House of Fury (2005) User Reviews

Mediocre Sophomoric Release

[Adorable · 6/10 · 12 April 2005]

Leading a normal life as a herbalist and practitioner of traditional medicine, Master Yue's past comes back to haunt him before long, much like Anthony Wong's advancing years have accumulated to make the cherished thespian look a tad odd in a fast paced actioner. One can't help liking Wong, but at his age it may be prudent to rethink career strategies and maybe concentrate on character roles, where the man's unique style and skill can be better realized.

Yue, done by Wong, has raised quite the superhero family, and even keeps mementos from his James Bond-like history in service of Queen and Country stashed away in a Batmanish hideout behind the med shop. Indeed, House of Fury at least comes to terms with Hong Kong's British background, treating it as a respectable aspect of the city's identity rather than something to avoid.

But lest anyone be beguiled into thinking this Jackie Chan-supervised martial arts escapade a History Channel docudrama. Things quickly turn to focus on Yue's little troupe of gong fu supremo's, comprising son Nicky (Stephen Fung, who also directed) and daughter Natalie (Gillian Chung). The three, a mite reminiscent of the Avengers in their snazzy little Mini with the Union Jack all over the car's roof, face a brutal cavalcade of vindictive retribution from seriously disturbed Rocco (Michael Wong of Magic Kitchen, New Option series and Women from Mars). The latter blames Master Yue and his martial arts progenitor for becoming wheel-chair bound, and has traversed the world for 12 years in search of payback.

What follows qualifies as Yuen Wo Ping's best choreography since as far back as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, consisting a myriad bewildering moves that make the most of locales and environments. In addition, Yuen injected some of the trademark splits, rebounds and kick combos so often associated with his work, and we have to admit all cast members have done well in carrying out their action duties. Too bad HOF has little to offer beyond its excellent fight sequences. The story doesn't challenge the intellect of a five year old, even with supporting characters trying to flesh out goings on. Charlene Choi steps in as Natalie's best friend from school, and together they aim to relive some of that awfully cute Twins shtick. Breathe easy, though, for Steve Fung at least knows enough to keep those two at bay, so the damage remains minimal. And Chung even does great as a believable fighter.

Then you have your Daniel Wu guest appearance, which seems plain lackluster following superb contributions to similar action product New Police Story, not to mention leading 2004's remarkable One Nite in Mongkok. Daniel portrays Jason, a suspiciously nice Natalie suitor with more of an agenda than you may suspect. But then again you probably won't notice, since Wu gets too little a presence in HOF to have any impact. Same can be said of Michael Wong, who we've seen do more impressive roles in low-budget flicks like Super Car Criminals. Still, he pulls off a moderately likable villain, abetted by young performer Jake Strickland as bad guy Rocco's son and fanatical Street Fighter aficionado. Fourteen year old Strickland adds two very impressive fight segments, almost eclipsing the rest of the minion gang. Among these cronies feature prominently professional martial artist Wu Jing (Legend of Zu, Drunken Monkey) and sultry, eclectic Josie Ho (Naked Weapon, Butterfly). To Director Fung's credit, House of Fury contains smooth editing and plenty of inventive camera use, not to mention artsy montages that succeed in lending the movie a more thoughtful air, instead of just coming across as pretentious. On second thoughts, HOF may be too polished for its own good. Then again, this reviewer just watched 1993 no-holds-barred classic Butterfly and Sword, so go figure. At any rate, like most HK action titles in recent years, this one too keeps blood and other expressions of "mature" content in check, hence don't expect to be shocked, wowed, or otherwise flabbergasted. Of course, cerebral taxation has no place in House of Fury. The film culminates in an ending lame even for a textbook mindless mayhem HK number, resulting in a product worthy of attention almost exclusively from those who enjoy watching quality fight choreography, even if it has hardly any meat to back it up. While not offensive, Stephen Fung's second major foray as a director shows ample technical and managerial prowess with barely any creative oomph. We can only hope he improves later on.

Rating: * * *

Another popcorn Hong Kong actioner

[tpr007 · 7/10 · 20 May 2005]

The fights aren't by JC as mentioned by another user - his company is just the producers.

