Cubussoli
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Redwarmin
This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Leofwine_draca
I saw this one under the title SNAKE IN THE GHOST'S SHADOW. It's a routine chop-socky story about a couple of orphaned brothers whose father is killed by an evil master. They're separated and reunited twenty or so years later by which time each has become a master in his own martial arts style; one crane, one snake.Everything about this film is typical for the genre, with a profusion of fight scenes which fail to connect with the audience. It's a surprise that the choreography is below par, because Meng Fei and Flash Legs Tan were both respected martial arts in their own right so teaming them up should have been a dead cert. Instead what we get is a movie which merely goes through the motions without innovating. The main bad guy lacks presence and director Wu Ma shoots with a minimum of fuss and style. The training scenes and plot twists aren't bad but you can do a lot better for this genre.
BA_Harrison
Villainous Hung Kung-shan (Yu Tien-Lung) convinces gullible Hang Kuei (Li Tung) that his brother Tin is working for the Qing government, when in reality it is Hung Kung-shan who is the traitor. When Hung Kung-shan kills Tin and tries to execute Tin's two young sons, Hang Kuei realises his mistake and legs it to safety with the kids, placing each boy in the care of a different monk (Buddha's name be praised!).Twenty years later, Ehr Lang (Mang Fei), the youngest son, now schooled in crane style kung fu (and proud owner of a hairstyle copied from glam rockers The Sweet), learns the truth about his father's death and goes looking for Hung Kung-shan, now a top Qing official (who sports sideburns like well-used Brillo pads). Ehr Lang's quest for revenge eventually reunites him with his brother, a master in snake style, and together the pair work out a plan of attack to defeat the wicked Hung Kung-shan.Secrets of the Dragon (AKA Snake-Crane Secret) is standard old-school martial arts fare all the way, a routine tale of revenge that never manages to distinguish itself from countless other similar chop socky flicks of the same era. The fighting is decent enough, with Mang Fei performing some impressive acrobatics, director Wu Ma has an amusing cameo as a drunken officer, a couple of good looking kung fu chicks with weapons provide some eye candy, and a fun scene featuring the two brothers sparring whilst balanced on water jugs offers a little jollity, but there is nothing here that serious kung fu fans won't have seen countless times before.
AwesomeWolf
Version: English dub 'Snake & Crane Secret' is on the better old-school kung-fu movies I've seen. It may still only be worthy of a 5/10, but for essentially $2.50, it is worth it.The plot is fairly simple - two brothers are separated as children after their father is killed protecting the secret Snake & Crane kung-fu book from a bad guy. Twenty years later, the same bad guy is a top man within the Ching-dynasty leadership. A group of rebels (good-guys) need the brothers and their kung-fu skills to stop the bad-guy and free their people.The dubbed dialog is great, and some of the fights (especially the final one) are enjoyable, otherwise it is still pretty still pretty silly: good-guys and bad-guys alike randomly turn up halfway through a fight and join in, and watch out the bad-guy's weakness at the end.5/10
RINGO12147
I enjoyed the movie. The video cost $2.99 so the price was okay. These kung-fu movies often are done in a similar formula. I did not expect anything really new and different. There are some pretty girls in the movie. If you like to watch the martial arts movies on Saturday TV then you will probably find this one worth a watch too!
