Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

One of my friends said that the only movie that he disagreed with Des Mangan of SBS was this movie. Obviously my friend did not like this movie, so unfortunately my approach to this movie was slightly tainted. I was also quite tired and slept through the last part of it, but I caught enough of it to know what it was about and to talk about it.Beach of the War Gods is set in medieval china when Japanese pirates were attacking and capturing cities and moving south along the coast. They sent envoys to a small village and told them to give up 1000 gold or die. The villagers could not pay so attacked and the pirates inflicted a large number of casualties. At that time, a lone wanderer was in the village and challenged and killed the envoys. As such the village was set on a course to go to war with the pirates. The wanderer then goes and recruits a small army and returns to set up a defence of the village. The second half of the movie is one long battle scene where the villagers fight off the pirates.There is nothing that deep about the movie, other than the old idea that if you force somebody to do something that is impossible for them to do, then they will do what is least expected. Here the villagers had no hope in fighting off the pirates, but as they could not meet the pirates demands, they had to fight or die. It was fortunate that they had a helper, but even then the pirates learnt that they could not force their demands onto people because they can and will fight back. This is a story of an underdog turning on his or her oppressors.This movie also had a feel of a 1960's swashbuckling movie. I remember seeing a few of them some years ago and one in particular had a huge battle raging for at least half of the movie. This movie was quite reminiscent of them, and it was that feeling that I liked in the movie. Also the ending was quite well done.

The 70's kung fu craze that swept North American B movie theatres with the popularity of Bruce Lee reached its pinnacle with this movie. Following Lee's death there were many heirs presumptive that were supposed to take off as international kung fu stars, but never did. These include Bruce Li, Sonny Chiba, Jackie Chan (whose international popularity took hold many years later and in fact has surpassed Lee's in many ways), Chuck Norris, (who had inherent North American appeal, but lacked the mysticism surrounding Lee), and perhaps the most talented of them all, Jimmy Wang Yu.Wang Yu movies had elements of myth, magic, history and violence that has been touched on, but not equaled by Ang Lee's recent Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.Old all the Wang Yu movies, Beach of the War Gods comes together in a way that truly raised the genre to new heights. A Chinese general arrives in a coastal town to fend off a Japanese invasion. While based on an historical incident, the movie employs all the trademark fantastical elements of great kung fu films. The various leaders of the Chinese and Japanese forces have special powers and skills and these are the 'hard men' of movies before the term existed.The costumes and sets in Beach of the War Gods are something to marvel at. The fight scenes are seamless and bloody, and the pacing is enticing from beginning to end. While the characterizations are a bit thin, well..get with it..this is a kung fu movie, not Pride and Prejudice. All in all, a must-see for fans of the genre.

In BEACH OF THE WAR GODS, an action-packed Hong Kong swordplay adventure from 1972, Jimmy Wang Yu rallies three fighters to help lead the men of a Chinese beach town in battle against the invading Japanese. One of the fighters is an expert knife thrower and comes with his own arsenal. It all leads quickly to a massive battle in the town streets. The swordfights are reminiscent of those found in Japanese samurai films, but with more action and vigor. (Interestingly, Wang Yu often made kung fu films with anti-Japanese themes, yet his films often reflected the influence of Japanese samurai films.)The problem here is the lack of a buildup to the main battle and lack of character development. After a simple setup, Wang Yu and company gather and prepare for battle. Then--boom!--the battle begins and lasts till the end of the film! Action fans will love it, but those seeking a little more depth and substance may feel unsatisfied. Wang Yu not only stars, but wrote and directed the film as well.

I found this movie in an old shop and bought it just for fun,not thinking it would be nothing other than an ordinary old Hong-Kong movie(badly dubbed and often lame fighting).Boy was i wrong!The main actors in this movie is the kind of people that you just can`t help finding cool whatever they do.Since this is a Golden Harvest production the sets,costumes and props are well made.The directing by Wang Yu is superb,his visual style of camera angles and the use of slow-motion is just like the movies are made today.The fight-choreographing is sharp,and visually stunning.Compared with other movies from Hong-Kong,usually filled with rain of blood,this movie is more clean.I`m quite used to large bodycounts in any hong-kong movie,but this movie takes killing to a new level.The final battle between the chinese and the japanese is nothing other that a long massacre with people filling your Tv-screen.The only bad about this movie is the dubbing,i only hope that this movie some day will be released on DVD with the original cantonese language.