Jimmy Wang Yu is an inspector from Hong Kong who comes to Australia to extradite a criminal (Sammo Hung). Before he can get him on the plane home, the perp is shot dead by a mysterious assailant. Yu soon becomes obsessed with bringing down the man responsible, the local Mr. Big (George Lazenby) who also happens to be a deadly Kung Fu expert.
Directed by Brian (Leprechaun 3) Trenchard-Smith, The Man from Hong Kong is a blast of ‘70s goodness from start to finish. It doesn’t get much more ‘70s than Kung Fu, hang gliding, and the soft rock theme song “Sky High”. Trenchard-Smith does a great job at blending the action of Hong Kong martial arts films with the Ozploitation antics of his native soil. Highlights include Lazenby giving Yu an impromptu “Kung Fu demonstration”, Yu single-handedly taking on an entire karate school, and an extended car chase. I mean how many times do you get to see James Bond fight the One-Armed Swordsman?
Trenchard-Smith also gives us one of the greatest edits of all time. After Yu kicks Hung in the nuts, he cuts away to a rack of billiard balls being broken. This is Cinema of the highest order. In fact, Yu sets some kind of record for how many times a leading man hits people in the groin in a single movie.
Yu is great in the lead. What I liked about his character is that he often got sliced up, mangled, and beaten, but he kept coming back for more. Some of the dubbing on Yu is hilarious too, especially when he’s mad. (“Don’t give me any shit!”) Lazenby is also fun as the sleazy villain who in one memorable scene plays William Tell with his arm candy at a cocktail party. He even performs a pretty sweet fire stunt during the big climax. We also have Aussie favorites such as Hugh Keays-Byrne as an undercover cop and Frank Thring as Lazenby’s secretary.
I will admit some of this could’ve been trimmed back a bit. The hang-gliding scenes, while picturesque, really drag. That’s okay though because whenever Yu is busting heads, The Man from Hong Kong kicks ass.
AKA: Sky High. AKA: The Dragon Flies.
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