Tough Guys Files #3: Hwang Jang Lee Part 4

***A special thanks to Achillesgirl for taking the time to translate articles to make this a more interesting installment***

"People say that Chinese kung fu is the best, but I think it's a whole load of rubbish!"--YOUNG HERO (1981)

The antagonist roles for the Korean Kicking King kept coming, surfacing as if they were being sent down a conveyor belt.

These ranged from the Ming vs. Qing Era kung fu'ers like THE BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR (1980) to the dozens that cloned the formula introduced by SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978); like the star-studded THE DRAGON & THE TIGER KIDS (1979), TWO FISTS AGAINST THE LAW, YOUNG HERO (where Hwang plays a Japanese fighter!), LACKEY & THE LADY TIGER (all 1980) and THE EAGLE'S KILLER (1981). That last title starred John Chang in the Jackie Chan role playing a naive bumpkin who is deviously sold as a sex slave by Ghost Hand, Lo Hsin played by Hwang Jang Lee!

"Listen... you give me those two damned brats, and you will live!"--THE DRAGON & THE TIGER KIDS (1979)

Lu Chin Ku's THE DRAGON & THE TIGER KIDS (1979) is an exceptional film from this time period. The story is modified slightly from the typical revenge formula, but benefits from a bang up cast of old hands and up and comers. The choreographers are the Yuen's yet again. The powerhouse fight co-ordinators, Chien Yueh Sheng and Hsu Hsia join them.

Hwang Jang Lee stands out as the merciless Lu Shan. Not only does he showcase his devastating kicking array, but also the styles, 'the Devil Rod' and 'the Devil Claws'. So not only are his hands and feet on display, but also some bone crushing pole work.


Among the cast is fellow Korean superstar, Kwan Young Moon, who plays an old kung fu master who was crippled by Hwang years earlier. He joins the fight late in the game and turns it into a three on one battle to the death. This also opens up opportunities for Hwang to cut loose with his cache of kicks.

Kwan would feature more prominently as a slightly younger good guy in YOUNG HERO (1981) and as one helluva sadist in BLOOD CHILD (1982); both films co-starring Hwang Jang Lee as a villain and hero respectively.


9. The 'Shadow Enters the Light' kick is a deceptive maneuver Hwang Jang Lee uses quite a lot in his movies.

No doubt this is an essential move to throw an opponent off their game. Hwang basically sidesteps the fighter and kicks them in the back, or around the shoulders before they have time to react, or even realize what has happened. Hwang Jang Lee can be seen pulling off this maneuver standing still, or running towards his targets.

THE EAGLE'S KILLER is particularly unique in that it's very much like both SNAKE IN EAGLE'S SHADOW and DRUNKEN MASTER. John Chang is in the Jackie Chan role and Hwang is yet again playing a hired assassin. There's even a kung fu disco soundtrack. However, Hwang is a bit more evil here and more of a 'Thunder Leg' than he was playing character bearing that name in DRUNKEN MASTER (1978).


RING OF DEATH (1980), another Seasonal film, is a bit of a disappointment as Hwang Jang Lee is barely in it. This is a Cliff Lok flick bearing some scripting elements very similar to DANCE OF DEATH (1976) and ODD COUPLE (1979). The mighty boots of Master Hwang don't even make their presence known till the end in a battle atop the title destination. A similar contraption was put to much greater effect in the superior DRAGON ON SHAOLIN TOWER (1980). Hwang plays a fighter for the Russian military and plays the cookie cutter bad guy very well during the last 30 minutes till the bland Cliff Lok gains the upper hand on him.

"I have some things... to attend to!"--LACKEY & THE LADY TIGER (1980)

LACKEY & THE LADY TIGER (1980) aka FEARLESS KID & THE LADY TIGER sees Hwang Jang Lee faring a bit better, even if the movie itself is disposable fluff. Outside of Hwang's participation, it's notable only for being a rare lead role for Mars (Huo Hsing). The movie itself is yet another tiresome, by the numbers imitation of SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978) with near endless scenes of annoying comedic shenanigans. It even reuses the plot device of a naive student unwittingly giving out the location of their master to the villain who wants to kill him.

It's nearly an hour into the movie before we see Hwang for the first time. He's been in prison for ten years for thievery, kidnapping and murder. Once he's out, he goes after the kung fu master who put him in jail.

