Reviews

The unwary viewer must endure nearly an hour of an otherwise unintelligible story, which may or may not involve long-lost brothers, cruel kung fu teachers and corrupt leaders, waiting for Gordon Liu, cast as a shiftless and evil royal, to get up from his fancy dias and show the other players a thing or two about martial arts. When the script finally does get around to putting Gordon on his feet, in swoops that stupid bird -- apparently the other member of the cast with any significant athletic ability. For the die-hard collector only -- and then perhaps best used to prop doors or discipline household pets.

Actually, the "Romeo & Juliet" part of the story mostly serves to frame the film, which is otherwise an action-rich quest for a clan treasure. On the way, Ti Lung meets a number of enemies, makes a couple of friends and finds out what his father was really up to all these years. The movie gets silly in places -- though no odder than, say, that Queen Mab speech, which purports to be a classic -- and there are a couple of truly bizarre performances amid equally strange sets and effects. Still, the pacing is good, the action is plentiful and the various plot lines tie up pretty well. Also, Venoms fans might be amused to see Lo Meng armed and Sun Chien survive the ending.

So you've got that urge to watch a good, old Shaw Bros. picture, but you can't make up your mind between a period kung-fu movie and a modern actioner... or maybe a fantasy thing ... or maybe a light love story. Well, if you don't mind a somewhat disjointed story told jarringly and a psychedelic edge to the cheesier-than-usual effects, then this movie might be for you. It's at least three movies -- one each involving heaven, earth and hell -- rolled (roughly) into one, with a musical interlude featuring Alexander Fu Sheng and his lovely wife Jenny. Certainly you don't have to settle on any one actor for this viewing selection, as just about everyone turns up in it -- though they're not always sure why. There are a couple of good action scenes and a couple of flashes of comedy, maybe even on purpose. The strangest thing about this film is that you kind of have to watch it through once you start because you're kind of enjoying it. So it's one of Chang Cheh's weirder contributions; it's still a Chang Cheh film!

An ill-gotten treasure brings out the worst in almost everyone in this complicated tale of swirling alliances, ulterior motives and betrayal. Lots of action -- inventive weaponry and some interesting matches. Just about every star from the Venoms-era Shaw Bros. studio appears in this picture somewhere, so it's alright to watch it a couple of times to make sure you've got it all.

Highly entertaining swordplay picture from Chang Cheh, scripted by I Kuang. David Chiang and Ti Lung are both well-cast. For once, the love story part even adds something -- stay tuned for one of the best oh-so-THAT'S-what-you-two-are-up-to flashes ever committed to film. Great action repays a couple of viewings.