One of two sequels (both direct sequels) to Fist of Fury, New Fist of Fury follows the path of revenge a man takes following his father’s death, while also following the set-up of a new martial arts school following the man’s death which brings up issues with other martial arts schools in the area.
The film here was written by Wei Lo and Lei Pan, with Wei Lo directing. The film is one of those stories that very much feels like a mid-1970s Chinese martial arts film. It’s something that is hard to describe, but at the same time, fans of the genre will know exactly what this means. Here, the story is advertised as being about the son of the death school owner, but there is also a thief who comes into play, and a female martial artist who more than helps along the way of creating the new school and fighting the opposing schools. The film here is not exactly filled with unexpected twists and turns, but the story still works, and the martial artists are entertaining to watch. Considering this is a sequel to the Bruce Lee film Fist of Fury, the task of following up on it is not easy.
The main draw in the cast for most people will be a very young Jackie Chan doing lots of partial arts and some stunts but staying away from his now trademark comical take on martial arts with extreme stunts by himself. Here, he’s fun to watch, but this is definitely more about his martial arts skills than stunts and comedy. His performance works for sure though and it’s fun to watch him before he hit it real big. Giving good performances here are Nora Miao as Miss Lee, one of the rare female characters in this film, Ying-Chieh Han as her advisor, and Sing Chen as Okimura. This group here is central to the film and really brings martial arts to the forefront, showing great skills in fighting and giving more than decent performances.
In terms of entertainment value, the film is solid. There are a few bits here and there that could have been edited differently, but given the film is for the mid-1970s, cinematic styles and tastes have changed since then. Of course, to modern eyes, the film feels a bit long and comes off as needing a bit of a trim on a few scenes, but overall, it’s an easy and enjoyable watch.
In terms of this new release, the film is available in 2 versions on the disc: the theatrical release and a re-release cut from a few years later. Each of these versions comes with its own commentary by expects that are interesting to listen to. The best feature here might be the one where both sequels, dueling of sort, to Fist of Fury are compared. This is where film nerds might have the most fun with the features. Of course, the film has a 2k restoration and both versions are in 1080p with newly translated English sub-titles. The sound is the original mono, so for those who are all about the audio, this may be a minor drawback. Other features include the typical trailer gallery and an image gallery, an illustrated booklet, and a double-sided fold-out poster with the original art as well as new art by Tony Stella. For a restoration of a sequel that is more of a niche interest, the features are solid and show respect to the film and its fans.