Movie is so short it doesn't even meet the 80 minute mark. This movie is what it is, a typical story about two friends who become enemies, have to fight each other, and get involve with some really bad guys. It is what it is, short but if you have 70 minutes to spare, give it a watch. I think the Asian kid from the Goonies is in this movie.
19 Reviews
Crap-tastic!
Crap_Connoisseur1 December 2005
This film is pure genius. What more could you possibly say about a movie that offers not only Bolo Yeung in drag, but also a break dancing fight sequence and martial arts fighting dwarfs? "Breathing Fire" is possibly the funniest martial arts film of all time, I really can not recommend it highly enough.
The film's storyline is largely irrelevant but goes something like this: Annie comes to David for help when her parents are murdered. David then takes Annie to stay with his brother and his two sons, Charlie and Tony. When David suffers an injury, he instructs Charlie and Tony in his unique martial arts style so that they can protect Annie from her parents' murderers.
The plot truly is thinner than Nicole Ritchie, but this only adds to the enjoyment. By far the most entertaining aspect of the film is the padding between the set pieces. Some of my favourite moments include a Karate Kid inspired training montage, complete with bowling balls and suspended watermelons. I also loved the ridiculous flashback to Vietnam (in which the main characters look exactly the same as they do 15 or so years later!) and I almost wet myself when Mickey started to break dance - while painting a wall.
Bolo Yeung fans can not afford to miss the opportunity to see their hero kick ass while robbing a bank - in drag. Unfortunately for Bolo, he doesn't have a huge role and has to suffer the indignity of being beaten up by the 100 pound kid from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Nevertheless, the chance to see Bolo wearing a floral dress more than compensates. The fight scenes that don't include Bolo are also memorable. Mickey, the break dancer, positively steals the show by demonstrating his dancing martial arts skills in rhinestone covered leather (no less). The fight involving the kick ass dwarfs is also one of the more memorable that I've seen in a long time.
The acting is appalling to the extent that it defies belief and the dialogue makes Showgirls look like All About Eve. And yet, I can't think of a better way to waste 75 minutes of your time than watching this marvellous piece of crap. Highly recommended!
The film's storyline is largely irrelevant but goes something like this: Annie comes to David for help when her parents are murdered. David then takes Annie to stay with his brother and his two sons, Charlie and Tony. When David suffers an injury, he instructs Charlie and Tony in his unique martial arts style so that they can protect Annie from her parents' murderers.
The plot truly is thinner than Nicole Ritchie, but this only adds to the enjoyment. By far the most entertaining aspect of the film is the padding between the set pieces. Some of my favourite moments include a Karate Kid inspired training montage, complete with bowling balls and suspended watermelons. I also loved the ridiculous flashback to Vietnam (in which the main characters look exactly the same as they do 15 or so years later!) and I almost wet myself when Mickey started to break dance - while painting a wall.
Bolo Yeung fans can not afford to miss the opportunity to see their hero kick ass while robbing a bank - in drag. Unfortunately for Bolo, he doesn't have a huge role and has to suffer the indignity of being beaten up by the 100 pound kid from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Nevertheless, the chance to see Bolo wearing a floral dress more than compensates. The fight scenes that don't include Bolo are also memorable. Mickey, the break dancer, positively steals the show by demonstrating his dancing martial arts skills in rhinestone covered leather (no less). The fight involving the kick ass dwarfs is also one of the more memorable that I've seen in a long time.
The acting is appalling to the extent that it defies belief and the dialogue makes Showgirls look like All About Eve. And yet, I can't think of a better way to waste 75 minutes of your time than watching this marvellous piece of crap. Highly recommended!
This isn't a very good movie.
Kim200028 February 2000
This movie is a real sleeping pill,it is awful. The plot isn't so very good and the script is awful. I didn't like this movie because the fighting scenes are awful
and the plot and the script sucks. The actors isn't so good. This movie is lame so i give it 2 out of 10.
and the plot and the script sucks. The actors isn't so good. This movie is lame so i give it 2 out of 10.
Where are they now?
