On Yuen Biao's exceptional filmography where virtually every film on it is a classic in it's own right this is a huge disappointment.
Firstly, this isn't really a Yuen Biao movie (thank goodness), despite being listed first in the credits under the name of Yuen Bill. Yuen Biao is in this movie for about a total of only 30 minutes.
The problem with this film is virtually everything. Firstly the plot is appalling. Even `gweilo in exile' Bey Logan would have a problem writing a script as bad as this. The major problem is that it really doesn't make sense. The plot lumbers from one illogical step to another. It is a travesty. It really is.
Also, the soundtrack, which can make or break a movie, is annoyingly repetitive. Go and watch other Yuen Biao classics such as The Iceman Cometh and Mr Vampire 2 and just see how brilliant their soundtracks are and wholly complement the actual movie. Here the music must have been composed by a toddler.
The direction by Philip Ko is terrible. Although, he does show some very few glimpses of talent throughout. The acting by the main actor is terrible (he can't fight as well, despite being handed most of the fights in the movie). However Yuen Biao is flawless as always. The fights in this movie are so badly choreographed a baby could have choreographed them better. Saying that Yuen Biao is so talented, when he fights, he actually makes the choreography look good.
The end fight really is shockingly short (about a minute). And it doesn't help the fight is 3 on 1 (3 god guys, one bad guy). The bad guy, Chin Siu Ho, who was in the fantastic Fist of Legend, gets only like a minute throughout the whole movie to show his talent and even then at the end he is lumbered with terrible choreography. The only film that could have saved this movie would have been to let Yuen Biao and Chin Sui Ho fight at the end one-on-one but it wasn't to be.
All in all, this is not really a Yuen Biao movie (thank goodness). Everything really does smack of badness. But I guess the laws of averages must mean that even Yuen Biao has to have a bad movie somewhere on his filmography. Here's a tip for you. Disregard this as a Yuen Biao movie (as he is only in it for less than 30 minutes) and just watch his other movies to show yourself how great Yuen Biao really is.