*********{some minor spoilers below}**********

Anthony Wong stars here as widowed father Yue Siu-bo, an ex-secret agent who is now retired and alone, looking after his 2 children Nicky (Stephen Fung) and Natalie (Gillian Chung). His relationship with his children is noticeably strained as his constant stories about his illustrious former career come across more as the fanciful tales of a mid-life crisis, constantly causing them embarrassment. However, little do they know that their father's supposed penchant for Jackanory should actually turn out to be true, when an enemy from his past resurfaces and takes Siu-bo hostage. It is inevitably left up to the 2 teen idols to save the day, in what is essentially another popcorn blockbuster from the current crop of HK movie talent.

House of Fury is clearly a lightweight adventure, and makes no pretences at being a grand dramatic exercise. An hour and a half of over the top action, less than subtle comedy and a fair sprinkling of in-jokes and parody are what is on offer. Ultimately, it delivers on this promise.

First and foremost this is a modern day actioner, and as such, there are a number of fight scenes peppered throughout the running time. Most of these are solidly choreographed by (the now world-famous) Yuen Wo-ping, along with his less well-known associates Yuen Shun-yi and Ku Huen Chiu. The execution of their typically tight stylings is pretty good considering the cast are not stunt people of the 80's mould. Wirework is used to enhance spins and kicks, as well as some of the more OTT moves, but otherwise the fisticuffs are grounded and realistic. In terms of comparing the action to other contemporary films, it holds up well, and anyone familiar with the current trends will know what to expect. Overall the fights are good, and sometimes impressive, but not revolutionary.

The comedy in this feature is less broad than I expected it to be from an overt HK parody. There are moments when it is truly silly (such as seeing Wu Ma flying across the rooftops or Anthony Wong's impression of Bruce Lee complete with skeleton nunchaku) but otherwise the comedic element is restrained, taking a backseat to the fast moving, but simple plot.

Away from the action and comedy elements, almost all of the cast still perform well. "Almost" being the operative word here. As in 99% of his roles Michael Wong has yet again managed to confuse me. I am confused because I just do not understand why he is ever cast in any film. Here, he is typically stilted with his dialogue, and has no action to perform at all. He speaks English, even when being spoken to in Chinese, and no-one has a problem understanding him at all?! Anyone could have played his role in this film, and I fail to believe that anyone could do a worse job.

Aside from the usual Michael Wong grumbles, House of Fury does an excellent job of distracting you for 100 minutes. It doesn't rank up there with the best of any genre but for a lightweight action-comedy it is worth a watch. After his full directorial debut with "Enter the Phoenix", Stephen Fung has shown a lot of promise and I'm surprisingly looking forward to his next attempt behind the camera.

Very enjoyable

[gridoon2024 · 7/10 · 7 April 2010]

"House of Fury" is a smooth mix of action, comedy and family drama. It's a lightweight film that neither tries to solve the world's problems, not does it turn into the fashionable bloodbath. And yet there is a degree of character complexity here; a couple of people are not who they appear to be, and even the villain of the story (Michael Wong) actually has a very understandable personal motive for his actions. But it is the fighting (co-choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping) that is undeniably the main draw: although there is occasionally too much wirework for my tastes (sometimes justified - like in the opening sequence, giving it a fitting fairy-tale quality - but often not), there is also a lot of solid and intricate ground (and weapon) fighting that's a throwback to the golden era of HK action cinema (hey, the climactic fight is even set in a warehouse!). Nearly everyone in this film can fight: men, women, old people, kids, etc. Sometimes they do so quite creatively too - as when Anthony Wong defends himself against four kidnappers by imitating Bruce Lee! Gillian Chung has speed, technique and flexibility, she is a female action star in the making; she just needs to increase her aggressiveness a bit. Despite her high billing, Charlene Choi has what amounts to a cameo; this should not really be classified as a "Twins" film. *** out of 4.