Texaslawdog197429 November 2005
This movie did suck. Bad! But I can't stop watching it because I know one of the actors. Eddie Saavedra and I used to serve on the same ship in the Navy, and true to the picture in the movie, he is a phenomenal martial artist. My only regret is I have lost contact with him when he used to be one of my heroes, because of this movie, and because he taught me almost everything I knew about the job we did together in the Navy when he was my supervisor. He really has talent. It was also great to see Jonathan Ke Quan acting again. He turned out to be quite a fighter himself. One thing I would definitely pay money to see is a better quality movie made with this duo put together again. "Breathing Fire" was definitely a "B" movie, but with the right directors, and better funding, Eddie and Jonathan could really shine.
Forgettable.
Space_Mafune27 February 2006
Annie, a young teenage girl who was a witness to the murder of her parents by cold-hearted bank robbers seeks out David Moore, her father's old buddy from their fighting days together in Vietnam for protection as her father had warned against going to the police. David takes her to his brother Michael's house, not realizing Michael is secretly the leader behind the bank heist and the murder of Annie's parents. Michael also has two sons, one natural and one adopted from Vietnam, who befriend Annie and eventually receive martial arts instructions from David so they can aid him in her protection.
They say if you cannot say anything good, don't say anything at all. If I were to abide by that rule, I'd have very little to say with regards to this one. Jonathan Ke Quan actually does a decent job as Charlie Moore who really is the only truly likable character in the film in that's he's funny and likes to have fun making him feel more real as a character than any other person in the movie. Also the training scenes and the fights are surprisingly well executed.
It's too bad that the plot is filled with gaping plot holes (the worst of which is characters disappearing from the scene for long periods of time with no adequate explanation as to their whereabouts), the rest of the acting cast is atrocious and the fights, while shot nicely, are hardly convincing in reality especially in the case of the Moore brothers showdown with Bolo Yeung, who's all but wasted here as another faceless henchman.
Forgettable.
They say if you cannot say anything good, don't say anything at all. If I were to abide by that rule, I'd have very little to say with regards to this one. Jonathan Ke Quan actually does a decent job as Charlie Moore who really is the only truly likable character in the film in that's he's funny and likes to have fun making him feel more real as a character than any other person in the movie. Also the training scenes and the fights are surprisingly well executed.
It's too bad that the plot is filled with gaping plot holes (the worst of which is characters disappearing from the scene for long periods of time with no adequate explanation as to their whereabouts), the rest of the acting cast is atrocious and the fights, while shot nicely, are hardly convincing in reality especially in the case of the Moore brothers showdown with Bolo Yeung, who's all but wasted here as another faceless henchman.
Forgettable.
Breathing Fire has got the fights you want, the silliness you need, and the "totally 90's" vibe you can't get enough of.
tarbosh2200017 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Breathing Fire is the family saga of the Moore clan. Michael Moore (Trimble), who is the original Michael Moore and not to be confused with the noted unappealing and unpleasant blowhard who stole his name, masterminded a bank heist and stole plenty of gold bars. He has one White son, Tony (Eddie Saavedra in unfortunately his only movie role) and one Vietnamese son that he brought back from 'Nam when he was serving there, somewhat distastefully named Charlie (Ke Quan). Both sons are Martial Arts enthusiasts and compete in local tournaments. When a young girl named Annie (Hamilton)'s parents are killed by Michael Moore, she goes on the run with Michael's brother David (Neil), who also served in Vietnam. They end up at Michael Moore's house, where David reluctantly trains them in his fighting style, and many baddies, including Thunder (Yeung) are fought against in the quest to unravel the truth about a highly-valuable piece of plastic pizza. You're just going to have to watch to understand, which you should do today...
Usually when a movie is credited to three directors, that spells trouble. Just look at Slaughter High (1986). But in this case, it means silly fun for everyone. With its wacky and youth-oriented spirit, Breathing Fire wouldn't be out of place in the canon of Ted Jan Roberts. Instead of Ted Jan, we get Mark-Paul Gosselaar lookalike Saavedra, who gives us his own personal vision of what a Zack Attack should be. The movie also strikes a blow for the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it features a boy with a speech impediment (Ke Quan) in a fight scene with multiple midgets (excuse me, "little people"), and doesn't dwell on or exploit the fact. And any movie with a cross-dressing Bolo Yeung simply demands to be seen.
