High-Octane
Summary
Good fun all the way through, the lightweight martial arts comedy The Champions is a lark of a vehicle for star Biao, who coasts through this sports / action film, and while it’s not necessarily an all-out martial arts extravaganza, it does fit right into the Golden Harvest ’80s output with impressive acrobatics and some inventive comedic choreography.
Plot: A ruffian farmer joins a ragtag football (soccer) league and becomes a champ.
Review: Lee (Yuen Biao) is a humble farmer’s son, not realizing that his father used to be a football (soccer) champion who refused to take money to lose a game, resulting in his becoming crippled when gangsters destroyed his leg as punishment. Lee, following in his father’s footsteps, has a talent with the ball, and after running afoul in his hometown during a competition that angers the gamblers who bet against him, he flees to the big city and is basically a fish out of water until he catches the eyes of some football league players who scout him to join their team. When he joins the league, he quickly learns the ropes of rough and tumble big league football, which includes a hybrid of styles, including anything-goes kung fu moves to plow through opposing players and using martial arts acrobatics to score points by any means necessary. The league’s biggest winners are a team of bad sportsmen, led by a tough player named King (Dick Wei) who quickly becomes Lee’s chief rival, and over the course of the season, Lee and King will go to war on the football field as gamblers and corrupt bigwigs lay big money on the table to decide the fate of the league.
Good fun all the way through, the lightweight martial arts comedy The Champions is a lark of a vehicle for star Biao, who coasts through this sports / action film, and while it’s not necessarily an all-out martial arts extravaganza, it does fit right into the Golden Harvest ’80s output with impressive acrobatics and some inventive comedic choreography. Biao is such an appealing presence here that it’s difficult not to be engaged in all the fun, and fans of ’80s kung fu should have a great time with all the shenanigans. An upbeat rock score helps too. Director Brandy Yuen and choreographers Yuen Shun-Yi and Yuen Chun Yeung give the movie some flare and pizazz, and there’s no reason whatsoever why fans of the genre won’t have a blast with this one.
Eureka! continues their winning streak with their premium Blu-ray release of The Champions, bringing the film to sparkling high definition in a brand new 2K restoration, including a bunch of sweet bonus features, including two collectible sports cards in the case, as well as commentaries, an insert booklet, and so much more.
Bonus Materials
- Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling
- 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration
- Original Cantonese audio and optional English dub tracks (original mono presentations)
- Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
- Brand new audio commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
- Brand new audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
- Brand new featurette by CFK looking at the 1987 Hong Kong celebrity football / soccer team that featured a number of Hong Kong legends including Jackie Chan and Andy Lau
- Andrew Heskins on The Champions – brand new interview with film critic Andrew Heskins (eastern Kicks)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork
- Trailer
- PLUS: A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver