Magnificent Warriors (1987) - A Review

 

Magnificent Warriors is an underrated action movie!

Magnificent Warriors is a action/adventure/martial arts movie released in Hong Kong in 1987 starring Michelle Yeoh (known as Michelle Khan at this time), Richard Ng, Derek Yee, Lowell Lo Koon-Ting, Cindy Lau Chin-Dai, Matsui Tetsuya, and Hwang Jang-Lee. Magnificent Warriors was directed by David Chung Chi-Man, with Stephen Tung Wai, Fung Hak-On, and Benz Kong To-Hoi as action choreographers.

Don't let the smile fool you, Michelle Yeoh destroys fools in this movie with no mercy!

In Magnificent Warriors, Michelle Yeoh plays a happy go lucky biplane pilot and adventurer who gets hired by the Chinese government to help Special Agent 001 (played by Derek Yee) to smuggle Lord Youda (played by Lowell Lo Koon-Ting) out of the Japanese-occupied village of Kaal during the early years of World War II. When Yeoh gets there, she meets with a con man (played by Richard Ng) in a mix-up, believing he is Special Agent 001. Yeoh and Ng meet up with the real 001, and they plan to work together to smuggle Youda out. When they meet up with Youda, they find out the Japanese forces are planning to build a poison gas plant in the village, and they agree to stop them. Together, along with Lord Youda's girlfriend Chin Chin, (played by Cindy Lau Chin-Dai), they fight the Japanese forces to prevent the building of the plant and the takeover of the village.

The heroes: From left - Derek Yee, Michelle Yeoh, and Richard Ng.

Magnificent Warriors is one of the last movies Michelle Yeoh made before she got married to Dickson Poon (the co-founder of D & B Films, the company that produced Michelle Yeoh's movies up to that point, along with many other classics) and retired. Back then, it was common for an actress to retire after they got married. Michelle Yeoh really left on a high note! This movie is pretty good! I had never heard of this movie, so when I saw the DVD for it at Walmart back in the day, I didn't buy it. One of the biggest regrets of my Asian Cinema collecting journey. I finally got to see it, and I think this movie is a bit underrated (as I said before, I had never heard of this movie back then).

Michelle Yeoh plays her character with confidence, strength, and straight up joy. She even has some funny moments in this. You never doubt that Yeoh could take on an entire army by herself; she is shown to be totally capable of destroying her opponents with her martial arts skills. She just likes to have fun, as well. When she and her friends are surrounded by incoming Japanese soldiers, she blows them away with a mounted machine gun and a joyous smile on her face. What can I say, Michelle Yeoh rules in this! To me, her character is a mix of Indiana Jones (she even has a whip) and Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan's character in the Armor Of God movies).

Richard Ng is great in this as well. He is funny, as is expected. You even get to see him get injured in battle scenes, which is a bit surprising (I've never seen him get injured like that in a movie). Derek Yee is the serious Special Agent 001, and he goes by the book. Cindy Lau Chin-Dai surprised me the most in this movie. Even though her character is a bit of a ditz, she can really fight! Weird that she wasn't in that many movies, because she was good at acting and action.

If you are wondering why I'm not referring to the main characters' names, their names are revealed in a scene that I don't want to spoil. It's pretty surprising!

The fight scenes in Magnificent Warriors are wild and crazy!

The action in this movie is really good! Michelle Yeoh's character is quite powerful, as she often sends her opponents flying into walls and other solid objects with her kicks! She uses her whip to expertly dispatch her opponents. Her best fight scene in this movie is when they try to escape the village. Michelle Yeoh is taking on multiple opponents at once, using any weapon she can get her hands on, and using the surrounding structures to escape danger or to accentuate the power of the moves she is unleashing. That fight scene rules! Cindy Lau Chin-Dai's introductory scene is great as well. She just wrecks her opponents! The final battle is literally all out war. Michelle Yeoh has a short fight with the incredible Hwang Jang-Lee, and how she defeats him is pretty crazy! I do wish that fight scene was much longer.

I recommend watching Magnificent Warriors. Though the main complaint from other reviewers is that the plot is weak or shallow, I still think it's a good movie. It's interesting throughout, despite the lack of character depth. It is never boring, and the action scenes are awesome. I feel more people should know about this movie, and see this movie! Michelle Yeoh shows why she is the top female action star once again in this movie. Thank goodness she came out of retirement and returned to making awesome action movies!

Reviewed by David Williams