The movie is chock full of great line readings, fascinating T-shirts, training sequences (a lot of which could easily be mistaken for torture), Vietnam flashbacks, and much more. There's a killer disco sequence, the token female baddie of the gang is of course here, and it all concludes in - you guessed it - an abandoned warehouse. And let's not forget the time honored "young person/people have to prove they're worthy to the great master before he'll work with them" subplot involving Ed Neil, not to be confused with Ed O'Neill (though both are Martial Arts masters - O'Neill is a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Why Al Bundy himself hasn't been cast in any Breathing Fire-type movies remains an open question). Ed Neil should have done more as well. A team-up with Ed O'Neill as Karate-kicking cops would have been amazing. It's never too late.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the three directors, there are plenty of humorously abrupt cuts, and other...what look like shortcuts, on display. It all adds to the entertainment value, and the fight scenes have that Hong Kong-style fast energy. While that style of fight scene is more than welcome, it almost seems out of place in this kinda-sorta-quasi-almost kids movie. The whole "brothers in 'Nam" idea was an interesting concept, and could have been developed into a movie in its own right. But in the end, Breathing Fire is a wacky good time, with both Bolo and Trimble at their absolute best. (Side note: watch out for the Code of Silence (1985) poster at Tank (Wendell C. Whitaker in unfortunately his only movie role)'s house. )
Breathing Fire has got the fights you want, the silliness you need, and the "totally 90's" vibe you can't get enough of. And the DVD is dirt cheap. What's not to love?
Usually when a movie is credited to three directors, that spells trouble. Just look at Slaughter High (1986). But in this case, it means silly fun for everyone. With its wacky and youth-oriented spirit, Breathing Fire wouldn't be out of place in the canon of Ted Jan Roberts. Instead of Ted Jan, we get Mark-Paul Gosselaar lookalike Saavedra, who gives us his own personal vision of what a Zack Attack should be. The movie also strikes a blow for the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it features a boy with a speech impediment (Ke Quan) in a fight scene with multiple midgets (excuse me, "little people"), and doesn't dwell on or exploit the fact. And any movie with a cross-dressing Bolo Yeung simply demands to be seen.
The movie is chock full of great line readings, fascinating T-shirts, training sequences (a lot of which could easily be mistaken for torture), Vietnam flashbacks, and much more. There's a killer disco sequence, the token female baddie of the gang is of course here, and it all concludes in - you guessed it - an abandoned warehouse. And let's not forget the time honored "young person/people have to prove they're worthy to the great master before he'll work with them" subplot involving Ed Neil, not to be confused with Ed O'Neill (though both are Martial Arts masters - O'Neill is a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Why Al Bundy himself hasn't been cast in any Breathing Fire-type movies remains an open question). Ed Neil should have done more as well. A team-up with Ed O'Neill as Karate-kicking cops would have been amazing. It's never too late.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the three directors, there are plenty of humorously abrupt cuts, and other...what look like shortcuts, on display. It all adds to the entertainment value, and the fight scenes have that Hong Kong-style fast energy. While that style of fight scene is more than welcome, it almost seems out of place in this kinda-sorta-quasi-almost kids movie. The whole "brothers in 'Nam" idea was an interesting concept, and could have been developed into a movie in its own right. But in the end, Breathing Fire is a wacky good time, with both Bolo and Trimble at their absolute best. (Side note: watch out for the Code of Silence (1985) poster at Tank (Wendell C. Whitaker in unfortunately his only movie role)'s house. )
Breathing Fire has got the fights you want, the silliness you need, and the "totally 90's" vibe you can't get enough of. And the DVD is dirt cheap. What's not to love?
smelling farts
talllwoood1315 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is such a stupid movie! I was not expecting this second rate double dragon movie with those two bland and generic kids. To be fair none of the cast were particularly memorable. Maybe the dad and Bolo but Bolo has been in so many movies you'll know him. Sure the kids can do all those kicks and did a great job with their choreography but neither are too interesting. Wow one has a dirty room and a weak twist at the end. Who cares. Even the ending is crappy.