Mars makes neither a good lead, nor a charismatic hero. His method of learning kung fu by repeatedly tossing a cat into the air and studying it as it flips and tumbles its way to the ground is one of the dumbest scripting choices ever utilized in one of these movies; it's also modified from the 'Cat Kung Fu' seen in SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW and now called the "Anti-Judo Power Cat's Paw Kung Fu" Mars dubs it during the closing moments. Mars does however make a great punching and kicking bag for Hwang Jang Lee; who incorporates an offshoot of Judo into his fighting technique. Without Master Hwang, this movie would be utterly forgettable and a waste of time.

Playing a hero offered relatively few prospects for Hwang Jang Lee, although he was just as good in those roles. Putting on the shoes of a protagonist meant he would likely be onscreen more, which was also a great benefit for his fans.

This was the case in the aforementioned HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA (1981) and also in RAGING RIVALS (1981) aka HARD BASTARD. This particular movie gave the star a chance to not only play a good guy, but cut loose his usual hard edged persona and engage in some comedy and frequent costume changes.

The films trailer gives more of a plot than the actual film itself does. Something to do with gangsters and some street performers who are hassled by them till Hwang steps in and helps them out. As bad as this film is from a narrative stand point, it's arguably Hwang's best movie in terms of him getting to do comedy, play a good guy and kick an amazing amount of ass all at the same time.

He also played a good guy of sorts in the abysmal modern day movie SECRET EXECUTIONERS (1982). The movie lacks a plot, too, and is a confusing mess that begins with an hilariously shoddy fight scene that's a top contender for worst choreography in a martial arts film. Not even Hwang Jang Lee can salvage this one.


BLOOD CHILD (1982) aka FIVE FINGERS OF STEEL fares much better and that's because Godfrey Ho was nowhere around to muck it up. Hwang isn't in the movie all that much aside from being seen crushing coconuts and landscaping with his powerful kicks that clear trees with the greatest of ease. He also comes to the rescue during the intense final fight.

Hwang worked behind the scenes here as one of the films two fight choreographers. This one is also of special interest in that fellow Korean boot master, Kwan Young Moon, plays the main villain (with a retractable knife hidden in his shoe) and he and Hwang tussle and trade mucho kicks at the end. This is also one of the more intense final fights most likely due to the onscreen charisma and kicking ferocity of both Hwang Jang Lee and Kwan Young Moon.


10. Another kick Hwang Jang Lee can be seen doing frequently is the 'Double Kick of Death'. Here, he kicks an adversary in the stomach with a single leg. Then he leaps into the air, and with his free leg, kicks the man in the side of the head.

There's also a variation of this kick. Hwang forgoes the strike to the stomach and instead leaps into the air rapidly kicking his opponent with both legs, one after the other, before touching the ground. This is a basic "two stepper" that always leads into combo string of other lethal kicks.

"Chinese kung fu... RUBBISH!"--YOUNG HERO (1980)

Kwan appeared in several of Hwang's movies including his early Korean features. A couple of years prior to BLOOD CHILD, both these super kickers swapped places so to speak in YOUNG HERO (1980). Kwan played the good guy and Hwang Jang Lee was a vicious fighter from Japan wandering China destroying any kung fu schools he came across.

Kwan was an imposing figure in his own right and went to Shaw Brothers before Hwang Jang Lee, who followed suit a short time later. He is also notable for at one time being Sylvester Stallone's martial arts trainer and a friend of Muhammed Ali's.

It's worth noting that the fight between Hwang and Kwan Young Moon is far lengthier and more extravagant in YOUNG HERO than in BLOOD CHILD. However, the fight in the latter film is possibly more intense considering how sadistic Kwan's rapist, baby murdering character is throughout the film. Both films and their final fights are well worth checking out.


Furthermore, Hwang's Japanese fighter (who constantly talks about how Chinese kung fu is rubbish!) is little more than a standard screen bad guy. Kwan's bad guy in BLOOD CHILD is given more depth and infinitely more evil in their two big screen pair offs (they also exchange blows in DRAGON & THE TIGER KIDS). The producer of BLOOD CHILD, Lo Chia Po, also directed YOUNG HERO, and, to my knowledge, is his only directing credit.

