LEGEND OF THE WOLF

REVIEW:

This high-energy kung-fu flick marks the directorial debut of Donnie Yen. He also stars as Wolf, a war veteran who recounts the tale of his legendary youth to a young upstart killer (Edmond Leung). Flashback to a post-World War 2 time when the young Wolf (Yen) is wandering the Chinese countryside in search of his missing memories. He only knows to meet someone at an abandoned temple. He ends up hooking up with local villager Dayo Wong, who intends to guide the Wolf to his destination. On the way, they find the ever-radiant Carmen Lee, whos been waiting for Wolf for quite some time. However, Wolf still cant remember jack, until the bad guys (led by Lam Kwok-Bun) come to find him, and they bear the terrible secret of the Wolf's past.
Unfortunately, that secret is never totally clarified - but the film makes up for the confusion with some of the most energetically staged action around. Donnie Yen shows some powerful moves as Wolf, though sometimes hes clearly aping Bruce Lee. Dayo Wong doesnt do half-bad himself - who knew the guy could fake fighting as well as he does in this flick? True, the narrative is confusing and the drama is sometimes overdone and clichéd, but overall the strength of the film is in its adrenaline-kicking action sequences. [REVIEWED BY KOZO 1997]