The only thing "original' was the use of pizza in this movie. I thought I've seen it all but no that pizza mold was so stupid.
The training montage actually getting them to work out and not just showing them a few new kicks or throws I'll give them some credit for and the fact that neither kid ended up dating the blonde girl.
The guy showing them how to do martial arts looked like someones drunk uncle at best. When he fights anyone in the movie it seems like two drunk family members got the camcorder rolling to show Beckie-Ann down at the local bar that they are "legit".
Skip it. It's a cool title but a really lousy bargain bin movie. I feel sorry for how many kids this ruined their weekends if this was at any Blockbuster or any other video rental place where people paid their hard working money to experience this.
The only thing "original' was the use of pizza in this movie. I thought I've seen it all but no that pizza mold was so stupid.
The training montage actually getting them to work out and not just showing them a few new kicks or throws I'll give them some credit for and the fact that neither kid ended up dating the blonde girl.
The guy showing them how to do martial arts looked like someones drunk uncle at best. When he fights anyone in the movie it seems like two drunk family members got the camcorder rolling to show Beckie-Ann down at the local bar that they are "legit".
Skip it. It's a cool title but a really lousy bargain bin movie. I feel sorry for how many kids this ruined their weekends if this was at any Blockbuster or any other video rental place where people paid their hard working money to experience this.
A little movie duplicating Hong Kong style fights
jordondave-2808512 May 2023
(1991) Breathing Fire
MARTIAL ARTS ACTION
Do you remember that little Chinese kid in "Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom" Indy adopt as Short Round! Well, he's older now and one of the two stars in this low budget entertaining martial arts movie. This pass is not for the story line and the acting, since it's mediocre as ever, but for the well choreographed fights which one of the problems with many martial art films is that they look too fake, since upon fighting no one hardly touches with one another. In this one we get to see what some of these characters can do which is obviously too far fetch in real life, but at last it's full contact and without the use of any CGI or wiring.
Do you remember that little Chinese kid in "Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom" Indy adopt as Short Round! Well, he's older now and one of the two stars in this low budget entertaining martial arts movie. This pass is not for the story line and the acting, since it's mediocre as ever, but for the well choreographed fights which one of the problems with many martial art films is that they look too fake, since upon fighting no one hardly touches with one another. In this one we get to see what some of these characters can do which is obviously too far fetch in real life, but at last it's full contact and without the use of any CGI or wiring.
Decent fights and photography, attractive, interesting cast, but still hysterically bad
lemon_magic27 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Well, the cast looks really good, in a tanning-bed, dipped-in-plastic way, and most of the fight scenes are at least energetic and creative (most of the fighters are in splendid shape, limber, flexible and extremely well toned and they can kick head high effortlessly).
But the plot makes very little sense,(the final "brother against brother" scene is offensively stupid - since when are high school kids allowed to fight full contact in a sport karate tournament with killing techniques?), most of the dialog seems to have been written by someone who learned to speak English by watching soap operas and all the "Karate Kid" movies, and there is some pretty aggressive non-acting going on whenever people aren't punching and kicking each other. There are a couple scenes where the two older male leads ("David" and his brother the gang leader) are talking to each other and they obviously have no idea what to do with their hands.
The young Korean guy from "The Goonies" and "Indiana Jones" has a prominent part in this, and in spite of some terrible lines of dialog, he still comes across as a likable young man, but he (and his good looking "older brother") are pretty much wasted in this movie. Hell, Dakota Fanning and Halley Osment couldn't make most of these scenes work.
So even if you live for kick boxing movies, this one might have too much kick-boxing for you, and any scene that doesn't involve kick-boxing involves scenery-chewing and badly delivered lines.
Still, I got this DVD for $1 at Wal-Mart, and it's not the worst such reissue from Digiview Productions I've seen. Worth seeing once if you want to see absolutely everything Jerry Trimble or Bolo Yeung has ever appeared in...I guess.
