Synopsis: Deadend Of Besiegers tells the story of Japanese fighter, Wuwechimatao, and how he came to bring Karate to his homeland. During a trip to China, Wuwechimatao finds himself of a boat full of pirates where he is mistaken for one of them when they attack a small village. Stepping in to stop the pirates from kidnapping the village children, the hero is soon befriended by a little girl who introduces him to her big sister, Cui Gu. Soon, Cui Gu agrees to teach him the art of Dog Fist kung-fu that will soon aid him in the ultimate showdown against the murderous pirates. (90 Mins)

 

Views: Unseen by many, this forgotten gem of Hong Kong cinemas heyday is actually a pretty entertaining martial-arts adventure with plenty of great fight action to enjoy. The only credit of director Zhang Siu Wai, Deadend Of Besiegers was made by the ironically named Rising Fortune Films Production Company in Hong Kong; a production house whose only other listing is the category 3 triad film, Sex Racecourse, which was also made the same year. Not much in the way of making fortunes rise! Made in 1992, the film tells the story of a Japanese man called Wuwechimatao who makes the journey to China after he is defeated by an American fighter and embarrassed. But little does he know that the boat he has taken is full of pirates, intent on murdering and plundering Chinese coastal villages while kidnapping their children at the same time. Shocked at his find, Wuwechimatao jumps into action to help save the villagers and drive the pirates away – becoming a hero of sorts to the Chinese and an enemy to the bandits. In doing so, Wuwechimatao befriends a young girl who soon introduces him to her older sister, Cui Gu; a kung-fu master of the Dog Fist style. They quickly become friends and Cui Gu agrees to teach him the Dog Fist style, a skill that he uses to dispatch of the deadly pirates and take back to his home in Japan to promote the martial art!

 

The wonderful Yu Rong Guang stars as leading man, Wuwechimatao, as well as handling the films wonderful fight choreography. Although he had been acting for almost a decade by this stage, Yu had only been dishing out one movie per year including films such as Tsui Siu Ming's Holy Robe From Shaolin Temple and entertaining Mirage, Ching Siu Tung's A Terracotta Warrior, and Red Fists with Sharon Kwok – of which he would also serve as the action-choreographer. I really enjoyed the action-star in this role; it gave him the chance to show off some incredible martial-arts skills as well as deliver some comedic moments, and I only wish we had seen him in more like this. Of course, there was still plenty of dramatic moments to be had, and it no doubt helped secure his role in Hong Kong cinema from there on in with no less than 4 solid projects following just a year later. These included Swordsman 3: The East Is Red, Iron Monkey, Taxi Hunter, and Michelle Yeoh's Project S – the hugely underrated sequel to Jackie Chan's Police Story 3: Super Cop. Each of these films propelled Yu further as an actor and martial artist to watch, although I've always felt that his career just hasn't been quite as successful as deserved. Yes there have been many memorable roles that followed, such as those in Rock N' Roll Cop, The Green Hornet, Gunmen, My Father Is A Hero, Man Wanted, Storm Riders, and Shanghai Affairs, but I've always felt that it should have been so much more. The turn-of-the-century would see things lift a little for him with roles in Jackie Chan's Hollywood hits, Shanghai Noon and The Karate Kid, as well as his other films New Police Story, The Myth, Police Story 2013, and Little Big Soldier. This period would also see Yu star in the South Korean epic, Musa The Warrior, Divergence, Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon, Mulan, My Kingdom, and the underrated Champions that saw him join forces with Tsui Siu Ming once again.

 

The beautiful Cynthia Khan lights up the screen in a fun role as Cui Gu; the kung-fu mistress who teaches the Japanese fighter her Dog Fist style. Much like her co-star, Khan came onto the scene around the same time although went onto star in double the amount of films. These began with titles such as This Love Of Mine, Split Of The Spirit, Three-Head Monster, and Vampire Kid 2, before bursting onto the screen as Michelle Yeoh's replacement in the awesome, In The Line Of Duty 3: Force Of The Dragon. From there, Ms. Khan fast became one of Hong Kong cinemas most popular action-queens going on to star in the rest of the famed series, Tiger Cage 2, Queen's High, 13 Cold Blooded Eagles, Madam City Hunter, and so much more. Interestingly enough, Deadend Of Besiegers came about in 1992, after most of the aforementioned action classics – although one would think that it was made much earlier. It was one of five titles she starred in that year alongside the hilarious Super Lady Cop, It's Now Or Never, Zen Of Sword, the fun Inspector Wears Skirts 4, and Eternal Fist; a post-apocalyptic martial-arts adventure that saw her star alongside Dale 'Apollo' Cook – who also makes a cameo here. 1993 would keep her even busier with a whopping 10 titles before her career would take a fast dive soon after, with most of her titles unfortunately falling under the radar or being critically destroyed due to their low-budgets and poor stories. As Cui Gu, Cynthia looks fantastic and does a great job in the action scenes, getting to display more traditional style kung-fu which has been a rare sight throughout her career...

 

While the rest of the cast featured a host of faces I didn't really recognise, I was pleased to see American martial artist Dale Cook pop up; cameoing as a wigged colonial in Japan that gets to go toe-to-toe with Yu Rong Kwong. This must have been the one year in his career that Cook spent in Asia having appeared in this and the aforementioned Eternal Fist with Khan, as well as Triple Impact alongside Ron Hall. Another well known face that got me excited was the brilliant Ji Chun Hua; kick-ass bad guy who started his film career in Jet Li's Shaolin Temple series. From there, this martial-arts star appeared in Red Fists with Yu Rong Kwong, Yellow River Fighter, Fist From Shaolin, Fong Sai Yuk 2, White Lotus Cult, New Legend Of Shaolin, and more, including Tsui Hark's forgotten gem, Vampire Hunters – aka Era Of Vampires – which is great fun. Joining him is the late Yu Hai; co-star to Ji in most of those previously mentioned titles and recognisable for other monk roles in films such as Tai Chi Master and its sequel Tai Chi 2, New Shaolin Temple, Birth Of The Dragon, Rising Shaolin: The Protector, and Benny Chan's Shaolin alongside Jackie Chan and Andy Lau. In Deadend Of Besiegers, Yu Hai stars as Cynthia Khan's father. And finally, Wang Hua, who starred with Yu in Holy Robe Of Shaolin Temple and Mirage for Tsui Siu Ming, also appears as well as assisting Yu Rong Guang with the impressive action-choreography.

 

While it may not be high in production value or offer anything spectacular, Deadend Of Besiegers is still a highly enjoyable martial-arts adventure that will appeal to anyone who loved films such as Ninja In The Dragons Den, Wing Chun, or Fong Sai Yuk to some degree. As mentioned, Yu and Wang provide plenty of exciting fight action, allowing the star to show off some of his best moves to date, from fast-and-furious Japanese swordplay to well-performed and choreographed kung-fu. I can only imagine that a restored Blu-ray release of the film would help gain it the credit it deserves, but I don't think that will be happening anytime soon – it's already a rare title to come across on physical media. I remember finding Deadend Of Besiegers in an independent video store back in 1999, when I lived in Toronto, and pleading with the guy to sell it to me. But he wasn't for budging, so it was some time after that before I managed to import it on VCD from Hong Kong. Regardless, it's always been a film I've enjoyed dusting off and going back to every few years, and if you get the chance to catch it yourself, I'd recommend giving it go!

 

Overall: Somewhat of a forgotten gem, Deadend Of Besiegers is full of exciting martial-arts action and a treat to fans of Cynthia Khan and Yu Rong Guang!