House of Fury (2005)

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...

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.

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.

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.