But the plot makes very little sense,(the final "brother against brother" scene is offensively stupid - since when are high school kids allowed to fight full contact in a sport karate tournament with killing techniques?), most of the dialog seems to have been written by someone who learned to speak English by watching soap operas and all the "Karate Kid" movies, and there is some pretty aggressive non-acting going on whenever people aren't punching and kicking each other. There are a couple scenes where the two older male leads ("David" and his brother the gang leader) are talking to each other and they obviously have no idea what to do with their hands.
The young Korean guy from "The Goonies" and "Indiana Jones" has a prominent part in this, and in spite of some terrible lines of dialog, he still comes across as a likable young man, but he (and his good looking "older brother") are pretty much wasted in this movie. Hell, Dakota Fanning and Halley Osment couldn't make most of these scenes work.
So even if you live for kick boxing movies, this one might have too much kick-boxing for you, and any scene that doesn't involve kick-boxing involves scenery-chewing and badly delivered lines.
Still, I got this DVD for $1 at Wal-Mart, and it's not the worst such reissue from Digiview Productions I've seen. Worth seeing once if you want to see absolutely everything Jerry Trimble or Bolo Yeung has ever appeared in...I guess.
Amazing action...Crappy acting.
duaneshouseofpizza27 January 2002
I watch this movie every weekend because of the sheer humorous acting and the brutal fighting. the fighting is alot better than most recent movies...but, story cannot play out correctly due to really bad acting. I bought this movie for $5 on DVD at K-mart and it's possibly the greatest 5 bucks I've ever spent. There are some scenes where I'll just break out and laugh at because Data from "The Goonies" (Jonathon ke quan) beats the tar out of a 300 lb muscle man. If's you find this movie,by all means buy it. It's one of the funniest movies i've ever seen...sadly, it isn't supposed to be.
Amazing action...Crappy acting.
duaneshouseofpizza27 January 2002
I watch this movie every weekend because of the sheer humorous acting and the brutal fighting. the fighting is alot better than most recent movies...but, story cannot play out correctly due to really bad acting. I bought this movie is cheap and it's possibly the greatest 5 bucks I've ever spent. There are some scenes where I'll just break out and laugh at because Data from "The Goonies" (Jonathon ke quan) beats the tar out of a 300 lb muscle man. If's you find this movie,by all means buy it. It's one of the funniest movies i've ever seen...sadly, it isn't supposed to be.
The funniest martial arts film, thats not meant to be funny, i have ever seen.
twohotty216 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
What can i say about this movie.My cousin and i have grown up watching it over and over again. Once you have seen this movie,you realise not to take it seriously and you find it hilarious.And the thing is,its not supposed to be that way.The acting is bad, the fights seen are shaky, bolo's involvement is minimal, Jerry Trimble- king of the kick boxers gets his ass kicked by the kid from the goonies though so its not all bad.plenty laughs in here though, from the fighting dwarfs, to Jerry Trimble's odd-ball house keeper.And the bank Robbert scene with bolo in drag makes the whole thing worth while. this film was a vital part of my youth, and i will continue to watch it from time to time so i can remember just how much fun it is.
Definitely Crappy! And I Was In It!!!!
allenrubin20 October 2002
I was an actor in this picture and after viewing it...I must say that it is a CRAPPY movie. They even dubbed someone else's voice over mine! It was the first acting role that I ever had. I did love the food they fed us. Chinese! Mmmm! It was fun working with the kid from Goonies and Bolo. Bolo didn't speak much English, but he's a great guy! I got a lot of laughs watching this movie. The acting was OSCAR quality...Oscar Meyer...hot dog with artificial filling!
Underrated Kid's Karate Movie Gem
Sheldonshells10 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Breathing Fire is not a great movie, but it sure is fun to watch. Especially if you were eight years old watching it first like I was. But I discovered it rather randomly one time recently on the internet and decided to watch it again. It's still fun. It has both intentional and unintentional laughs, and it still works both as entertainment and as a story.
This little "karate" movie from 1991 found some new potential for exposure when it was added to Tubi's repository of entertainment media recently, and having acclaimed actor Ke Huy Quan, who plays Charlie in the film, recently win an Oscar (for Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2023) also brings some new relevance to the movie as one of his early roles--we should all at least know and love Quan from The Goonies anyway.