Anthony Wong as Mr Incredible

[yan_widjaya · 6/10 · 22 May 2005]

I think House of Fury is Hong Kong movie version of an animated popular movie, Mr Incredible (about retired of family superheroes). Indeed, Anthony Wong is my favorite Hong Kong actor, and in this movie he playing as a retired secret agent from China. The son, Cao, playing by young actor Stephen Fung, and the daughter, Lei, playing by Gillian Chung (the sweetiest from The Twins duet). The handsome actor Michael Wong as Mafia boss with bald head and sitting in wheelchair. The veteran actor Wu Ma as the Old Dragon. The casting is okay, the kung fu fighting by Yuen Woo-ping of course good. Some scene is funny, but the script is too childish and lame ...

Good martial art.. story not so good.

[destroyerwod · 6/10 · 13 September 2013]

Of course this is a martial art movie and as of it, you don't expect a very good story. The problem is, the story is confusing, the way they present the bad guy is as of he was a good guy back then, getting crippled by some enemy agent that was "bad" but then it show him as the bad guy who want revenge and now the bad agent is some old Chinese man working some kind of food business... Confusing isn't it? Yeah well i had a lot of trouble understand the bad guy motivation, not to mention he is just defeated and therefore still live, just like the rest of his crew, yet they just give up and let the heroes live an happy life? Also the bad guy is shown on the cover with claws in his hands, yet he remain cripple all movie long. I was expecting some revelation that he was actually able to fight and was bluffing but nop...

So yeah even tough i managed to bond a bit with the brother and sister, and there dad's relation, the rest of the story was a mess.

On the other hand, the fight where good, except a few wire shots that looked extremely fake(sorry i hate wired shot in martial arts) the fights where long, brutal and really fun to watch.

In the end i would say its really mix feeling for this movie, i enjoyed it enough to give it a 6, but i can't go above because of the messy story that seem to plague a lot of the Asian movies...

I may have said it before, but the good old story of "you kill my brother, ill train and avenge him" sometimes just do the trick, its not original, its simple, but its effective... In any case its better than going a bizarre messy story like in this...

Actually better than I had expected it to be...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 12 September 2012]

Actually I was surprised after having watched "House of Fury", because I didn't really expect much from it because of the people on the cast list. Usually Charlene Choi, Stephen Fung and Gillian Chung make rather silly movies in the romantic comedy or boring action genre.

But "House of Fury" was pulled up by a rather unusually interesting storyline, which took me by surprise. Plus it was also brought up a notch by Anthony Wong Chau-Sang and Michael Wong. And the action and martial arts scenes in the movie were also quite good. Funny that when I was younger (around the time "Heroic Trio" was released) I wasn't much fan of Anthony Wong, but I have come to enjoy his movies, and he does actually have a good talent for acting.

The story in "House of Fury" is about chiropractor Yue Sie Bo who tells a lot of action-packed stories with agents, ninjas and martial arts, but his two children Nicky and Natalie are embarrassed of him and his stories, and they don't believe them at all. But when their father is kidnapped and the two children have to find a retired agent, as they are threatened by Rocco who will kill their father if they don't do so within a day, they come to question whether or not their father has been telling the truth all along.

The action in "House of Fury" is nicely choreographed, and there is no surprise here that there is a lot of usage of wires in this movie, it is a Hong Kong action movie after all. So be prepared to see a lot of rather unrealistic stuff, but it is still entertaining.

Now, "House of Fury" isn't anywhere near action movies like "Hard Boiled", "Protégé" or "Infernal Affairs", but still it proved to be rather enjoyable and entertaining. And throughout the 101 minutes, the movie really didn't have any dull moments.

A family of martial artists beating up bad guys - what's not to enjoy?

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 26 February 2013]

A slice of family-centred martial arts mayhem courtesy of young action star Stephen Fung (of GEN X COPS fame), HOUSE OF FURY is very much in the style of the SPY KIDS movies or alternatively Jackie Chan's THE SPY NEXT DOOR, although with the added bonus of some kick-ass kung fu scenes choreographed by the one and only Yuen Woo Ping. I should note that it starts off on an appalling note, with a ninja fight that's among the stupidest I've seen in a while, but this turns out to be a fantasy sequence and the rest of the film's a lot better.

