Apparently, this is a remake of The Flash Legs a.k.a. Tài Gìk Baat Bo a.k.a. The Ultimate Eight Feet a.k.a. Shaolin Deadly Kicks, which is a 1977 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Ma Wu and starring Tao-liang Tan and Lo Lieh. Tao-liang was running a martial arts school and was the mentor of Ke Huy Quan. He, executive produced Breathing Fire and served as the writer. This explains the story and how Ke Huy Quan was attached to this production.
In a large part, this American martial arts film, feels like a Hong Kong film, where the plot and acting take a backseat to the action. Therefore, the action is truly top-notch. I read somewhere that the whole film crew was Taiwanese. This would explain the film looking more like a Hong Kong film than an American one. And like I said, at the cost of the acting. But even compared to the acting in old Kung fu films, the acting in this film is pretty bad. There could be a couple of reasons for this. Most of the actors aren't really actors but martial artists. Another reason could be that they were asked to be very expressive with their faces, and they simply didn't have what it takes to act in that way. Ke Huy Quan actually stands out being the most competent. He really understands what is expected of him. I must say that Ed Neil also does quite well for someone who had no prior experience as an actor. Jerry Trimble is disappointing. He is clearly a talented martial artist, but as an actor he completely fails. Yet, 4 years later, he would appear in Heat. Granted not a big role. But big enough to get noticed and the opportunity to work with the greatest actors in the world. That is pretty impressive!
Where the film truly fails is in the direction department. I have a good idea what they were going for, only what they were trying to accomplish was enough for three films. Yet they crammed it in a 80-minute film. Of course, this is going to impact the film big time. I am sure that most people will state that this film is awful, but simply is a misunderstanding of what the film is supposed to be. And that is a martial arts flick where the combat matters more than everything else. There are some stand out moments I do need to mention. Bolo Yeung in drag, Ke Huy Quan fighting multiple dwarfs, a black dude (friend of the two brothers) has two break dancing sequences. The first time so that he can finish painting the wall they were supposed to. And the second time, to distract the bad guys. This second time, though, this dude is truly on another level. His dancing is so good. What his name, T.J. Storm.
Overall, a good martial arts flick with excellent action and everything else should be taken with a grain of salt.
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