In my opinion, any discussion of this movie's greatness begins with a mention of Hau Chiu Sing. This movie, in addition to "Snake Fist Vs. The Dragon", demonstrates once and for all that Hau Chiu Sing is the greatest onscreen practitioner of drunken kung fu ever. His virtuosity is simply a sight to behold; the drunken swordplay scenes may be the best put on film. His scenes alone would be enough to recommend this film.

However, this movie is more than just Hau Chiu Sing. The training and fighting scenes involving his three students are also excellent, particularly those involving the "kung fu corrector". The choreography of this film is so superb it reminds me of other classics such as "The Prodigal Son".

Furthermore, the comedic moments that accompany some of the training and fight sequences are actually funny, and the comedy is used sparingly and appropriately, unlike most of the oldschool films of this period, whose directors seemed to believe that grating non-stop slapstick was somehow appealing.

I highly recommend this gem to anyone. It is one of the all-time greats. A must-buy.

As with most Shaw films of this period, particularly by this director, there is some comedy. But unlike most other old-school films that contain comedy, the jokes and gags in this movie are actually funny instead of just being annoying and tedious, and this manages to give the movie a light-hearted tone throughout most of its running-time.

This movie is a definite must-have in any old-school film collection. It is impossible to use too many superlatives when describing its greatness. Absolutely brilliant.

Unfortunately the above description cannot make up for what has to be the most ridiculous, stupid, insane (I could go on like this for a paragraph, but that would be beating a dead horse) plot twist in the history of Hong Kong cinema. It's worse that such a revelation occured near the end of the film, as it spoils the 70 minutes which precede it. For me the twist was so ludicrous, I almost considered giving this otherwise brilliant movie 1 star.

Buy this DVD for the brilliant first 2/3 of the film. But be warned though, the plot twist is asinine in the extreme, in my opinion.

This movie has everything: a multitude of weapons utilized in brilliantly choreographed scenes, great hand-to-hand combat, breathtaking acrobatics; all the physical qualities one associates with the Venoms are here.

And while the plot does evolve into one of revenge, it has much more meat to it than the standard "you killed my teacher, now I'm going to kill you" fare.

Lu Feng is at his sleazy, scheming best as the villian in this film, and he has the kung fu skills to back up his evil machinations. And unlike most Venoms films, all of them play major roles, including Sun Chien who is often inexplicably in the background in many Venoms films. His increased presence makes for some great kicking action. And though there is quite a bit of bloody violence, as usual with the Venoms, there are also some funny, lighthearted comedic moments that help to flesh out the characters and make them more than just two-dimensional killing machines.

This film is an absolute must-have for all old-school fans; it is one of the best ever. Highly recommended.

As with any other film starring Hwang Jang Lee and John Liu, you would expect a lot of kicking action, and this film definitely does delivers on that front. This film contains, in my opinion, the best fight sequences ever produced by these two men. The kicking sequences will have you picking your jaw off the floor.

This would not be an old-school classic if it didn't contain some old-school cheesiness. The first half of the film in which Gold Fox's brothers discuss going to a martial arts tournament in the capital has little or no bearing on the film and serves primarily as a poor excuse for throwing in more fight sequences. Given the quality of these fights, it is tough to complain much about this though. There are also some unintentionally funny moments in this film as well. It is hard not to laugh when you see the iron hand that is supposed to have replaced the hand of one of Gold Fox's brothers. It is also fun trying to spot the numerous and blatant continuity errors within the film. A perfect and hilarious example is Yiu Lam's disappearing and reappearing sweat stains in a fight versus Tino Wong.

However, it is things like this that give old-school films much of their endearing charm. Combine that charm with the amazing fight sequences and you have a film that you will want to watch over and over. I recommend this to all fans of old-school kung-fu films, and if you love high-kicking action this one is definitely for you.

I don't care how beautiful a movie is if it fails to entertain, and this movie is so mind-numbingly boring any discussion of virtuoso cinematography and lavish set designs is pointless. This movie would put even the most ardent HK film-fan to sleep.