The film was written and helmed by pretty boy Stephen Fung, who also stars in one of the leading roles. He's not much of an actor, part of that set of youthful Hong Kong stars who appeared around the turn of the millennium in a bid to set the world on fire. Still, he's pretty good in the many staged fight scenes, which make up much of the running time. Yuen Woo Ping is in his element, returning to the glory days of the 1980s with mucho glass-breaking and scenery-destroying, and if these fights aren't among the best the genre has to offer – leave that to Donnie Yen these days – then they still provide much entertainment value.

The slim storyline sees Anthony Wong playing a spy who finds himself pursued by a bald, wheelchair-bound bad guy (Michael Wong, giving an ever-cheesy performance) who's desperate to track down Wu Ma. The latter, incidentally, has a nicely extended role in the production, and bags some of the funniest scenes (his flight across the rooftops is hilarious viewing). Wong's kids happen to be martial arts experts too, and with a huge crowd of bad guys in pursuit there's plenty of action to enjoy.

Daniel Wu bags another supporting role as a would-be suitor who's hiding a secret, and Anthony Wong provides some stand-out kung fu in one scene where he uses a skeleton in a novel way to fend off multiple opponents; who knew he had it in him? The film makes for light, inoffensive viewing throughout, a piece of popcorn entertainment designed to be digested, enjoyed, and ultimately forgotten.

Promises Much But Delivers Little

[jmaruyama · 4/10 · 17 May 2005]

Like many other HK Cinema fans I was hopeful that "House of Fury" would deliver what it seemed to promise (cool action, dynamic fighting and fun story). With tantalizing (and deceptive) poster art, action provided by action choreographer master Yuen Woo-Ping with Jackie Chan producing and Stephen Fung directing, I thought this should be a sure thing. Boy was I wrong.

Granted, "House of Fury" is not a bad movie but as many other viewers have noted in their reviews, the movie is pretty mediocre.

The casting was a mixed bag to say the least.

Anthony Wong is very good as former secret agent Siu Bo who has since retired and is now trying to fit into normal civilian life while caring for his two teenage children.

The "Twin's" better half Gillian Chung, who portrays the spunky daughter Natalie, while better here than in "Twin's Effect" is still a bit too ditsy for my taste. Gillian fights better than she acts and may replace Ziyi Zhang and Vicki Zhao as HK Cinema's cutest hellcat.

Director Stephen Fung, who plays the other sibling Nickie, is also okay in the acting/fighting department but doesn't really bring anything special to his role.

Many have criticized model turned actor Michael Wong's "non-acting" skills but I didn't think he was that bad here albeit his portrayal of Rocco, a CIA Assassin wronged by one of Siu Bo's colleagues, was pretty lethargic to say it kindly, it was none-the-less atypical of most HK Cinema foreign bad guys.

Surprisingly, the other "Twin" Charlene Choi has only a small role in the movie as Natalie's schoolmate and love interest to Nickie. Maybe that's a good thing.

"House of Fury" was trying to emulate the style of the similar but vastly more inventive "Spy Kids" but ended up being more like a watered down version of "Agent Cody Banks" with neither the satire of "D.E.B.S." nor the bite of "True Lies".

A definite missed opportunity.

A nice family movie

[chrichtonsworld · 6/10 · 29 April 2007]

"House of Fury" has a decent amount of action and violence! But don't be fooled! This is not a martial arts movie! This is a movie for the family about family!The title is some what misleading! Of course it is meant as a parody! It is all about a father who is taking care of his children on his own since their mother died! The kids are a bit ashamed of him since he is telling these unbelievable stories about his former work as a secret agent! Later the kids find out that he was telling the truth all along! Anthony Wong is perfect as the father! Personally I think he is a great dad since he doesn't really get mad at them and does take good care of them! They are lucky to have a father like that! When the father is taken by "Rocco"(Micheal Wong) they realize this! "House of Fury" is a nice mix of humor,drama and action! Although Yuen Woo Ping was involved, the martial arts sequences weren't that special! They were just entertaining enough! Since this isn't really an action movie I didn't mind much! But some viewers who were expecting hardcore action will be disappointed! See this movie for what it is! A nice action/comedy for the family!