"That damn bitch did it to me! She's lucky she got away, but I'll get her! Damn bitch!"--THE FEARLESS DUO (1978)


After finishing up his directing gig with HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA (1981), Hwang was signed to a contract by Runme Shaw with the stipulation he would get to direct again, something he seemed rather excited to do.

Production on KID FROM KWANGTUNG (1982), which began shooting under the title of CHIN NA (a devastating martial arts style involving a lot of joint locks), was already underway. This was Hwang's Shaw Brothers debut as a co-star. After years of toiling away on small, yet profitable independent features, Korea's supreme kicker was now with the majors; even if Shaw's were at a low ebb around this time. This picture reunited the indomitable Hwang with Chang Chin (the Butcher Boy from FLAG OF IRON), who gave support in YOUNG HERO from 1980 and many other indy features that had Hwang as the lead antagonist.


KID FROM KWANGTUNG paired Master Hwang with lead star Wong Yu, an actor who was well known, but never attained superstar status to the degree of such actors like Chen Kuan Tai or Fu Sheng. The two got on well and Hwang intended to use him as the lead in his Shaw Brothers directorial debut.

From choreographer turned director Hsu Hsia, KID FROM KWANGTUNG had a spectacular cast of real martial artists and crisp direction from the man who likewise helmed LION VS. LION (1981) and GHOSTS GALORE (1982). The film also displayed some of Hwang's best kicks ever captured onscreen. Despite taking three people to take him out, the way Hwang is vanquished is a bit of a cheap coda, but not quite as nonsensical as in some of his indy features. But then he's so formidable here (as in other movies) there's really no other way.


Among this films cast are Yen Shi Kwan (he worked with Hwang on DANCE OF THE DRUNK MANTIS and BLOOD CHILD), the lovely Yang Pan Pan, Yuen Te and Kuan Feng. That last actor was one of the great unused in Shaw Brothers movies save for his incredible performance in Lo Mar's MONKEY KUNG FU (1979). Kuan has always reminded me of Hwang Jang Lee and in this film, the two of them meet. Unfortunately, Hwang makes incredibly short work of Kuan in this movie.

11. Hwang's 'Windmill Kick' is a series of outside crescent kicks delivered repeatedly at ferocious speed to his adversaries head. These usually finish up with a jumping side kick, or some other punishing blow that sends the poor recipient to the ground.

The 'Pendulum Kick' is a variant of the 'Windmill Kick'. For this version, Hwang Jang Lee will attack with an outside crescent kick, then an inside crescent and back and forth with the same level of speed and aggressiveness.

Having already done some prep work the previous two months, production was set to begin in October of 1982 on the tentatively titled BLOODSHED IN GOLD TOWN.

Only Wong Yu and a Korean actress had been cast at that time. The Korean actress was the then Miss Korea; Mandarin name of Xuan Zhi Hui. Having never met her before, he spotted her in a newspaper and decided she was to be one of the female stars of this movie. Of course with her being a beauty pageant winner, her role required nudity.

In a Southern Screen interview, Hwang boasted that his directing debut with Shaw Brothers would be unlike any other martial arts film seen up to that point. He also said that there would be more plot and acting to accentuate the fight scenes.


While fans have been divided over Wong Yu being cast in KID FROM KWANGTUNG as the villains main adversary, Hwang wanted Wong Yu because he was a good actor and could also rise to the occasion for the action sequences. Regardless, Hwang also stated he preferred working with all Korean casts as opposed to Hong Kong crews because of the language barrier. For BLOODSHED IN GOLD TOWN, Wong played the apprentice to a villainous coffin maker. Sadly, for reasons unknown (possibly the casting Hwang desired fell through), this production never quite got off the ground and was abandoned.

"What's wrong? Snake getting tired?! It seems our old snake is ready to die!"--SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978)


While KID FROM KWANGTUNG was a decent box office success bringing in roughly HK3.2 million dollars (Hsu Hsia's LION VS. LION brought in a respectable HK3.4 million the year before), Hwang was set to appear in Hsu's next film, GHOSTS GALORE (1983) where he took a role not to dissimilar from the throwaway evil magician role he essayed in the successful NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN (1982).

