The Evil Cult (1993)

Jet Li and Sammo Hung star in one of their greatest adventures! Action on the master level in the Jet Li kung fu tradition!

Best of the Series

Many people do not know that this is only part of a 60 volume serial.
The main reason most people are confused about what is happening is a lack of understanding about internal energy or "Chi". This is the magic of the Orient. Many various legends of certain types of "secret" Kung Fu have existed for centuries in China and the chinese audinces are not so confused by the plot line.
If you suspend you dis-belief this is a fantastic, fuuny, deadly serious, bloody tale of sweat revenge; betrayal and ultimate victory for the underdog. I can't find a better movie that works on all these levels.
The english sub-titles are washed out by the background in some frames but can be gleaned if the movie is watched enough which you are sure to do. June 11, 2007

Never slows down

Of all the movies I've heard, "Lord of Wutang" is undoubtedly the one... with the fastest pace.

Really. This movie never even pauses for breath, hurtling from one plot development to the next, and barely allowing the viewer to catch up. But if you can keep up with the rapid-fire pace, it's a rewardingly bizarre and comic adventure story with a fantastical little twist.

As a child, Mo-Kei (Jet Li) was hit with the deadly Jinx Palm, just before the terrible deaths of his parents. Mo-Kei grows up under the tutelage of a great master, but the Jinx Palm leaves him unable to fight or have sex -- until he and the sprightly marial artist Siu Chiu (Chingmy Yau) fall off a cliff.

There, Mo-Kei encounters a wacky old hermit embedded in a boulder, who teaches him the great "Solar Stance" kung-fu and cures him of the Jinx Palm. Now Mo-Kei can seek revenge for his parents' deaths, but he and Siu Chiu find themselves in the middle of a massive power struggle between the martial-arts schools, Shaolin monks, and the Evil Sect (which doesn't seem that evil).

"Lord of WuTang" is really kind of confusing -- revenge vendettas spring out of nowhere, battles start without warning, and the plot is so fast-moving that the whole thing seems to be about a day and a half's worth of action -- as soon as one subplot ends, another instantly starts. And yet, somehow despite all this craziness, it's still pretty entertaining.

Perhaps that's because this isn't intended to be a serious revenge epic. It has lots of verbal and physical comedy ("Get my head off of my a**!") and bizarre characters who are thrown in just to be bizarre, like the Red Cross sex freaks and the old hermit who rolls around inside a boulder.

But they don't neglect the kung-fu aspect, with lots of energy blasting, flying shields, and a great fast-paced duel between Li and a roaring Shaolin monk. It strikes a pretty good balance between the fantastical violence (flying killer shields?) and the realistic stuff that looks pretty bloody.

It's hard to keep the dozens of characters straight, especially since some of the girls are almost identical in dress and body language. But Li is appealing as the naive, peace-loving guy, and Yau is just as fun as his sprightly, spunky love interest. She even gets the kung-fu equivalent of a catfight.

"Lord of Wutang" is almost too fast paced to follow, but it still has a bizarre charm. Definitely worth watching.... so long as you don't leave the room. January 26, 2007

3.5, but jet li and sammo make it a a 4.

Now I will go over later about the version that I have which has very easy to read subtitles.

This movie is so freaking weird, I still cannot figure out what the hell is going on. Jet li's parents are killed in a very dramatic scene, and jet gets touched by a cursed palm. The cursed palm makes it so jet cannot become good at martial arts. So guess what, he is gonna get his skills. Ya probably did not have to guess that, but this movie really goes out of it;s way for jim to learn. Definintely not your average revenge tale.

So I can't tell you exactly what I liked about this film because nothing really stands out too much, but there are so many crazy things that happen it would be impossible to list half of them. So for all you people like me who are always looking for that next great hand-to-hand movie, then this is a pretty good break.

Also this movie has a ton of stars in it. And it really tries to be a BIG movie, just doesn't quite live up to what it was supposed to be, but maybe it did, give your opinion.

Also-the version i have comes from widesceen, good picture quality, and BLACK OUTLINED subtitles. So you won't miss a thing, the sunbs are imbedded, but are easy to read, a first in my mind. The subs do run a little fast sometimes, but you can always pause. This has Dr. Wai on the other side(unwatchable picture quality), and comes in the JET LI COLLECTION. Don't get that boxed set with twin warriors and the bodyguard, but get the one that is like 11.99, and has a disc that has early jet li footage and also has a lengthy crowd lethal weapon 4 interview.
I would call those special features and when I classify them like that they are certainly some of the best special features that I have ever seen.

So get the jet li collection that HAS 4 MOVIES IN IT. Evil Cult master, Dr. Wai(unwatchable), lee-thal weapon, and I can't remember what the early footage feature is called.

Good stuff but don't buy this version unless it is longer than 103 minutes. Also people are saying you can't read the subs for this version which is a shame bacuse it didn't have enough action in it to excuse unreadable subs. March 26, 2006

Another Jet Li flying on wires film

I didn't care for this movie the first time I watched it. It is pretty far from believable. But the 2nd time I watched it and I knew what to expect I enjoyed it a lot more. No, humans don't shoot lightning colored chi out of their hands. And people can't live being strapped to a large boulder. But it is still a good kung fu flick.

This one is SUB-TITLED and sometimes hard to read. White letters on a white background. I would like to find another version of this movie that has been dubbed in English for my collection. July 3, 2005

Fantastic incomplete Kung Fu saga

Jet Li plays Chang Mo Kei, a young fellow who was injured as a child by a life threatening Kung Fu move called the "Jinx Palm", which has made him weak and unable to learn Kung Fu. Plus on the same day his parents were both forced to commit suicide, which, as you might expect, was also no fun. Mo Kei is raised by his father's former master, a spry 100 year-old played with great aplomb by an unrecognizable, white-haired Sammo Hung, who also did a very good job as the fight choreographer for the film. The plotline is too complex to summarize, but needless to say Jet Li starts kicking ass and taking names pretty quickly. The film is of the fantastic Kung Fu variety, with people flying through the air, and using magical Kung Fu powers which put Jedi Knights and Neo to shame.

"The Evil Cult" has a variety of english titles and is based on a chinese martial arts novel which hasn't been translated to any western languages as far as I'm aware. It was supposed to be the first in a trilogy, but it didn't make enough money and so even though Jet Li, Sammo Hung, and the others involved fought to make them, it never came to pass. Apparently there have been some other films and TV Series made following the same story, but the most recent TV Series from 2003 hasn't made it to North America yet.
Still this first part of an incomplete saga is a great kung fu flick, primarily because of the incredibly quick pace, intricate plotline, bad humour, and non stop ass-kicking fun. It overwhelms the senses and if this type of flick is your cup of tea, I think you'll find this is as good as it gets. It seems to be a style of film you either get or you don't, so don't be put off by any bad reviews you see. This isn't Proust, but has its own virtues. If you like it, you likely be frustrated when it ends before resolving much of anything plot-wise, but just hold on, I'm sure they'll do a proper remake in ten years with genetic clones of the original cast or thereabouts. We'll see. April 28, 2005

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