Tis Okay, but Sort of Below Average

[yojimbo999 · 2/10 · 2 April 2005]

This is another okay/maybe-below-okay action-comedy from Hong Kong. Stephen Fung doesn't really show any ability behind the camera, and really, any fight choreographer could have done all the fighting stuff for him. The script is pretty lame, not to mention as original as "Agent Cody Banks". The fights are okay, but you've seen them before in so many other movies, it's not even funny. Anthony Wong is the best thing about the movie, and choosing a villain that is confined to a wheelchair is the worst decision EVER. Overall, I'd give it a 2 out of 5. I wouldn't waste 90 minutes of your life on it, and I really wish I had waste 90 minutes of mine on something better. "House of Fury" is just too plain and uninventive to waste time with.

A Spy Kids Chinese Style is a Good Popcorn Film

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 28 May 2005]

Sue me I liked this.

You've heard the story before: two kids who don't believe their dad's way out tales find he was telling the truth when he's kidnapped and they have to go rescue him. Its been the story of countless films most recently in films like Spy Kids. Here its done with an Asian flair and for the most part it works. Its not the be all and end all of action films but as a 100 minute lark its quite nice (even with tongue in cheek this film does contain some graphic violence and blood of the PG 13 variety). The fights are incredible even if the wire work is far from believable. I liked this film a great deal, my only complaint is that the pacing at times is a bit slow, considering this is the directors second time out of the box I'll cut him some slack. In reading reviews on this film I was struck by the intense dislike for the director. I'm not familiar with him or his earlier work as actor or director but I can't see why the knives have been drawn, its just a harmless movie.

If this film passes your way give it a shot. Turn you mind off and grab some popcorn and you'll have a good time.

the only decent parts are those Stephen Fung didn't direct!

[fundaquayman · 3/10 · 16 May 2005]

a score of 3/10, with 2 points given to Yuen Wo Ping and the set-designers.

This movie goes to show that in an industry so in need of hits--not only for the export market as Stephen Chow has decided to design his films by, but something that can satisfy local HK audience's growing appetite for better quality films, that relationships within a small clique of producers with money connections can make small miracles happen for aspiring filmmakers without any apparent skills other than the talent their imaginations seems to tell them they have.

Other than the choreography of fight-scenes, which mostly unoriginal, but is packed enough into timely pockets so as an attempt to fool audiences into not thinking about the lame depth-less back-story to the film, it's mostly unpopped kernels. Producers were wise to cast pretty faces and bankable local stars so the eye-candy factor would sugarcoat this crap-pill of a movie, and they do extrapolate some attributes from characters of successful films to try to give a sense of depth to the film's various roles... this, if done correctly, saves the director and writers a lot of character-building work BC audiences would simply refer to those roles they've seen in other movies and they'll feel they know the stereotype the roles are to stand for.

sadly, Micheal Wong in a Dr. Evil and James Bond villain get-up just doesn't cut it.

to cut a long rant short, this film does have its appeal to those who like brain-dead films. Ng-Ma makes a comeback to the silver screen, Anthony Wong's brief shine, and Daniel Wu as the usual Daniel Wu character... not forgetting Charlene and Gillian--whom audience most likely would forgive for their part-taking in this film BC, if nothing else, they are eye-candy of sorts.

The big question is, why doesn't someone tell Stephen Fung to get some schooling on film-making, and better yet, acting. He is clearly and objectively the least skillful actor amongst all speaking parts (oh, not forgetting the 2 morons with the strange hairdo, who are two of HK's worst radio non-personalities... the 3 could be called Moe, Larry, and Cheese--but it would be an insult to the 3 Stooges).

Why someone would finance a film and allow Stephen Fung to direct beckons many questions. Among HK's successful list of directors who began as actors boasts the likes of Derek Yee, John Woo, etc... These guys worked hard at honing their craft. While Stephen Fung practices his amateur magic tricks and smoke cannabis with his pals.

"whoa dude, you're a cesspool of great ideas Stevie! I'll get daddy to finance your film. Now tell me, who's your Daddy?"

That's what friends are for?

Get a real job, Stephen.

