Lau’s action extravaganza pits Chinese and Japanese martial arts against each other in a quest for legitimacy and personal dignity, disguised as an amusing marital conflict drama between a Chinese man and a Japanese woman.
Offering almost nothing in terms of plot and characterisation, Lau’s film is an often hilarious if skilful showcase of a series of dynamic action ‘spectacles’ one after another.
Even the thinnest possible execution of a revenge plot cannot undo one of Shaw’s greatest martial arts movies, one that sees Lau creating new stratospheric heights for action filmmaking.
One of Lau’s most beloved works—a showcase of stupendous kung-fu slapstick comedy laced with riotous one-liners, as a royal prince goes undercover with a con artist to unravel a conspiracy related to the throne.
A young man is forced to escape from the oppressive Tartars and into the doors of a Shaolin temple in this exceptional high point of ‘70s HK kung-fu cinema that is as entertaining and cathartic as they come.
Eternality Tan 