Fists of Legend (2013) | (DVD) Slipcover | USED

Title: Fists of Legend (2013)

Alternate Title: 전설의 주먹

Genre: Action / Drama

Plot Synopsis
After Deok-kyu’s Olympic dreams collapse and he faces years of hardship—including running a failing noodle shop while caring for his daughter—he receives an unexpected invitation: to compete in a televised mixed martial arts tournament featuring former high school legends now pushing past their primes. Compelled by financial need and unresolved rivalry, he and his old friends Sang-hoon and Jae-seok confront their pasts, revisiting youthful dreams and losses through flashbacks, all while fighting for redemption in the ring.

Cast and Crew

• Director: Kang Woo-suk

• Writers: Jang Min-seok

• Cast:

  • Hwang Jung-min as Im Deok-kyu

  • Yoo Jun-sang as Lee Sang-hoon

  • Yoon Je-moon as Shin Jae-seok

  • Lee Yo-won as Hong Gyu-min

  • Jung Woong-in as Son Jin-ho

IMDb Link: Fists of Legend (2013) 

Reviews from Letterboxd

1. MrJago – ★★★★☆
   “It’s 2.5 hours long but it doesn’t feel like it at all. The film has its heart in the right place, Hwang Jeong-min is great, there are some great emotional moments and loads of punches to the face 🙂 “

2. Rhythm Zaveri – ★★★★☆
   “For whatever reasons, I end up liking Kang Woo-suk movies a lot more than I should! This is essentially two films rolled into one. While the MMA sports underdog drama plays by the rulebooks and is fairly predictable in its fight sequences, it is still a very entertaining part of the film, which is bolstered by a fantastic starcast. But it is really the flashback sequences, the tale of friendship, dreams and hope, all of it crashing, which really is the highlight for me. Park Jung-min needs to be in more action films because he pulls of those “gangster” sequences very well! EDIT: Just checking the special features on the bluray and as it turns out, the action choreography is by Jung Doo-hong. No wonder it’s impressive!”

3. laterunner – ★★★☆☆

4. Invincible Asia – ★★★½
   “Too long for its own good with one flashback too many, but Hwang Jeong-Min is great as the naive, yet good-hearted centre of the film and a few nicely filmed punches to the face make things entertaining and more gripping.”

5. The Movie Matt – ★★★★☆
   “A shockingly strong sports film, Fists of Legend plays up a lot of intriguing elements for a martial arts film too. Your basic themes of loyalty, family, and honor come into play, but it’s all done around a modern sports film model. Ironically enough for a film that uses MMA as its foundation, it has a very strong tendency to make a mockery of the hoopla around the sport as far as the ridiculous ’reality’ shows and sponsorship goes…and even pushes far enough to have our hero be a traditional boxer that shows them a thing or two about the soul of martial arts. It’s heart is almost a parody of of groups like UFC.”

Meta Description:
South Korean action-drama about former high school legends who enter a brutal televised MMA competition to reclaim honor, repair friendships, and face their pasts.