Pretty idols, a seasoned actor and a weak script

[zhixiong · 3/10 · 3 April 2005]

Another Grade 'C' action flick with good looking candy idols to draw in the box office crowd. The saving grace of the movie would be Anthony Wong, more famously known in Infernal Affairs and Young and Dangerous series.

This film boasts Yuen Wo Ping as the martial arts choreographer but the fight scenes were below average and nothing impressive. Coming from a high profile choreographer that done Kung Fu Hustle, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Matrix is hard to swallow. Was it a rushed job? Only Yuen Wo Ping knows.

The introduction of House of Fury was decent. The final ninja that was killed by Anthony Wong teleports very similarly to X-Men 2 character, Nightcrawler. Food for thought.

In a martial arts movie, audience are willing to let go any logical explanations to accept the flying/super powers/fighting scenes. As long as it looks real and make sense, people will give slack and believe it. However the wire kungfu in this movie was badly done to the point that it is hard to 'believe' the man was 'really flying' in a chase scene.

The storyline is generally weak and predictable. I believe most of us would have guessed that Wu Ma was the retired secret agent, Tai Chi Long.

Stephen Fung is still immature when it comes to directing a film. He should stay as an actor for a few more years and be an understudy of reputable directors.

Mao points: 3/10

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Family Scorned

[himboy32 · 9/10 · 31 May 2005]

The story tells of Yue Siu Bo(Anthony Wong, The Medallion) who lives in Hong Kong running his own Chinese Health clinic. Here he raises his two children High school student Natalie(Charlene Choi, The Twins Effect) and Ocean World Dolphin instructor Nicky(Stephen Fung,The Gen-X Cops, also the film's director). who he also taught martial arts. Both of them have grown weary of their father because of his constant bragging of how he's defeated many opponents in battle, they have just believed he is always lying.

Then one fateful day, a wheel chair bound man by the name of Rocco(Micheal Wong, First Option) arrives at Siu Bo's clinic looking for a man by the name of Tai Chi-Lung, the man responsible for Rocco's condition. When Siu Bo tells him he has no idea who he is talking about, Rocco leaves and later that night send his henchmen to capture Siu Bo.

When Nicky discovers his father has been kidnapped, he goes to the clinic to investigate only to discover that his father was once in fact a secret agent for British Intelligence.

Soon, Rocco finds out that the information he is looking for is hidden inside two charms worn by both Nicky and Natalie, he dispatches his team of lethal martial arts assassins to retrieve them.

Now Nicky and Natalie, with th help of Natalie's Boyfriend Jason(Daniel Wu, Around The World In 80 Days) and her best friend Ella(Charlene Choi, The Twins Effect) whom Nicky has a crush on, must use the martial arts skills they learnt from their father to defend themselves and save Siu Bo before it's too late.

Phew, now thats a synopsis.

This is the second directorial outing for Star Stephen Fung, who's previous film, Enter The Phoenix, was a fun look at the gangster genre which dominated the box office during the 1980's, so his second film was an eagerly awaited film and boy let me tell you it was worth it.

This movie was so fun, it's probably one of the best movie to come of Hong Kong in 2005. Firstly I'll comment of story and acting.

The story is probably the films weakest point, mainly due to Anthony Wong's character being very open about his past as a secret agent, you thin being part of British Intelligence he'd know the meaning of discretion. The plot as well as an action movie is also in some ways a domestic comedy, with the characters many conflicts being due to the fact that the children think their father is a lair and the father thinks he is no longer fit to look after them.

This is where some of the humour stems from in a way, although the humour is little weak, it did give me a few chuckles here and there. Now plotting and story aside, let's talk about the acting. For a film like this not much is really called upon of the actors. It's worth noting that this was executive produced by Jackie Chan so the end product is very family friendly, so no graphic violence or bad language of any kind, which isn't a bad thing in this case. Anthony Wong gives the strongest performance in the movie giving some much needed gravitas to what is really a flawed character. Stephen Fung does a good job as always as the frustrated and weary Nicky, while Gillian Chung has improved greatly since her performance in The Twins Effect.

