I saw Kung Fu Cult Master almost 20 years ago during my first big Hong Kong movie phase when I really dug into the genre and tried to see as much of it as was available to me then. Due to Eureka’s recent BluRay release of the title I rewatched it and it turned out to be just as good as I remembered. Though saying it’s good is really subjective in this case as this is really a non-stop assault of plot points and wuxia flying martial art scenes that defy physics and proper sense mixed with some rather improper humor.
It’s based on a novel series which explains why they tried to stuff as much content as possible into its running time and it ends somewhat unfinished as it was supposed to be the first of a two-movie adaptation, with the sequel never made. Despite all these flaws it’s a highly entertaining tour de force that sees Jet Li as the main protagonist learn martial arts in a day to survive the various schemes of the diverse martial arts schools fighting to get control of the ultimate fighting technique.
Though the real enemy is the government that played the various martial arts schools against each other to likely keep them down. The overall setup and how the plot develops is rather convoluted and it’s easy to get lost with who is allied against whom and then ten seconds later all the alliances shift again.
It has relentless pacing with fight after fight that remains consistently entertaining if you don’t mind that it’s mostly fantasy wuxia fighting and not something more grounded. This isn’t a movie to take seriously but enjoy for how it embraces and pushes wuxia genre tropes to its limits.