The movie focuses on Ti Lung's character the whole way, so don't expect to see a variety of characters like in parts 1 & 2. I thought that this one also lacked focus and seemed to not even make sense at times. For example, in the first 15 minutes of the movie, Ti Lung is being escorted to prison by two officers and they start drinking together while he is bonded? Then while the officers are drunk and passed out, Ti Lung befriends a couple but he refuses to take their advice to flee. The officers are woken up and the couple then asks Ti Lung to stay for dinner. He does stay with them and the officers are not shown again until the next day?

Little things like this usually don't bother me at all, but there were so many of them in this movie that it often became difficult to even understand. Even the end was confusing. Ti Lung makes it to safety and and is given the beads and head piece that he wore in the previous two movies. It then flashes to the character from the two previous movies and ends. It almost suggest that this was a prequel rather than a sequel to "All Men Are Brothers" and "The Water Margin".

The end fight is very good, but it doesn't make up for the first hour of the movie. I'd suggest watching the first two movies in this series and pretending that this thirrd one does not exist.

Let me start off delicately so I don't infuriate the children. This movie ain't sh**. An overhyped bowl of average soup always tastes the same: salty. Everyone seems to talk about the extraordinary action and martial arts choreography being of the highest caliber. What a bunch of bull. I can't speak for you folks, but personally I like my wire fu with more fu than wire, not the other way around. The action is ludicrous, gravity defying, irrational slop. Yuen Wo Ping has put together a bunch of brilliant art in his day, but this is not of that grouping. Three expert martial artists/thespians (Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Michelle Yeoh) are completely wasted and are used as yo-yo's instead of the skilled athletes they are. The story and characters are very typical and there is nothing truly exceptional about this film.

Now that I have pissed my name in the snow, let me address the flipside of the coin. Don't get it twisted--I don't believe this movie sucks, I just think that it is one of the, if not the, most overly embellished kung fu films around. "The Tai Chi Master" does have many redeeming traits. The story, while standard, was presented well; the characters had pretty good chemistry; and a few of the action sequences did show a spark of character (it was cool to see Jet and Yuen use a Shaolin staff style with brooms). So overall, yes, the film is enjoyable; but it is not a classic and in my opinion should not be regarded as such. Like I insinuated in the beginning of my review, this movie is best for wuxia and Jet Li fanatics.

Don't give me that look. I love wuxia and Jet Li too, but these days for me to get a real thrill I got to go wireless. You have no idea how long I have been holding that in. Please direct all complaints and outbursts to the nearest brick wall.

This is in Mandarin with imbedded subtitles, despite the box saying it's the English version. The bonus fight's very silly, and seems to star the Shaolin hero from this film.

To be honest, this film really isn't very good. The film seems very disjointed, like someone cut chunks out at random. Our bald hero seems to become a great kung fu expert despite the training consisting of swinging on some ropes and doing a few flips. If that's all it takes, I'm off to become one as well.

Characters seem to disappear then reappear with mention, and the end fight has the three combatants jump into a hallway, then mysteriously cuts to them, in the woods, with the villain up a tree!

A very silly part of the end fight is the obligatory drunken monk bizarrely being allowed to give the Shaolin hero alcohol to allow him to use his drunken pole fighting. WTF? What self-repecting villain would stand there and allow this? He could have at least have been knocked down and struggling to get back up.

Going back to the drunken pole fighting, this is actually rather good. Quite possibly the only reason to watch the film. The rest of the choreography's good, but nothing special.

I never have been able to discover who Jacky Lee is, or why he's mentioned on the casing as cameoing. I presume he's the random stranger that turns up at the temple looking for a fight, leading to a fight with our Shaolin hero. Never heard of him outside of this film.

Having enjoyed kung fu flicks for awhile now, I recently began picking up as many of the classics starring Lo Meng and the gang as I possibly could. Of course with praises sung from many a rooftop about the Venoms' releases, I opted for one in particular: "Kid With The Golden Arm".

The plot is a standard affair. An escort service of kung fu masters is hired to protect a large amount of gold being transported to a specific destination. Of course this ensures that a gang of bandits--lead by Golden Arm (Lo Meng) and consisting of Silver Spear (Lu Feng), Iron Robe and Brass Head--are also out to get the gold.

What I immediately gathered from watching "Kid With The Golden Arm" is that it feels rushed. Everything from the simplified plot to the shallow characters to the awkwardly choreographed fight scenes.

Sure there is the typical comic relief provided in the form of a drunken monk, played by Phillip Kwok, but even his attempt at lightening the heart of the film feels lackluster. Past characters of drunken kung fu experts have been done excellently and badly, and unfortunately this one is done badly. A man carrying a pot of wine does not equal a character anywhere near the likes of, say, Yuen Siu Tien's iconic turn.

"The Kid With The Golden Arm" tries and tries but fails to improve on traditional Venoms movies. The action is more like badly coordinated dancing than the hard-hitting violence we've come to know from Chang Sheh and the mob.

The inclusion of a female character does nothing to sustain any originality that might be salvaged from its haphazardness. After all, she practically does nothing throughout the film's duration.

To wrap this up "Kid..." is a must for fans itching to add to their Venoms collection, but it's entirely too sub-par to be considered anywhere near a classic in my humble opinion. With blocky, awkward fights reminiscent of Chinese opera, bad characterization and a rather ridiculous try-hard ending, this outing for the legendary group is a little below average.