Anyone who has ever read reviews of this director's work will rarely, if ever, find words like fun, fast-paced, riveting, exciting or even entertaining. Instead we get descriptions that contain words like langurous, brooding, convoluted and my personal favorite from the lexicon of arrogant critic-speak, challenging. These are all just euphemisms for "boring", which is how all of Wong Kar-Wai's incomprehensible, supremely self-conscious, snore-inducing vanity pieces can be described.

For me personally, the most irksome part of the whole film (I use the term loosely when describing this piece of shit) was its ridiculous anti-Americanism; evidently justifying 9-11 was supposed to imbue this "provocative" film with a measure of anti-establishment street cred. The message this dreadful movie seemingly wishes to convey is that terrorists, including the "heroes" of the story, are really only misunderstood idealists rather than cold-blooded mass-murderers.

This film does have several flaws though. When discussing the beginning of the film, several of the lengthier reviews have pointed out Joseph Kuo's obvious use of a model for the distance shots of Shaolin Temple. This wasn't really a big deal for me. The most ridiculous part of the Shaolin Temple portion of the movie was not the model, but rather a scene that occurs during the bombardment of the temple by the Ching. The shots inside the temple show monks being killed and fires igniting everywhere. With all the carnage that is occurring, the abbot still insists that the monks cannot leave the temple until they defeat the bronzemen that guard one of the exits. I am not kidding; more people die to the bronzemen than are killed by the Ching. This bit of stupidity almost made me stop the film right then and there. Another stupid moment occurs when Carter Wong returns badly injured from a failed attempt to kill the emperor. Instead of treating his wounds, the teacher orders him hung upside down and beaten.

Aside from a few ridiculous moments, this movie does have some good fight scenes, although I wish there had been more of them. As for the reviewers who mock the emperors anti-sword vest, it is certainly much more plausible than having him invincible except for the presence of one hidden weak point, a ridiculous device that is used far too often in old-school movies.

This film, as with most set in the so-called "martial arts world", has an often convoluted plot that leaves you scratching your head at times. However, in the case of this movie, it really draws in the viewer as more and more details are revealed about the various characters and more is learned about the motivations behind their actions.

And while those who are searching for a lot of empty-hand fight scenes may be disappointed, the weapons fighting is excellent; this film has some of the best sword-fighting choreography I have ever seen. It is unfortunate that the people who made this otherwise excellent movie almost ruined it by speeding up some of the fights to almost cartoonish levels. This is the flaw I mentioned earlier. And it goes beyond merely removing a couple of frames, a technique to which most old-school fans have grown accustomed. There were several times in the movie that the fights were sped up so much, it appeared as if someone had hit the fast forward button on my DVD player. This occurs during several fights throughout this otherwise great movie. This flaw really drags down my rating of this film.

The film does have its good points though, chief among them being the presence of Wang Tao. It is almost impossible for this guy to be in a bad kung fu movie. His charisma and skill automatically elevate even the worst of old school kung fu films. His fight scenes in this film are excellent, although I wish there would have been more of them. The predictable plot does not exactly help this film either. Also, those expecting to see a Lo Lieh film will be quite disappointed as he exits about five minutes into the film. This is a shame as it is one of the rare old school films where he is not the villain.

But if you are a fan of Wang Tao, this is a highly recommended must have for your collection.

This film displays all the usual Chu Yuan characteristics: a detailed, perhaps convoluted, plot containing mystery elements and a dizzying array of characters including the usual quota of outlandish assassins, lavish sets, beautiful women, expertly choreographed fight scenes and some of the best acting seen in this genre. Though the plot will sometimes have you scratching your head in disbelief, it propels the always-entertaining film at a rapid pace. The horribly boring Wong Kar-wai could take a lesson from Chu Yuan on how to make a swordplay film that is both exquisite and entertaining, without being absurdly self-indulgent.

But the greatest treat for genre fans will be the appearance of Lo Lieh not as a malevolent villain, but as a heroic, and very humorous, killer-for-hire who likes to fight in his bathrobe.

I highly recommend this film to fans of Ti Lung, Chu Yuan, Lo Lieh, and swordplay films in general. And you will never forget the hilarious closing scene.