The ending of "Kung Fu Cult Master" sets up a sequel. Jet Li has made promises and still must chase Sharla Cheung Man. I have read that the movie flopped at the Hong Kong box office and no sequel was ever made. I have also read that the sequel was filmed at the same time, in other words one long movie was filmed and it was supposed to be cut into part one and part two. The sequel was then never edited or put together because the first part flopped. That would be interesting if the film actually existed and if it still exists, though making and releasing another movie some 25 years later falls into the realm of unicorns.
I have even read another version. "Legend of the Liquid Sword" (without Jet Li) is supposedly first of a four film sequence followed by Holy Weapon (Michelle Yeoh) then Kung Fu Cult Master and finally Last Hero in China (both Jet Li). That doesn't really fit simply for continuity.
There are also many different titles for this movie. I have found a general rules that the more titles a movie has then the more edits or versions. Personally, I have but one with a run time of 1:38:56 and there is no on screen movie title. It begins with confusion by naming many kung fu cults. I took this as a spoof – so many cults yet all basically the same, each one thinks they are the best, each thinks the other guys are evil but they all do bad things and rationalize.
The main fact is that all this stuff is based on Jin Yong's novel "Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre". It was first made into a movie in two parts by Shaw Brothers in the 1980s. The novel was also serialized on Hong Kong television and that was the most complete version compared to the novel.
Whatever the truth is, only what remains on film matters, so pick your favorite story.
"Kung Fu Cult Master" has many reviews and they seem to fall into hate it/love it and nothing in the middle. My opinion is similar – I hated some parts and loved other parts. The wire work and beams of power shooting out of the palms of hands is easy to hate particularly when it takes away from the real fighting. On the other hand, most of this wire work is as technical as rocket science calculus and was executed flawlessly. There was also plenty of real fight action too. I point particularly to the final sequence and the use of tai chi fighting elements.
So do I recommend this movie to other fans of the genre? Yes. I base that decision on the fact that when the final scene ended (setting up a sequel), I would have cued up the sequel to watch immediately.
I have even read another version. "Legend of the Liquid Sword" (without Jet Li) is supposedly first of a four film sequence followed by Holy Weapon (Michelle Yeoh) then Kung Fu Cult Master and finally Last Hero in China (both Jet Li). That doesn't really fit simply for continuity.
There are also many different titles for this movie. I have found a general rules that the more titles a movie has then the more edits or versions. Personally, I have but one with a run time of 1:38:56 and there is no on screen movie title. It begins with confusion by naming many kung fu cults. I took this as a spoof – so many cults yet all basically the same, each one thinks they are the best, each thinks the other guys are evil but they all do bad things and rationalize.
The main fact is that all this stuff is based on Jin Yong's novel "Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre". It was first made into a movie in two parts by Shaw Brothers in the 1980s. The novel was also serialized on Hong Kong television and that was the most complete version compared to the novel.
Whatever the truth is, only what remains on film matters, so pick your favorite story.
"Kung Fu Cult Master" has many reviews and they seem to fall into hate it/love it and nothing in the middle. My opinion is similar – I hated some parts and loved other parts. The wire work and beams of power shooting out of the palms of hands is easy to hate particularly when it takes away from the real fighting. On the other hand, most of this wire work is as technical as rocket science calculus and was executed flawlessly. There was also plenty of real fight action too. I point particularly to the final sequence and the use of tai chi fighting elements.
So do I recommend this movie to other fans of the genre? Yes. I base that decision on the fact that when the final scene ended (setting up a sequel), I would have cued up the sequel to watch immediately.