There's been a long standing rumor that Hwang Jang Lee abruptly exited Shaw Brothers studio because of an argument with Mona Fong. Depending on which story you hear, some say he slapped her, or put his hands on her in some way. According to the man himself (via ANONYMOUS KING director, Jon-James Hodson), Hwang Jang Lee stated he never got into a fight with Mrs. Fong, nor would he ever put his hands on a woman. He went on to say he still receives checks from Shaw Brothers so if there had been any problems with them, he would not continue to get money from them. Whether these are royalties or from some business venture is unknown at this time.

At some point in 1982, Hwang Jang Lee would leave Hong Kong for the greener pastures and lower budgets of Korea where he would hook up with the Trifecta of Terrible, Godfrey Ho, Joseph Lai and Tomas Tang.

TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART 5...

Tough Guys Files #3: Hwang Jang Lee Part 3

"Failure means death."--CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER (1980)

In continuing where we left off in Part 2 dealing with the various actors our subject has worked with, Hwang did a few films starring alongside, or under the direction of Bruce Le aka Huang Chien Lung aka Bruce Lee Clone with the Over-Inflated Ego. These films include the modern day efforts CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER (1980) and BRUCE STRIKES BACK (1982). The former is of immense interest.

This sleazy example of Kitsch Fu written and directed by Bruce Le has the major distinction of being the only time you'll ever see Morgan Fairchild, Jack Klugman and Jane Seymour together in a kung fu movie. These three Hollywood stars (and possibly others) converged on some special event in Macau and Bruce and his crew managed to get them on camera and he even shook the hands of Klugman and Seymour!


This bizarre flick sees Le and Mr. Sleepy Eyes himself, Richard Harrison as two "secret agents" out to snatch some secret formula. It's so secret, we never find out what it is or why every villain in Asia and Europe are out to get it. Hwang Jang Lee comes into this mess late, beats up a lot of people (including easily disposing of Bolo Yeung) till a pretty decent fight with Le at the end.

The sheer volume of nudity redefines gratuitous and all the globetrotting gives a lot of production value to what is otherwise a lame attempt at a hard 'R' kung fu spy picture. Thankfully, Bruce Le doesn't showboat near as bad as he does in some of his other movies, but Hwang, for what little time he is given in this picture, is a rather mean bastard.

Another Bruce Lee clone who was just as prolific was the musclebound Dragon Lee. Hwang worked with him on at least three occasions in the 1980s. These include SECRET NINJA, ROARING TIGER (1982), 5 PATTERN DRAGON CLAWS (1983) and MARTIAL MONKS OF SHAOLIN TEMPLE (1983). Of these three, 5 PATTERN is arguably among the best work Hwang Jang Lee has ever done. He's something of a dark haired Pai Mei in this one. At one point, he grabs two men in their upper region using a claw form. The two fighters then piss all over themselves and die! Hwang also does an array of kicks with his hands behind his back. His character is incredibly arrogant and some of his kicks even set people's clothes on fire!


7. 'Piercing Shadow Breaks the Formation' uses a single leg to break through a block by an opponents hands or arms opening them up to a forceful straight kick to the upper body. This kick has some variance, too. Sometimes Hwang will leap into the air and use his opposing leg to instill damage before he even touches the ground.

This kick is most often shown in slow motion. It appears to be a simple enough strategy, but at full speed, it's rather impressive seeing Hwang kick, then twist his foot and break through a block and straight into an adversaries chest, or sternum.

"The famous technique of the knaves... is that all?"--TWO FISTS AGAINST THE LAW (1980)

Hwang had a good rapport with Meng Hoi and shared the screen with him on both the fan favorite THE DRAGON & THE TIGER KIDS (1979) aka HELL'S WIND STAFF and the Qing Era BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR (1980), one of Hwang's least successful movies in Hong Kong theaters.

Meng would later contribute to the choreography and as a stand-in in Hwang's directorial debut, the lively and well paced HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA (1981).

Tino Wong is another HK actor who is seen regularly working with Hwang Jang Lee in his movies. This actor was in dozens of Shaw Brothers productions in various bit player roles. He got some decent screen time as an ill fated Shaolin fighter in Chang Cheh's superb SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS in 1974.

