The Fearless Hyena (1979)

The Fearless Hyena (1979)
Aka: Crazy Monkey
Chinese Title: 笑拳怪招
Translation: Laughing Fist Weird Trick

 

Starring: Jackie Chan, James Tien Chuen, Yen Shi-Kwan, Lee Kwan, Chen Hui-Lou, Cheng Fu-Hung, Ma Chiang, Wang Chi-Sheng, Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi, Dean Shek Tin, Eagle Han Ying
Director: Jackie Chan
Action Director: Jackie Chan, Peng Kang, Wang Yao

 

It shouldn’t be surprising that after the monumental success of The Drunken Master, Jackie’s first item of business once he returned to Lo Wei studio with newfound clout would be to simply remake that same film. The Fearless Hyena is not much different from the film that inspired it, save a few unimportant plot details. Nonetheless, Jackie Chan was now ready to use his influence to start breaking down the limitations imposed by traditional kung fu styles and choreography. While the snake fist and drunken styles in his previous films were based around real styles, Chan would now start moving away from all that.

Much like Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, the movie opens with a some masters being pursued and ultimately murdered by a kung fu master and his lackeys. The master, Yen Chuen-Wong (Yen Shi-Kwan, of Story of the Drunken Master), is a pawn of the Manchurians and is looking for any Han Chinese rebels. More specifically, he’s looking for a man named Chen Peng-Fei (James Tien), who has now retired and is raising his troublemaker grandson, Shing Lung (Jackie Chan).

Much like Drunken Master, Shing Lung is a pretty good fighter, if a bit of a troublemaker. This irritates his grandfather to no end, because any public display of kung fu may ultimately expose him to the Manchus. Grandpa Cheng asks his grandson to stop picking fights with the thugs who run the local gambling stall and get a real job. He ends up in the employ of a rich man (Lee Kwan) who pays Shing to beat up competitors and take their students…despite the fact that the man does not know kung fu and has no way of teaching them(?). This goes well until his grandfather finds out, which is about the time that Yen and his men catch up to old Cheng. Cheng might know kung fu, but in his old and sick state, he’s no match for Yen Chuen-Wong’s Eagle style. If Shing Lung is going to want revenge, he will have beef up his kung fu skills.

Despite some dumb humor[1] and highly derivative plotting, The Fearless Hyena demonstrates just how much Jackie Chan understood the mechanics of the very films that made him a success. Assuming multiple duties—Jackie served as writer, director, and fight choreographer—Jackie makes up for the lack of originality with a steady stream of creative fights that never repeat each other, right down to the finale in which Chan counters a stronger Yen Shi-Kwan by running at him while crying.

Some of the early fights, like Chan taking on a dumb trio of gamblers (including Taiwanese man-mount Cheng Fu-Hung) essentially amount to displays of choreographed “goofing off.” Once Jackie’s character is in Lee Kwan’s employee, the fights are a little more kung fu-flavored, like fighting off Gam Sai-Yuk with a pair of benches, or a staff/saber duel with Ricky Cheng of Five Element Ninjas fame. The training sequences, while not at the level of Chan’s Seasonal efforts, are still complete. General physical conditioning? Jackie Chan displays just how ripped his body was at its peak while dragging sacks of rock (or cement?) along the ground. Physical conditioning more specific to the style? How about a scene where Chan has to escape from his new master’s house while balancing on a bunch of pots and bowls placed strategically on the floor. Finally, we see Chan practicing “Emotional Kung Fu”, in which each form is based around a certain specific emotion (joy, happiness, sadness and anger).

The showstopper in the action in the penultimate fight, where Chan faces off with the main villain’s three henchmen. All three men are armed with kwan do with spearheads on the other tip. Much like Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin, the men attack in tandem and Jackie must bob, weave, flip, and twist his way around the three fighters in order to not get sliced to pieces. He had certainly grown as an action director in the past year and this sequence is even more intricate than its inspiration. The level of physical skill on display is astounding, even if it may be heavier on the showy acrobatics rather than bone-crunching kung fu. But by 1979, local audiences had had practically every style imaginable crammed down their cinematic gullets, so it was time for something new. Chan was smart enough to depart from the norm, while still keeping it all recognizable. When Jackie jumped ship to Golden Harvest the following year, he was ready to push the boundaries even further back.

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[1] - Surprisingly, the obligatory cameo from Dean Shek is far from the being the worst ofender in that regard.