Powerful

How sad is this?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

E yu tou hei sha xing (1978)** (out of 4)Criminal mastermind Lu (Sing Chen) and his goons steal a priceless diamond. The insurance company behind it sends former CIA agent Lucas (Jim Kelly) to investigate and to get back the stolen property. There's really not too much plot going on here as the main draw was of course the action scenes and fights. This Hong Kong movie was also released as THE TATTOO CONNECTION as well as BLACK BELT JONES 2 even though it has no real connection to that movie except for Kelly being in both of them.If you're looking for high art then you're certainly not going to find it here. Technically speaking the film isn't all that pretty to look at but at the same time people really aren't going to be watching this for its looks. If you're a fan of the kung fu movies from this era then you're bound to enjoy the fights here as the majority of them are well-staged and there's no question that they help keep the running time moving along.Kelly is obviously the main draw here and he gets several nice fight scenes throughout. While he wasn't a great actor he was at least good enough at his job to keep the viewer glued to what was going on. One wishes that the story itself had been a little better but THE TATTOO CONNECTION is certainly worth watching.

BLACK BELT JONES 2: THE TATTOO CONNECTION is a film that has absolutely no connection with the original BLACK BELT JONES, other than the presence of black kung fu star Jim Kelly. Instead it's a classic chop-socky film from Hong Kong made during a golden period that saw dozens and dozens of similar films flooding the market. These ranged from kung fu oddities and bizarre flicks to the dozens of 'Brucesploitation' movies that cast actors who looked like Bruce Lee (and many who didn't) in a bid to fool audiences and cash in on the Bruce Lee craze. The presence of action star Jim Kelly, who starred with Bruce in ENTER THE DRAGON, also lend a blaxploitation angle to some of these films and BLACK BELT JONES 2 is among the best in his short-lived career.The plot is nothing new and Kelly might as well be a secret agent like James Bond for all it matters. As soon as he steps off the plane he's up to his neck in it with a criminal gang who are into diamond smuggling in a big way. As light as it is, the plot serves as a fitting background to the regular bouts of action that are shoehorned in every five or so minutes. Many of the fights are predictable and see Kelly battling against dozens of inferior opponents and tackling them in a fun way. The black star is no great shakes as an actor – in fact he's unforgivably wooden – but he's entertaining in the film's many fight scenes and the fast pace means we'll always see him taking down a bad guy sooner or later.The fight coordinator on this movie is none other than Bruce Liang, who himself has a small role in the proceedings. Liang was a Bruce Lee imitator himself and made plenty of films, some good, some not so good, but his presence here is a definite bonus and he adds style to the battles. There are plenty of other actors familiar from Hong Kong cinema in the cast, while the producers have worked hard to include plenty of Chinese actresses who don't mind stripping off on camera. Pretty much every female in the film spends most of her time in the nude and the highlight (or low light, depending on which way you look at it) is a nude disco dancing scene that takes the film to new levels of cheesy exploitation.These films always tend to cast a few proper fighters as the big name 'bosses' that the heroes have encounters with during the running time before setting them against each other for a climatic showdown. Chen Sing, a familiar actor from many, many kung fu flicks, is the big bad guy and he makes a sleazy impression. I was delighted to see the muscle-bound Bolo Yeung also making an appearance as a henchman, almost exactly the same role he played in CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER, although he's on screen for longer here.There are multiple action sequences to enjoy and those with Jim Kelly are always a pleasure. The showdown in a lumber yard in which our hero hangs for his life onto the roof of a car before defeating the driver is a highlight and it's good to see Kelly doing his own stunts here. I also really liked the bit where Bolo and another big guy murder a poor fat guy with a broken arm, but not before he puts up a very good fight in an attempt to flee. Director Lee Tso Nam made plenty of weird-sounding kung fu flicks during his career (THE INVINCIBLE KUNG FU LEGS, SHAOLIN VS. LAMA, MANTIS IN THE MONKEY'S SHADOW) and this is one of his very best. It's also worth noting that Kelly has a co-star in this film who stars in an equal number of fight scenes as the black actor himself. Dorian Tan was a Korean taekwondo champion who became a prolific kung fu star between 1973 and 1983 and he holds his own amongst the other fighters.

I give this film a seven because it's just so much fun to watch. The acting is truly diabolical but Jim Kelly is just the coolest martial artist to ever hit the screen.The dubbing, editing and plot are really bad and the story at points doesn't even make sense. "Well then, how could you think it's worth seven precious stars?" I hear you ask. It worth seven because it's really, really funny, full stop.For instance, there is a scene where where the evil boss rips off a womans (who happens to be about three mens girlfriend!?) dress. The camera then zooms in to a closeup of her breasts and then the boss' face and then the breasts and then the eyes, the breasts, the eyes and then he throws her to the bed and gets it on and then we see... a formula 1 racecar...If you like martial arts flicks then get this film have a couple of glasses of your favourite booze and settle down with this movie. It's like a spoof of martial arts movies of the time and some of Jim Kelly's move are pretty good.It's actually way before it's time. Pure comedy gold.

After a diamond worth an estimated three million dollars American is stolen, the insurance company sends their top agent former CIA operative Lucas (Jim Kelly) to Hong Kong to find it. Meanwhile the gang that stole it, lead by one Mr. Lu (Sing Chen), is aware of Lucas and is determined to prevent anyone from interfering with their plans eliminating threats by any means necessary. Can Lucas survive long enough in such an hostile environment to locate the stolen diamond or will he become yet another victim? The basic plot to this one is pretty straightforward but it hardly makes Jim Kelly's Lucas look all that bright especially given the fact the gang have to actually send Lucas an invite for a showdown before he even discovers their hideout. I did enjoy the subplot involving Nana as it gave way to some unexpected surprises. Overlooking its weak plot, where TATTOO CONNECTION delivers is in terms of its Martial Arts fighting action. Jim Kelly kicks some major butt and its fun to see him tangling once again with Bolo Yeung and with the likes of Sing Chen and Tao-liang Tan. Just good straight-forward action, no need for wire tricks and the like.