"The incomparable martial arts expert, Bruce Li, stars as a wealthy hero who defends his village from the assaults of ill-wishers."

This film has been released by several other DVD companies, including BCI Eclipse (Brentwood Communications), Front Row Entertainment and Jalisco Films. The former two share the same print of the film as this one. The same videotape degradation appears on all three transfers.

Picture quality

This film is noticeable cropped, presented fullscreen (1:33:1). There is some wear in the beginning and in the end of the film, while the rest of the movie looks decent enough. Most of Bruce Li's films on DVD are not as clear and sharp as this one, so I have to say this is one of the better Bruce Li DVD presentations available.

Sound quality

Presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

The Film

Apparently this project was intended as a kung fu comedy film a la Jackie Chan's 'Snake In The Eagle's Shadow, in which Chan excels, whereas Li is obviously not suited to this genre, being more accustomed to the "serious" heroic type of roles. However, Li and Simon Yuen seem to work well together throughout the film. Li plays Yah, a bank owner whose kung fu sucks, thanks to his two fraudulent teachers. They teach him stupid stuff such as "cat" and "dog" kung fu and "elephant's trunk". When his bank is taken by the bad guys (the leader being played by Kong Do), he wises up by firing the two teachers and learns kung fu from a blind old beggar (played by the late great Simon Yuen), who takes him under his wing. The main bad guy is Tiger Yang, who many kung fu fans may remember him in 'Warriors 2' and 'Tower Of Death', and he shows us some decent high kicks. The old beggar has a score to settle with Tiger and both he and Yah defeat him in the final fight. It is very obvious when a double was used in Simon Yuen's action scenes, but it looks good anyway. Li is effective, but a little bit slower than in other of his best films such as 'The Chinese Stuntman' and 'Iron Dragon Strikes Back'.

Extras

An interactive menu with 12 chapter stops and a quiz about the film.

Packaging

The disc comes packed in one of those super jewel cases. There are newer presentations that come in standard DVD boxes. The front says "The incomparable martial arts expert BRUCE LI".

Conclusion

The DVD presentation is above average for a Bruce Li film. Not a classic, but nonetheless I actually find this flick quite entertaining from beginning to end.

RATINGS

Film 8/10
Picture Quality 8/10
Sound Quality 8/10
Packaging 7/10
Overall Disc Score 7/10

© 2004 Review by Ed San.