Daniel Wu gives fine support considering he does very little in the movie but the worst performances come from Charlene Choi, who is given some of the worst lines, and Micheal Wong, who was just too wooden to make the character seem menacing in anyway. Also veteran Hong Kong actor/producer/director Wu Ma provides strong support as Uncle Chiu.

Now lets get to the good stuff, the martial arts fighting. Which has to be said is the best thing about the movie. They where directed by martial arts action supremo Yuen Woo Ping(The Matrix Trilogy, Kill Bill 1 & 2) who has once again proved why he's one of the best in the business. He does a great job of making everyone who fights in the movie look highly skilled, even thought most of the actor are not martial artists. Each fight is a joy to watch and recalls the glory days of martial arts action cinema in the 70's and the 80's.

To finish off, this is an extremely fun film and I highly recommend that if your a fan of Kung Fu action movies you go and buy the DVD without hesitation as you will not be disappointed.

I gave this film 5/5 stars!

Why Can't More Movies Be Like This?

[holyspook13 · 9/10 · 1 July 2006]

House of Fury is a fun, neat flick that doesn't waste time with any of the usual junk that gets thrown into most movies these days.

I knew nothing about this movie when I rented it, but I'm very glad I did. It's one of the coolest movies I've seen in years. House of Fury works as sort of a Big Fish/Spy Kids mash-up. But in this film the "Kids" in question are a girl in her late teens and her adult brother. The film opens with a visually innovative fight sequence that segues into an efficient set up: the siblings are routinely embarrassed by their father's nonstop tall tales of his past as a secret agent.

However, the brother and sister discover too late that they were not tall tales at all when their dad goes missing at the hands of a revenge driven former soldier. From here out, the siblings are quickly schooled on their family's secret history before rushing off to save the day in a string of brilliant fight scenes.

Anyway, I don't want to spoil anything. Just rent House of Fury.

"Spy Kids" Hong-Kong-Style

[the_diceman · 8/10 · 10 March 2007]

Pacy as hell Kung-Fu-Comedy with "Twins Effect"-like humor, but tighter and funnier in every possible way. If you thought, Wire-Fu can't be exciting, think again: Yuen Woo-Ping has put together some incredible powerful and extensive choreographies employing wide-ranged techniques, while still giving his actors enough groundwork in order to make them seem believable. Even darling Gillian Chung gets her legs high enough in the air to make a scary opponent for her enemies. Anthony Wong's roguish imitation of a Bruce Lee-like Fighting-Style had me cracking up in an instant, and that Caucasian kid's high-velocity handling of the Pole was nothing short of awesome. "House of Fury" is Prime Exampel of how a modern day Kung-Fu-Flick should look like.

It's all about Gillian Chung - amazing actress and fighter

[samnang_eav · 10/10 · 18 May 2005]

Woah, Gillian is not only hot but she really can kick some serious butt with her amazing choreograph kungfu moves (one of the best you'll ever see in modern kungfu movies today). Throughout the story, the scenes are all connected with minimal confusion, except for maybe the role of Daniel Wu , who seems a bit unbelievable but gives the movie a little twist. If you enjoyed Gen X Cops and Gen Y Cops I highly recommend this movie cause what's better than a high octane action pack movie with the coolest young HK stars together in one movie. Please don't take this movie seriously when watching it, just enjoy the roller-coaster ride. I love Gillian.

• Sam

Couldn't understand a word of it but some amazing wushu

[talanish · 8/10 · 17 April 2005]

An overall well-made movie with excellent martial arts and a nice simple story line... great for a lazy afternoon ! The plot is simple, family of trained martial artists have to save their father after he is held by a villain, western of course, and bald.

Some up and coming Chinese actors shown especially Gillian Wong, the new Michelle Yeoh, in my opinion anyway. Also the weapon work demonstrated by the young boy (obviously a weapons competitor in the US) is truly outstanding. You can definitely feel the hand of Jackie Chan in the fighting sequences.

Xangshuo ! (Enjoy !)