There's nothing too deep about Breathing Fire or too special, except it kinda was awesome for a bony eight year old to witness the little Ke Huy Quan kicking Kung-fu movie legend Bolo Yeung out of commission. Which reminds me, now that Quan has won the Oscar his image should be the one up front and centre on its title page on Tubi as well as here, not the mostly forgotten Bolo Yeung who's there now. After all, Quan is by far the best actor in this move, and had the funniest moments too, and yes intentionally. At least there's a DVD cover or two with Quan.
One weird thing I always wondered about with this movie is why Charlie's Dad named him Charlie? Charlie's father is a Vietnam war vet, where a popular slang for the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was "Charlie". It must have been obvious to the writer and other members of the creative team on this film that this was so. Therefore it must have been intentional to name the character that. It's rather obvious symbolism since the father is the movie's chief antagonist who's a murderer, a thief, and even almost killed Charlie in the showdown fight between them near the end. So in other words, he actually hates his kid named Charlie, and sees him as no more hard to kill than the NVA he was killing in Vietnam, whom he also called Charlie. The funny thing is, to overanalyse a bit, how would that be taken at first back when he was a baby and his Dad decided to name him Charlie? I mean up until Charlie was 18 or so he was at least pretending he loved him and was raising him his whole life. Wouldn't people around him find it a little bizarre and somewhat disturbing that he's going to name is his adopted son from Vietnam the same name the soldiers were giving the enemy they were killing??
Then again I don't think the movie demands you consider this too hard. I don't think any more complicated character development is needed for this movie. It's not some character study after all. It was always just supposed to be a fun film, probably geared more towards kids because (unlike many other similar movies that came before and after it) there' s not a lot of blood and no gore, very little bad language, no nudity or sex. If you're looking for a classic kung-fu karate kicking type of movie to introduce your kids to, this would be perfect.
This little "karate" movie from 1991 found some new potential for exposure when it was added to Tubi's repository of entertainment media recently, and having acclaimed actor Ke Huy Quan, who plays Charlie in the film, recently win an Oscar (for Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2023) also brings some new relevance to the movie as one of his early roles--we should all at least know and love Quan from The Goonies anyway.
There's nothing too deep about Breathing Fire or too special, except it kinda was awesome for a bony eight year old to witness the little Ke Huy Quan kicking Kung-fu movie legend Bolo Yeung out of commission. Which reminds me, now that Quan has won the Oscar his image should be the one up front and centre on its title page on Tubi as well as here, not the mostly forgotten Bolo Yeung who's there now. After all, Quan is by far the best actor in this move, and had the funniest moments too, and yes intentionally. At least there's a DVD cover or two with Quan.
One weird thing I always wondered about with this movie is why Charlie's Dad named him Charlie? Charlie's father is a Vietnam war vet, where a popular slang for the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was "Charlie". It must have been obvious to the writer and other members of the creative team on this film that this was so. Therefore it must have been intentional to name the character that. It's rather obvious symbolism since the father is the movie's chief antagonist who's a murderer, a thief, and even almost killed Charlie in the showdown fight between them near the end. So in other words, he actually hates his kid named Charlie, and sees him as no more hard to kill than the NVA he was killing in Vietnam, whom he also called Charlie. The funny thing is, to overanalyse a bit, how would that be taken at first back when he was a baby and his Dad decided to name him Charlie? I mean up until Charlie was 18 or so he was at least pretending he loved him and was raising him his whole life. Wouldn't people around him find it a little bizarre and somewhat disturbing that he's going to name is his adopted son from Vietnam the same name the soldiers were giving the enemy they were killing??
Then again I don't think the movie demands you consider this too hard. I don't think any more complicated character development is needed for this movie. It's not some character study after all. It was always just supposed to be a fun film, probably geared more towards kids because (unlike many other similar movies that came before and after it) there' s not a lot of blood and no gore, very little bad language, no nudity or sex. If you're looking for a classic kung-fu karate kicking type of movie to introduce your kids to, this would be perfect.
Extremely bad b-movie
martymaster21 January 2002
This is supposed to be a martial arts movie,but the story and fighting scenes are so bad that it just gets boring. I picked this movie up for one reason,because Bolo Yeung was in it,but it turned out that he didnt have any real fighting scenes in it,so all i can say is that this is a piece of crap. Extremely bad story and acting and the fight scenes is not more than a Karate kid look a like.