It wasn't until working at Seasonal did Tino Wong finally get a role of substance; that being the HJL movie, SECRET RIVALS 2 (1977). INVINCIBLE ARMOR was another from the same year. In the former, Tino took the role vacated by Don Wong Tao. For the latter, he played a righteous constable trying to solve a frame up involving John Liu's character while Hwang's white haired villain waits in the wings.


Speaking again of white haired martial arts masters, Philip Ko Fei co-stars as a white haired character, too. Tino Wong also briefly fought Hwang Jang Lee in a flashback sequence in the little discussed THE FEARLESS DUO (1978). In addition, he took sizable supporting roles in SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW, DRUNKEN MASTER, YOUNG HERO (1980) and in Hwang Jang Lee's auspicious debut behind the camera, HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA.

"One of us will die. Care to make bets on who?!"--HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA


HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA is a special picture in the actors career as he both produced and directed it in addition to starring in it as the hero; something he didn't do very often. This was also his first, and apparently only movie he did for his own production company.

HITMAN showed Hwang to be quite an accomplished filmmaker; surprisingly better than some non martial artist directors in Asian cinema.


The picture is structured like a real movie, unlike so many other independently produced actioners. There was no setting up a finale in the opening five minutes followed by an hours worth of inconsequential filler. The characters were built and expanded upon making for a much better viewing experience. Unlike many of his other movies, Hwang gets to show off his fabulous kicking skills here on numerous occasions. There was also an alternate version made for the Korean market, a practice that wasn't unusual for Asian cinema.

Hwang enjoyed his first directing gig and wanted to do it again. He would get the chance to do so upon signing with the Shaw Brothers (although this grand opportunity didn't pan out as expected), but we'll get to that later.


8. 'Talons Crushing the Rock' is a variation on 'Piercing Shadow Breaks the Formation'. Only instead of using his legs to pierce a block, Master Hwang simply leaps into the air and uses both of his feet like pincers, or claws to smash the other fighter on both sides of his head.

The distinction of this particular maneuver is that it is painful even if blocked. While a fighters equilibrium is temporarily disrupted, it leaves them open to another attack.

Hwang Jang Lee was most famous for playing villains and played them extremely well in several dozen movies of Hong Kong and Korean origin. He was such a formidable presence onscreen, and his kicking abilities so spectacularly effective, that it was near impossible to believe the films hero, or heroes, could take him down.

What's disconcerting about this is that in quite a few of Hwang's movies, he's abruptly defeated in some laughable fashion, or the good guy essentially cheats to get the upper hand! The skills the myriad number of protagonists had to learn generally proved ineffectual in defeating Hwang's characters.

"You've got guts! Ha! It's good you're here... I'm expecting you!"--TIGER OVER WALL (1981)

One of the most questionable instances being the blistering finale of Lu Chin Ku's highly recommended TIGER OVER WALL (1981). This is one of those kung fu flicks (based on a true story no less!) where it was obvious there was no script, or at the very least the one used likely changed on the fly.

The bulk of the storyline concerns incredible violence spurred on by a mere missing dog belonging to a wealthy foreigner! Being framed for dog-napping by corrupt lawmen will get your balls branded in this movie. Talk about extreme. The villains (not just Hwang) are some of the most sadistic ever seen in these movies. The opening shot tries to remind viewers of Bruce Lee's FIST OF FURY (1971) with a sign that reads "Warning: Chinese and dogs not allowed"!

Philip Ko, who likewise specialized in dirty villain roles, plays the hero for a change. He has an incredible final battle with Hwang Jang Lee. Master Hwang has the upper hand throughout and really unleashes his Fists and Feet of Fury on Ko during the closing moments of this fight.

The end result is very un-hero like, but appeared necessary considering Ko's ass was being fed to him with a big spoon. That big spoon being Hwang Jang Lee's right leg.


Below is a sampling of 11 other "notable" examples of Hwang Jang Lee being too damn formidable onscreen resulting in the good guy abandoning those wholesome values and training of those films previous thirty minutes. In short, they resort to cheap tactics to take out the best and baddest bad guy on the Asian continent:

***WARNING! There are spoilers for the following 11 films. You may want to skip this section if you haven't already seen the movies***


1. SNUFF BOTTLE CONNECTION--After a spectacular battle against John Liu and Yip Fei Yeung where Hwang unleashes a flurry of his cache of kicks, he's unceremoniously stabbed in the back(!) allowing John Liu to easily defeat him.

