The 14 Amazons (1972)
Lo Lieh was and always will be a badass. The ridiculousness hats he's forced to wear in The 14 Amazons may have you doubting that. Just don't say anything to him about it. I think he could still kick ass from beyond the grave.
A majority of the men in Yang family get wiped out in an ambush by Western Xia. Among those killed is General Yang Tsung Pao. This leaves his only son, Yang Wen as the only male heir left to the Yang family. This also leaves a lot of the ladies in the Yang family without a husband. The grand matriarch of the family along with Tsung Pao’s widow and the surviving family members swear revenge. Standing in their way is a traitorous official Wang Ching who wants to broker a peace treaty, as well as the army of Western Xia led by King and his sons, one of which is Lo Lieh (Playing a great sleazy villain) and his bad hat collection.
The 14 Amazons is epic in the best sense of the word. Huge battles, truly vile bad guys, noble sacrifices and some truly righteous heroes. While the action may not be up there with the likes of '70's Shaw greats Chang Cheh and Lau Kar Leung, it is defiantly energetic enough to keep your attention. Besides the action stuff there's one other bit that really stands out stunt wise. There's a scene where our heroes have to cross chasm and the bridge gets destroyed. So, what are they to do? Why form a human bridge of course! That scene alone is worth seeing the film for and one of the reasons I love Hong Kong cinema. "What's the absolute craziest thing we can do in this scene?" "Why not form a human bridge!" You don't see stuff like that anywhere else.
If you liked 300 but wondered if there were any women that could kick their asses back to Sparta, well here you go! Or if you want to see a really good "women on a mission" film. Or if you just dig epic Hong Kong cinema. Watch The 14 Amazons ! I enjoyed the heck out of it myself.
Next time on Dragon Ball Z...
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