang and is tortured mercilessly: while hanging helplessly in a metal cage, he is driven insane by the constant "rattling of his cage" by men armed with metal bars. Meanwhile, his wife loses her will to live and becomes the mistress of the gang-leader's nephew. Mar is finally freed, but he's both a physical and a mental wreck (and, therefore, no longer considered a threat to/by the gang). He begins rehab in the hopes of exacting revenge. Not a bad movie, all told, and I've always been a sucker for a Martial Arts movie that features a lot of quality kicking (which this one does).

dbborroughs Another run of the mill kung fu movie from the 1970's plot wise, two factions battle it out for what ever reason, actually because one guy decides that the village isn't big enough for the two of the, that stands out because the action is wall to wall. Honestly you'll want see this if you like no stop martial arts action because the film never seems to really slow down. It begins with action and just goes with more than just the typical back lot locations, we get temples and a bridge over a river and other locations which make this film something special. Worth a look if you get the chance and like martial arts. Between 6 and 7 out of 10

phillip-58 John Liu is one of the great kickers and some of the kicks here are amazing as are his splits (before van Damme made them his trade mark). The Korean locations are stunning but the plot is only average and the fights, though frequent, stylistic rather than in any way realistic. The madness is an interesting twist but John Liu only has a limited dramatic range and the 'cure' happens suddenly and with little explanation. The final fights are protracted and fairly bloody. The sub-plot with Tong Bo Wan (Mar's wife) doesn't really lead anywhere and though beautiful, acting was not her strong point. On my Vengeance DVD her voice is often hard to hear and the print is not a good one with significant faults at times. The case says there is a bonus John Liu fight which there isn't - this seemed to get replaced with a short but interesting interview with Philip Ko at some stage. As the other comment mentions there is some fun to be had spotting where the soundtrack is copied from.

Brian Camp MAR'S VILLA (1978) is one of a handful of kung fu films in which the hero is driven mad. Kung fu actors rarely get the chance to play such juicy parts and when they do they pull out all the stops (see Alexander Fu Sheng in his tragic final role in 8-DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER and Chiang Sheng in CRIPPLED AVENGERS). John Liu is no exception and the high kicking martial artist, always one of the great unsung stars of kung fu films (DEATH DUEL OF KUNG FU, SECRET RIVALS, INVINCIBLE ARMOUR), does a superb job here as Mar Tien Liang, a prosperous businessman and instructor of the "the Magic Kick" technique who is undone by his enemies and then has to come back from the depths of mental and physical breakdown to vanquish his foes and restore his family and place in society. The scenes of Mar's cruel torture by the Fang Clan are quite grueling and feature him imprisoned in a suspended metal cage in the hot sun while henchmen bang the metal bars with poles.While the reasons for the Fang Clan's initial attack on Mar's property are never exactly made clear, the good news is that we're treated to an astounding array of fights, all of them extremely well staged. John Liu was, along with Hwang Jang Lee (HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA) and Tan Tao Liang (THE HOT, THE COOL AND THE VICIOUS), one of a trio of long-legged, high-kicking stars of kung fu films. Here Liu's chief opponent is perennial villain Kao Fei (aka Phillip Ko), who plays a dual role as Fang Kan, the clan leader, and his own brother. The fights between Liu and Kao are packed with exhaustive hard-hitting-and-kicking action. Most of the film's fights are staged amidst the natural settings of Taiwan as well as picturesque temples including one area festooned with magnificent Golden Buddhas. One large-scale stick fight involving multiple combatants is staged in the sprawling courtyard of a historic complex.Mar's wife (played by Tong Bo Wan) plays an important part in the action as well. She is coveted by Fan, the clan leader's son (Tung Wei), who abducts her and then forces her to go see Mar at the height of his maddened state after which she is told that he'll be freed from the cage only if she agrees to marry young Fan. (Divorce laws were apparently quite lax in Old China.) When Liu has fully recovered, much later on, he turns on his wife, believing she betrayed him, without knowing the whole story.In addition to Liu and Kao Fei, the other solid performers include Tung Wei (aka Stephen Tung Wai), a darkly handsome actor playing an ever-smiling rogue who manages to possess the body of Liu's wife but not her soul. He has a memorable drunk scene revealing his twisted frustration. Chan Chia Kai plays Liu's fighting servant/sidekick who sticks with Liu through thick and thin and joins him in several fights, including the extended final battle with Kao Fei. Tung Wei and Chan Chia Kai shared the duties of fight direction on this film, while Ting Chung directed.The chief distraction marring the film is the soundtrack laden with inappropriate and overly familiar cues lifted from American soundtracks, most notably the frequent use of Dominic Frontiere's score for HANG 'EM HIGH.