Short Round got an awesome Roundhouse kick, dude!
Weirdling_Wolf9 March 2021
At some point someone needs to loudly signify the importance of the 1990s to the continued success and interest in the cheaply made, lowest common denominator DTV actioner that keeps, Wesley Snipes, Luke Goss and, Danny Trejo in Kendal Mint Cakes! They should loudly hail, Matthias Hues, Lauren Avedon and, Lorenzo Lamas for laying down all the heavy duty DTV groundwork that made, Frank Grillo possible!!!
'Breathing Fire' begins in an appropriately heated fashion, introducing the high-kicking Moore siblings, Charlie (Key Huy Quan) and Tony (Eddie Saavedra) busting out some pretty audacious moves at a martial arts tournament, whilst unbeknownst to them, their duplicitous father, Michael (Jerry Trimble) is in the chaotic midst of a gold bullion heist which features iconic Kung Fu destroyer, Bolo Yeung in drag, and so begins a blissfully bizarre 90s martial arts opus that zestfully operates in the phantasmagorical B-movie multiverse whereby both dastardly villains and stalwart heroes alike are all Olympian martial arts virtuosi!
The febrile, episodic narrative has its psychotronic kudos increased by aggressively inserting a Vietnam flashback amongst all the bodacious B-Boy dance moves, excruciating Kung Fu training montages and a brief, hilarious bar fight with an especially bellicose pair of agile little people that would look entirely appropriate in an Andy Sidaris movie! 'Breathing Fire' has a hypnotic, Ed. Wood Jr. Whimsicality, the witheringly duff dialogue, painfully monochromatic line readings from uniformly remedial 'actors', stridently raising this frenzied fight flick to the vertiginous, higher echelon of top tier bad movie genius!
Curiously, Bolo Yeung's character 'Thunder' seems ill named, being little more than a minor squall at best. The mighty one turns up, speed-flexes his elephantine pecs, hurls some terrified dudes around in his patented histrionic manner, and outside of looking pretty audacious in a frock you wouldn't know he was there!!?? In conclusion, 'Breathing Fire' is an odd duck, and having three directors probably didn't help matters. While the enjoyably frantic fight scenes are plentiful and pretty gnarly looking, the young protagonists are shrill, fatuous, and frequently disagreeable, to be quite blunt, Tony & Charlie Moore are two of the most irritating appendages since Material Madge bought some schmancy new face plugs, their innate dweebyness ultimately tainting what could have been an awesomely trashy fight flick, but there's no doubting the bouncy, pulse-pounding excellence of Paul 'Bloodsport' Hertzog's epic score.
'Breathing Fire' begins in an appropriately heated fashion, introducing the high-kicking Moore siblings, Charlie (Key Huy Quan) and Tony (Eddie Saavedra) busting out some pretty audacious moves at a martial arts tournament, whilst unbeknownst to them, their duplicitous father, Michael (Jerry Trimble) is in the chaotic midst of a gold bullion heist which features iconic Kung Fu destroyer, Bolo Yeung in drag, and so begins a blissfully bizarre 90s martial arts opus that zestfully operates in the phantasmagorical B-movie multiverse whereby both dastardly villains and stalwart heroes alike are all Olympian martial arts virtuosi!
The febrile, episodic narrative has its psychotronic kudos increased by aggressively inserting a Vietnam flashback amongst all the bodacious B-Boy dance moves, excruciating Kung Fu training montages and a brief, hilarious bar fight with an especially bellicose pair of agile little people that would look entirely appropriate in an Andy Sidaris movie! 'Breathing Fire' has a hypnotic, Ed. Wood Jr. Whimsicality, the witheringly duff dialogue, painfully monochromatic line readings from uniformly remedial 'actors', stridently raising this frenzied fight flick to the vertiginous, higher echelon of top tier bad movie genius!