Gorgeous Gillian kicks butt

[sarastro7 · 8/10 · 5 January 2006]

Being a fan of the Twins Effect movies, of course I had to catch the Twins in 'House of Fury', too. It's an okay movie - in fact, I like it better and better every time I see it. It starts out with a great fight sequence, pitting Anthony Wong against a pack of ninjas (incl. one that teleports, bamfing around like Nightcrawler from the X-Men). It proceeds to become a Spy Kids style lighthearted martial arts action adventure, with a bad guy trying to abduct and kill some retired secret agents to get revenge.

Out of the two Twins, the less interesting one, Charlene Choi, isn't in the movie very much. Deliciously, the focus is on Gillian Chung, who has the superior looks and fighting skills. The story isn't great, and many details that would be necessary to make it believable are just not there (like, seeing the brother and sister train a bit would have been nice, to explain how they are suddenly better fighters than their secret agent parents and mentors). The fight scenes themselves are technically not great, but certainly very entertaining and action-filled; definitely the high points of the movie.

Since the fights were pretty serious, however, I missed seeing something a bit more deadly and powerful. When the bad guys want to kill the main characters, why do they just push each other around and always letting each other get back on their feet before continuing the fight? I must say that I was looking for some slightly harsher fighting here - it would have been the realistic thing in a series of fights that were supposed to be deadly serious. But I guess it was a family-friendly movie, and so they didn't want to show anything nasty. That's too bad. I'm not usually a fan of extreme violence, but this was so un-extreme that it was almost silly, everything considered.

The ending wasn't very good, either; they just left the bad guy alive. What's to stop him from just continuing where he left off, and sending his assassins to kill them all over again?? But, since the big main thing about the movie was to ogle Gillian Chung, I have to say I found it pretty satisfying, overall. I was also very impressed with Stephen Fung, the 31-year-old director, who also played Gillian's older brother, being passed off as a teenager, and pretty believably, too. And he could fight! Well, not like a real pro, but passably. I liked him a lot and hope to catch him in other movies as well.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

One of the best for Stephen Fung

[ezergalliano · 10/10 · 4 April 2006]

Shut up and appreciate this one fine movie by one of the best directors and actor of this time, Stephen Fung.

I'm not a fan of any Kung Fu movies but this one will make you adore the art much more. The plot is good and not just the boring "avenging" that made kill bill a lousy story.

It just shows that Stephen still has something aside from having commercial value as he focuses more on family values, the normal sibling rivalries and parental love. Rare would you find that in modern movies.

This is a Kung Fu movie, remember? This isn't a sad family movie and or children unable to cope with family loss.

The fight scenes at the start of the 100 minute movie is already astounding and the angelic face of Stephen, who happens to be one of the lead actors is just so adorable. His sister plays the other Kung Fu part and gives justice to it.

I believe she can be the next Kung Fu idol.

Villains are good, but could have been better if there were portrayals of other villain type characters in the school and in the ocean world where adorable Stephen works.

The flashback could have been more effective if 5-10 minutes were devoted to it with the graphic depiction of what it was like being a secret agent. The movie lacked it but then again, it's alright. It doesn't really affect the whole story.

Boring parts include the inability of Jason to fight good, considering he was there to replace Siu Bo (Stephen's father). He could have been more competent in his fighting skills.

And yes, thank god Stephen did not kiss that ugly girl as he does not deserve her. Really. Stephen is just too good looking and too cute and it's a good idea he passed it out.

I only saw the English version so I cant comment much on how they say it in mandarin.

But Stephen Fung, you're a demigod of directing and acting taking note that this is only your 2nd movie to direct.

Kudos Stephen. Really good job.

I like it

[linda82-1 · 9/10 · 12 June 2005]

I have to say i do like this film and i think that Stephen and the rest of the cast has done a very good job, it was entertaining and got me really into the film when watching, yes the fight scenes are sometimes exaggerated but the coordination is good. i don't think English ppl can diss the film , being Chinese the jokes are aimed at Chinese ppl. it does have a great moral to the story, sad in bits,i laughed out loud in some bits. i enjoyed it so much that i want to get in touch with Stephen fung, and i have watched the making of it. you cant just watch a kung fu movie and say its crap.Personally Stephen fung is still young, many directors become more established when they're are in their 40s, Stephen is going to go quite far. Brilliant XXX