Tao tie gong (1979) User Reviews

Among the Best Martial Arts Comedy Ever

[nafps · 7/10 · 14 January 2022]

Up there with the funniest of Jackie Chan's films. "Call me...the Devil's Disciple!"

If you watch old martial arts of the 70s just to laugh at how badly made they were, this film is for you. Only it has quite a few funny intentional jokes. Having kung fu moves named after recipes? Combining martials arts training and cooking classes?

The fight scenes are fairly good, very extended with lots of silly sound effects and deliberate over acting.

Of cooks and kungfu

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 3 December 2022]

The King of Chefs teaches his grandson the rare and secret art of "Cooking Kung Fu",so he may avenge his parents who were killed by a jealous chef and his posse of fighters, who want to rid the country of the great chefs, their descendants and secret martial art technique.

Definitely in the Jackie Chan tradition, and done quite well with a pleasant light touch of humour before the serious bits come through. There's a bit of mystery in regards to the killer - whose identity is hidden by his hat - and why he wants the king's chef dead. It's a low budget film, however it appears to have good production values. Jackie Chen is a good clone, though a little over the top in acting.

Shows you the difference a single letter can make

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 7 December 2016]

OF COOKS AND KUNG FU is an obvious rip-off of the Jackie Chan movies SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW and DRUNKEN MASTER, concerning as it does a young goofy student who learns an unusual kung fu style at the hands of his wise old mentor and subsequently uses it to tackle a trained assassin who just so happens to be one of the most feared men in the country. OF COOKS AND KUNG FU stars favoured Chan imitator Jackie Chen, who goes to prove just how important a single letter can be.

As it stands, this film isn't too shabby and there were many worse kung fu films put out over the years. However, it's not particularly good either; watchable for a fan, but off-putting for everyone else. The first half of the story is quite slow and predictable, with laboured and mannered fighting forms, but things pick up in the second half when the stakes are raised. There's a lot of waffle to get through until the decent extended fight climax. The training sequences are as fun as ever and Chen certainly supplies a lot of energy to the production, even if he pales in comparison to Chan himself. For once I enjoyed the dubbed English dialogue, full of insults and laughable threats.

Awesome

[xxkorn · 10/10 · 4 February 2006]

I am a huge fan of martial arts movies, and this move has it all. I would say that 75% of the movie is fighting. All shot very well, Jacky Chen is a great fighter and a great tumbler (Arabian Double Front on dirt) it is really a fun movie to watch, lots of ass kicking. Makes me want to see other Chen movies, though they are very hard to find. This movie was at my local rental store as "Fists of Vengeance" which made searching for it online hard. I highly recommend purchasing this film to anyone who is a fan of Jacky Chan, prop fighting, or genuinely awesome kung foo movies. The dubbing is not very good, and the cinematography could use a lot of work, but it is what you would expect from 1970's Chinese film.

Under-rated kung fu classic!

[Movie-Misfit · 8/10 · 20 May 2018]

Another £1 purchase, this quirky kung fu comedy is pretty much a rip-off (or homage) to Jackie Chan's classic Drunken Master and Fearless Hyena... Even the star, Siu Lung Chan - adopting the international name of Jacky Chen - tries his hardest to look and act like the King of Hong Kong cinema, pulling off some incredible kung fu and acrobatic moves while playing the clown. And he pretty much does it, minus the same on-screen charisma we get from Chan the man!

But that's certainly not enough to make this a bad film. Although its pretty much a case of having seen it all before, Of Cooks And Kung Fu offers plenty of old-school comedy, a host of recognisable faces, and plenty of fantastic Jackie Chan-esque kung fu fighting with choreography from main star, Chen. The end battle alone between himself and the main villain is just a good as Chan's traditional flicks closing scenes.

There's also a supporting role by the hilarious Lee Kwan, star of over 140 films such as Drunken Tai Chi, Fantasy Mission Force, and Fearless Hyena to name but a few, playing the same smart-ass character he always does - complete with comical dub...

Of Cooks And Kung Fu is definitely one of the labels (Hollywood East UK release) best releases in terms of entertainment value and in showcasing some of the best fighting and training scenes. It would be nice to see a widescreen HD version some day but I doubt that'll happen anytime soon!

Overall: Fast n furious kung fu comedy that deserves to have a bigger audience.