88 Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: When an ancient evil stirs once more, monks Peacock (Yuen Biao) and Lucky Fruit (Abe Hiroshi) are called back into action to confront a new supernatural threat. This time their quest draws them back to Hong Kong, where they must protect the innocent and face an unholy alliance of demons and dark sorcery. Alongside them is Ashura (Gloria Yip), still torn between her human heart and her fated link to the underworld, as her powers become the key to either salvation or destruction. Blending frantic martial arts, grotesque creatures, and wild practical effects, Saga of the Phoenix amps up the chaos of its predecessor with even stranger monsters, surreal comedy, and over-the-top spectacle. Directed by Lam Nai-Choi, the sequel to The Peacock King is a delirious slice of late-1980s Hong Kong/Japanese fantasy cinema - bigger, weirder, and just as unforgettable. (98 Mins)

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Universe HK DVD Synopsis: Phoenix is the sacred girl of hell. She was locked up in hell but she escapes one day and flees to earth. The holy monk sends his chief disciple Peacock to catch her. Her eagerness arouses sympathy of the holy monk, who let her enjoy the last seven days of her life on earth. However, the evil force wants to capture Phoenix in order to absorb her formidable power that can revitalize all the devils. (90 Mins)

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Views: Haven't not learnt her lesson from her previous adventures on earth, the Holy Maiden of Hell (Ashura) returns to her favourite holiday destination once again. Of course, it doesn't long for something to go wrong, and soon, Peacock and Lucky Fruit are back on the scene to rescue her once again. When their grand master threatens to have her sent back to Hell for good, the pair of heroes plead with him to give her another chance. Ashura asks for just 7 days on earth so that she can enjoy the best of what's on offer – a simple request that the grand master agrees to, providing Peacock and Lucky Fruit watch over her. Once back in Nepal, an army of demons led by the Concubine of Hell sets out to get her so that they can unlock her powers for the destruction of earth. Ashura soon meets her best friend, a gremlin-like creature called Genie who proves to be quite troublesome. After it gets captured by the demons, Peacock jumps into Hell to rescue him, which results in the hero getting frozen in a block of ice. Back on earth, Genie – now turned to stone – gets picked up by a traveller who takes it back to Hong Kong with her. Lucky Fruit and Ashura soon follow behind and find the girl living with her wacky scientist brother who wants Genie for his own experiments. As the demons close in, Ashura avoids capture thanks to Lucky Fruit and a few kung fu nuns, and continues to enjoy her life on earth while shopping, swimming, and eating – but it doesn't last. In a bid to save Peacock and stop the Hell Concubine once and for all, Ashura and Lucky Fruit travel to Hell for one last battle that results and a SFX packed showdown that may give Ashura a 'get out of jail free' card, and help save earth from annihilation!

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There isn't a lot of love kicking about among fans for Saga Of The Phoenix, which is most likely due to the lack of action in comparison to The Peacock King, as well as the fact that Yuen Biao gets frozen from the 30-minute mark that keeps him out of the picture until that last 10 minutes. While the film starts off well, with a burst of great SFX (for its time) and action, it quickly slows down somewhat to allow for more comedy based antics with Genie in the vain of Ghoulies, Critters, and even Gremlins – although sometimes he comes across more like the alien from the 80s ET rip-off, Mac & Me! But this kind of pacing isn't unusual with Hong Kong films of this era, and it still has enough going on between the lackluster comedy moments and character-building (of those we don't really care about) to keep things moving. That said, it's obvious that the film was rushed into production and made the very same year as its predecessor. While the great Yuen Biao was already a huge star in Japan, it seems that Golden Harvest really wanted to push the rest of their talent to the Nipponese market. This is evident with Biao's absence for the majority of the film as well as a cast of big Japanese names and even though it is a Hong Kong production, I felt that the overall feel of Saga Of The Phoenix had the feel and pacing of a (similarly themed) Japanese movie from the 80s. Many other reviewers have complained about the use of SFX, crazy themes of heaven and hell, monsters, and time travel in both films, but we mustn't forget that The Peacock King movies are based on the extremely popular Japanese manga of the same name – so as far as live-action adaptations go, I don't think director Lam Nai Choi did too bad a job at all. The last 10 minutes in particular are a lot of fun and play like a modernised version of the classic Zu: Warriors Of The Magic Mountain – rammed with some cool fight action, neat SFX, and a cool demon monster...

