Rating:

Stars: Carter Wong, Mark Long, Jack Long, Lo Lieh, Chang Yu Yu, Choy Chung Ahun, Lung Fei, Yuen Hsin Yi, Yuen Kwai

Director and producer: Joseph Kuo

Fight Choreography: Yuen Woo Ping

1978, Taiwan, Hong Hwa Film Co.

 

Lu Chen is being chased by the Hei Pa killers (Yuen Hsin Yi and Yuen Kwai) but is saved just in time by the Lei Ping school. The old Lu Chen seeks refugee in the school while he's being chased by other killers known as the Ching Ying group whom he had fought as a young man.

One of the Ching Ying chiefs (Carter Wong) has trained Tai Chi practically since birth and has white hair and thin voice because of that. Normal people have 108 pressure points but Tai Chi experts reduce that to one which they can move at will want making their bodies impenetrable except for that weak point.

Tin Pa (Lo Lieh) the other Ching Yi chief has a feared weapon which has its surprises.

The chiefs arrive at the Lei Ping school and massacre their master (Lung Fei) and humiliate the schools name.

Three members (Jack Long, Mark Long and Chang Yu Yu) train for revenge.

 

Great Joseph Kuo action that has a cool feeling about it.

There are a couple of people who have unnecessarily small roles, some appear for only one scene but in scenes that are important. Like it's obvious that you should know them although you've never seen them. You often find yourself thinking "who the hell is that guy?".

Anyway...this is the second Joseph Kuo film that I've seen and they both have just what I want. Crazy and really mean villains, lots of training scenes, great outdoor Chinese/Taiwanese settings and lots of great fighting.

Most of the actors here are also seen in "7 Grandmasters" surprisingly playing totally different roles.

This movie also has those "commenting a style" scenes like "Tai Chi style?", I think Joseph Kuo was one of the ones to come up with stuff like that making the movie cooler and more enjoying.

 

Carter Wong looks cool and scary with his white wig. He doesn't use Tai Chi at all (it couldn't look more different) but he's entertaining to watch which is the most important. I love it when he somersaults over his enemies and beats them with his head (a stunt?). It is also great to see him draw the yin & yang symbol on the ground while he's fighting. Great stuff!!! He also laughs for like 5 minutes every time he beats someone.

Lo Lieh is mean as hell and fights pretty good too. He's nothing to play with here!

Jack and Mark Long are both good with forms, weapons and everything else they do. I love the scenes where Jack Long trains with broadswords doing forms and cutting thin bamboo sticks placed on the ground with a great soundtrack played on the background. I really like the themes here (when will they make a music CD with themes from old school movies?!). Jack is specially acrobatic and fast as always.

Chang Yu Yu is new to me. There's a scene where he practices blowing and then puts these metal balls (Baoding iron balls) in his mouth and then blows them into a tree (that's really cool). Carter Wong did something similar in "Big Trouble in Little China" where he held balls in his hands and then blew them on his enemies.

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