Curiously, Bolo Yeung's character 'Thunder' seems ill named, being little more than a minor squall at best. The mighty one turns up, speed-flexes his elephantine pecs, hurls some terrified dudes around in his patented histrionic manner, and outside of looking pretty audacious in a frock you wouldn't know he was there!!?? In conclusion, 'Breathing Fire' is an odd duck, and having three directors probably didn't help matters. While the enjoyably frantic fight scenes are plentiful and pretty gnarly looking, the young protagonists are shrill, fatuous, and frequently disagreeable, to be quite blunt, Tony & Charlie Moore are two of the most irritating appendages since Material Madge bought some schmancy new face plugs, their innate dweebyness ultimately tainting what could have been an awesomely trashy fight flick, but there's no doubting the bouncy, pulse-pounding excellence of Paul 'Bloodsport' Hertzog's epic score.
Hilarious!
afro_neil5 November 2002
Breathing fire is one of those films most people will write off as a bad kung-fu movie on first viewing. But after you've watched it a few times you too will see the light and never watch 'bad movies' in the same way again. The plot is ridiculous and the acting is at best cheesy, but that is what makes the film so good. There are countless goofs,pointless scenes and plot holes but spotting them is half the fun. The martial arts aren't all that great, but there are some memorable moves such as the 'bowling ball'. You also get to see the two lead characters on the receiving end of a kick in by two midgets which is pretty funny. All in all next time you're rifling through the second hand videos and this catches your eye don't hesitate to purchase this fantastic film, I guarantee it will give you, and your friends hours of fun.
Chock schlocky
Wizard-89 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is a pretty bad martial arts movie for the most part. It's really cheaply made, and with plenty of technical flubs like the book mike making an appearance several times. The story doesn't really make a lot of sense. For one thing, the "MacGuffin" of the story (a plastic piece of pizza!) is forgotten about for the longest time. And there are plenty of plot turns that are lacking explanation, like where did all that stolen gold go to.
Is there any genuine merit to be found in the movie? Well, some of the martial art sequences aren't bad. In fact, the martial arts choreography as a whole does beat what you usually find in an American martial arts movie. That's the only genuine bit of merit to be found in the movie. However, if you add unintentional humor to your criteria of merit, the movie does better. Parts of the movie are pretty laughable, from the now dated 1990s fashions on display to the fact that it seems that every performer in the movie overacts outrageously. So there are some good laughs here, but I wouldn't say there are enough to make this essential viewing.
P.S. - If you are curious about cult Hong Kong movie star Bolo Yeung, he's pretty much wasted here, only getting a relatively small supporting role.
Is there any genuine merit to be found in the movie? Well, some of the martial art sequences aren't bad. In fact, the martial arts choreography as a whole does beat what you usually find in an American martial arts movie. That's the only genuine bit of merit to be found in the movie. However, if you add unintentional humor to your criteria of merit, the movie does better. Parts of the movie are pretty laughable, from the now dated 1990s fashions on display to the fact that it seems that every performer in the movie overacts outrageously. So there are some good laughs here, but I wouldn't say there are enough to make this essential viewing.
P.S. - If you are curious about cult Hong Kong movie star Bolo Yeung, he's pretty much wasted here, only getting a relatively small supporting role.
Well, Lawdog, then we know each other.
weimerr-123 July 2011
I too served on that ship at the same time, except I fixed your gear. Remember when they showed the movie in the lounge? no one would leave him alone after that. I was actually fairly good friends with him at the time, and he finally opened up about making it.
True, it's a terrible movie. But, Bolo Yeung. That alone takes up a lot of the lousy.
Sure it's a b-movie. Bolo Yeung is the headliner, for crying out loud. If you watch it looking for top notch editing, plotting, and cinematography; well, you're looking in the wrong place. If you watch it looking for martial arts fight scenes stitched together with a few connecting scenes, then there are worse ways to spend an afternoon, aren't there?
True, it's a terrible movie. But, Bolo Yeung. That alone takes up a lot of the lousy.
Sure it's a b-movie. Bolo Yeung is the headliner, for crying out loud. If you watch it looking for top notch editing, plotting, and cinematography; well, you're looking in the wrong place. If you watch it looking for martial arts fight scenes stitched together with a few connecting scenes, then there are worse ways to spend an afternoon, aren't there?
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