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I remember seeing an interview with Yuen Biao in which he expressed some concerns over his role in The Peacock King, so I was surprised to see him take a reduced role in the sequel. Regardless, he still lights up the screen for the most part whenever he's about and gets to let loose with some impressive kicks and moves during his action scenes. 1989 was a busy year for the man with both Peacock King movies in production, but Biao also starred in the fantastic action-adventure The Iceman Cometh – a film that carried a number of similar themes and SFX ideas but proved to be a much bigger and better movie – as well as a cameo in Jackie Chan's Miracles. Either side of that saw him come off productions such as Picture Of A Nymph, On The Run, and the epic Dragons Forever, before joining forces with big brother Hung once again for Shanghai Shanghai and the underrated License To Steal the following year. The handsome Hiroshi Abe makes his Hong Kong film debut as Japanese monk Lucky Fruit, taking over from Hirosho Mikami who played the same character in The Peacock King. It would be over a decade before Abe would return to Hong Kong with a role in the fun Tokyo Raiders, and almost a further two decades when he next appeared in Legend Of The Demon Cat. While I like Mikami in the role before, I think I enjoyed Abe a little more. His good looks and energy brought a little something extra to the role, and it was nice to see him get in on the action. Gloria Yip reprises her role from before, although gets to be a little cuter with it as she tries to fit in on earth, and the lovely Loletta Lee stars as the traveling girl who leads them to Hong Kong. Her annoying brother is played by comedy actor Lawrence Lau and the lesser-known Ngai Suet stars as Hell's Concubine, the big villain of the piece. Legendary actor Shintaro Katsu, who played the one and only Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman for many years, stars as Abbott Ji Ku, the grandmaster who grants Ashura her time on earth. It was great to see him appear in Saga Of The Phoenix, where he certainly brings a great screen presence to the role.

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While it will never go down as one of Yuen Biao's or one of Hong Kong cinema's greatest ever films, Saga Of The Phoenix isn't all bad. Director Lam Nai Choi has always been a rough-around-the-edges kind of guy, with titles like the infamous Story Of Ricky, Erotic Ghost Story, and The Seventh Curse under his belt. For this, he is joined by Lau Shut Yue, a director who had just come off the likes of Ghost Fever and Ghost Busting before going onto the fun My Neighbours Are Phantoms and Chow Sing Chi's, Look Out, Officer! The wonderful Yuen Bun handles the action, blending some decent martial arts with many fantastical and comic-book-inspired moves, and is aided by Wong Chi Ming – a long time kung fu actor of over 170 movies who also worked the action on many great titles such as Super Power, City War, The Seventh Curse, Demon Of The Lute, and even helped out on the classic Drunken Master 2! Recently restored with a stunning 2K print and released as a gorgeous Deluxe Edition Blu-ray by 88 Films, Saga Of The Phoenix has never looked better which helped me like that little bit more. Accompanied by a few bonus features, including a fun audio commentary with Frank Djeng & F.J. DeSanto, this is probably the best presentation this little film is going to get, and definitely worth a place in any true Biao fan's collection!

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Overall: While it may be far from amazing and not as exciting as the first, Saga Of The Phoenix still passes the time with some fun moments and nice action scenes!

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88 Films Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & F.J. DeSanto, Alternate Japanese Footage, Interview with Albert Lee on Golden Harvest Overseas, Image Gallery, Trailer

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Universe DVD Extras: Biographies, Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video for the 88 Films release HERE

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