Hwang Jang Lee stars as the leader of a troupe of musicians who get revenge on some gangsters who coerced them into paying protection money. They then head back out on the road as part of a phony medicine show where they run afoul of more gangsters running another collection racket. When the gangsters prove to be too much for Lee, he turns to a cranky noodle chef to teach him the Kung Fu necessary to get the upper hand.
Lee was primarily known for playing villains, so it’s cool seeing him as the hero in this action comedy. It also gave him an opportunity to trade in his traditional period costumes for some snazzy contemporary duds. Like most of Lee’s movies, the fight scenes are a great showcase for his physical prowess. Kicks were Lee’s specialty, and Hard Bastard is filled with action sequences where he dispatches his enemies with a variety of flashy legwork.
Thanks to the fun fight sequences and the funny (well, funnier than usual) comic relief (much of which revolves around things going in or coming out of someone’s butt), Hard Bastard is a real treat for Kung Fu fanatics. While it lacks some of the WTF aspects that hallmark director Godfrey Ho’s best stuff (this isn’t one of those cut-and-paste Ho flicks, but rather a straightforward action comedy), it is nevertheless entertaining as heck. Even if you miss some of Ho’s wacky touches, you can still enjoy the overenthusiastic sound effects and crummy dubbing. (One bad guy sounds like Peter Lorre on helium.) There may be one or two extraneous subplots (a hothead son tries to help his father who is under the thumb of the gangsters) and/or lovey-dovey scenes, but whenever Lee is kicking the crap out of bad guys, it's a damned good time.
One amusing aspect of the film is that Lee and his gang are peddling medicine that obviously doesn’t work. They also clearly refused to pay the necessary permits with the city to hawk their wares in the street. So, technically, the gangsters have every right to try to throw them out of town. I also thought it was pretty funny that just about every character calls someone a “bastard”, making it difficult to figure out just who is supposed to be “hard” bastard of the title.
AKA: Raging Rivals. AKA: Hands of Lightning.
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