2. THE INSTANT KUNG FU MAN--For about 10 minutes, Hwang Jang Lee unleashes his leg fury on Yip Fei Yeung (encoring from SNUFF BOTTLE), who played his treacherous partner. Turning his attention to Yip's twin brother, the clown prince who knows no kung fu, Hwang makes a fatal error. A magnetic ring concealed in a hat keeps Hwang from using his leg (his boot contained a retractable blade). A hidden poisonous snake ticks Hwang's clock closer to death till John Liu suddenly arrives and gets in a few kicks before Hwang expires.

3. THE FEARLESS DUO--During the finale of this bizarre obscurity, Hwang Jang Lee wipes the floor with the remaining hero and heroine till the hero (played by Jimmy Liu) pleads insanity and defeats Hwang rather abruptly and confusingly.

It's one of a few times the protagonists in Hwang's movies lose all touch with reality since the filmmakers couldn't come up with anything better to satisfyingly show Hwang being defeated in a believable fashion.

Also, it's the first and only time I can recall seeing a good guy's penis erupt in a geyser of piss as his mental faculties dissipate. But then this movie was apparently made by a crew who were a bit insane in the membrane themselves. The scene of Jimmy Liu being ass raped by a male kung fu fighting ghost still haunts me.

4. THE DRAGON & THE TIGER KIDS--Hwang Jang Lee dominates the entire fight for around 15 minutes till Meng Hoi literally goes ape shit and vanquishes Hwang in a spectacularly gruesome fashion. It's about as plausible as the identical finale of DREADNAUGHT (1981) where Yuen Biao has to go insane to defeat Yuen Shun Yi, a psychotic kung fu master.

5. BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR--Meng Hoi again. This time he has to throw dirt in Hwang's face to gain the upper hand while his teacher holds Hwang's leg. This sort of antic would crop up in a lot of indy kung fu movies; the good guys, thoroughly exhausted, resorting to alternative means to pull out a win.

6. CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER--Hwang loses control of a car while running off with "the formula" to get away from Bruce Le. His vehicle topples over a mountain then explodes with Hwang still in it.


7. LACKEY & THE LADY TIGER--This all around lackluster movie sees Hwang, in the closing seconds of the film, distracted by a projectile thrown by an old man that seemingly hypnotizes Our Man From Korea long enough for the beyond bland Mars to leap on top of him and finish him off in undignified fashion.

8. EAGLE'S KILLER--Hwang obliterates John Chang, showing him who's boss for around ten minutes till he grabs a conveniently placed large rock slab to incapacitate Hwang's lethal leg. After this, the fight is over rather quickly.


9. NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN--The power of naked breasts defeats Hwang, here playing a black magic boxer. A girl's kimono is opened by our two filthy mouthed heroes and bad optical effects shoot out and zap the shit out of him.

10. DUEL OF ULTIMATE WEAPONS--Good guy suddenly gains the power to kick ass after tossing leaves into Hwang's face. Yes, leaves. Strewn judiciously among the wintery grass. Apparently this films hero did his homework and previously watched BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR.

11. MARTIAL MONKS OF SHAOLIN TEMPLE--Dragon Lee studies hard to defeat the evil Wu Tang fighter played by Hwang Jang Lee. Hwang's Panther Fists are talked about, but his kicks do the bulk of the talking for him.

Anyways, Dragon Lee is unable to beat Hwang till some monk jumps into the fight and holds Hwang's legs so Dragon Lee can quickly pound him into pulp. Hwang dies rather quickly, most probably because his presence was required for another Filmark production.

The overtly lackadaisical final moments leading up to the expiration of Hwang's villain characters leave one with the impression that the actor didn't like the way he was exiting his pictures.

Considering how much gusto he puts into his fights, his death scenes are lazy by comparison. Who could blame him, though, especially when the good guys, who have trained in some special style to beat him, are unable to do so. I do not think the Asian action film genre has ever had a more fearsome villain. Producers were likely cognizant of this which is possibly why some of Hwang's end fights finish up on an anti-climactic note. More Hwang Jang Lee to come in part 4!

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4.