Shaolin fo jia da dao

It opens with monks practicing mostly weapons over the opening credits. Next the prison guards make rounds at night. A prisoner escapes. Ku Feng kills another prisoner then gets away. He meets his benefactor and they discuss past crimes and pending revenge. Cut to two other guys who are the other side of the story. Next at the Shaolin Temple, Lau Ga-Yung as Little Mouse likes to sleep in late. He soon leaves the temple. Then it gets weird with a girl and ghosts.

There is a rule in storytelling "Show, don't tell" but in this movie we get to hear the character's thoughts as exposition too. Despite that and the characters constantly repeating their plans to each other it is still not easy to follow. Worse, at 30 minutes in other than Ku Feng's escape there has been zero martial arts in this movie. I rode the fast forward to the 38 minute mark to watch a beating. Then Little Mouse stepped in and it was a fight for about one minute.

Lau Ga-Yung is Little Mouse, the lead character. He is nephew of the great Lau Kar-Leung, aka Beardie. Kwan Hoi-San began in Cantonese opera and did about 175 roles, settling into the typical police captain or mayor or favorite uncle role. Ku Feng, if you don't know Ku Feng, you know nothing.

My copy is the Ocean Shores release in VHS format dubbed in English and converted to a digital file.

Overall this movie tries to be everything and succeeds at nothing, failing even at the gratuitous nude scenes. This is a warning not a review. I came to see a martial arts movie and left scratching my butt with no idea what I just watched.