Bolo (film)


Bolo, also known as Bolo - The Brute, Fists of Justice and Beast Fighter, is a Mandarin-language 1979 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Bolo Yeung in his directorial debut.

Plot

Following the murder of a succession of sheriffs in Wu Yu village, the mayor has prisoners draw lots to be the next two sheriffs. The marked lots are drawn by Ma, a trickster, and Bolo, a brute. They pay a blind farmer to take them into town on his wagon.
Once in the village, Ma stops the mayor's son Pao Jan Ken from harassing a priest's niece. Bolo tells the priest that he wants to become Christian because he heard Christians can talk well, while Ma gambles to try to win money but ends up in a fight instead.
Bolo is framed as a human trafficker and imprisoned. He ends up eating so much that the mayor pays him to leave the prison. Bolo is convinced my Ma to rob the bank, where he kills the mayor's son. They give the money to the priest to build a hospital.
Human trafficker Shu Fu and his brother Half Lotus attack Bolo and Ma. After Bolo and Ma win, they are confronted by the mayor, who is mourning the death of his son and is accompanied by his other son, the "Champion of Japan", whom they quickly defeat. The cook who was carrying the mayor's son then steps in to fight them using the pan he was wearing on his head, but is also defeated when Bolo and Ma join forces.
Attempting to leave the village, Bolo and Man knock over the blind farmer's wagon and discover a bag full of gold.

Cast

  • Jason Pai Piao as Ma
  • Bolo Yeung as Bolo
  • Huang Ha as Man Fighting with Pan
  • Chin Yuet-Sang as Undertaker
  • San Kuai as Man Who Attacks Sleeping Bolo
  • Lau Yat-Fan as Mayor Pao
  • To Siu-Ming as Mayor's Cross-Eyed Son Pao Jen Kan
  • Milan as Priest's Niece
  • Na Na as Prostitute
  • Fung Ging-Man as Half Lotus
  • Eric Tsang as Brothel Madam
  • Yue Tau-Wan as Champion of Japan
  • Chin Ti as Poisoning Waiter
  • Lau Hok-Nin as Man on Crutches
  • Addy Sung Gam-Loi as Cross-Eyed Waiter
  • Sai Gwa-Pau as Old Bucktooth
  • Peter Chan Lung as Doctor
  • Lee Sau-Kei as Priest
  • Yam Ho as Detective
  • Luk Chuen as Messenger
  • Aai Dung-Gwa as Blind Farmer Lai Lau
  • James Nam as Service Charge Captain
  • Chen Yuwei as Brothel Chambermaid
  • Lau Tak-Man as Tall Woman

    Production and release

Bolo was filmed in Hong Kong.
The film has been released under the English titles Bolo also known as Bolo - The Brute, Fists of Justice and Beast Fighter.

Reception

Reviewer Jedadiah Leland of the website unobtainium13.com wrote, "Bolo is like a Kung Fu version of the type comedic spaghetti westerns that Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill used to make in the 70s, with the exception that it's far more incoherent than anything that ever starred Spencer and Hill." The review concludes, "Even if it's never clear why anyone's fighting and the sound effects often don't match the actions of the combatants, some of the fight scenes are exciting. That's really the main reason why anyone's going to watch something like Bolo and in that case, the movie doesn’t disappoint. The fights are cool. It's just too bad that the plot keeps getting in the way.
Mitch Reviews Everything stated that the film "fell a little bit short on the comedy dynamic" and that "there's a lotta bad cuts during the actual fights so you get kind of a choppy feel to a lot of the fights in this one". The review concludes that "all in all, it was highly entertaining."