REVIEW
This is another mediocre Taiwanese production that is marginally aided by the acrobatic antics of Chin Lung, some lighthearted humor and the addition of Fist of Fury alumni, James Tin.

James Tin stars as a vicious fighter who returns after his father's death to reclaim his martial arts school from Miu Tin who was given the school. Miu and his students who remain loyal scatter. Several years later Miu is hiding out in another school as a laborer while James Tin has begun seeking out and killing the remaining students in hopes of finding Miu. At the school, Chin Lung is a clownish laborer who dreams of finding a master to teach him martial arts. After he foils an already bungled attempt to kidnap the schoolmaster's daughter played by Pan Yingzi, Chin Lung is attacked by the kidnapper and his men. Miu Tin comes to his rescue, but one of the men happens to be an associate of his arch enemy and a trap is set. Miu Tin survives but is badly wounded. He returns to the school where Chin cares for him and eventually becomes his student. Chin combines his natural acrobatic abilities with Miu's training to defeat two more of James Tin's associates. But not knowing what he looks like, Chin inadvertently leads James straight to his master who ends up killed. Chin plots revenge for his master's death by killing off James' remaining associate and eventually James himself.

The Bone Crushing Kid is a perfect example of the average early '80's film that continued to capitalize on the popularity of kung fu comedies introduced with the rise of Jackie Chan several years earlier. Hong Kong stars like James Tin (Fist of Fury) and Chen Hung Lieh (Inheritor of Kung Fu) were hired by Taiwanese studios hoping to tap into the success of a genre already in decline. The Bone Crushing Kid actually fares well among low budget efforts from the same era like The 72 Desperate Rebels and Hero at the Border Region. This is not due to the "seen it before" plot of a master hiding from trouble who teaches kung fu to his student who must avenge his master's death. Nor would the reason involve the mostly uninspiring martial arts display or the more overtly banal humor. What does work is Chin Lung's energetic and humorous performance. He's a competent physical comedian even though much of the choreography he must perform is not anywhere near as entertaining as Jackie Chan's early work. Chin also has a fair amount of charm and the scene where he waltzes into a gambling parlor as a woman to fight one of Tin's men is definitely memorable. But, the last scene is perhaps the best. After defeating James Tin in a grueling match where he's forced to use every trick he knows, instead of walking off in silent resolve, he leaps into the air hollering in delight like a little kid.

James Tin, who played one of Bruce Lee's brothers at the school in Fist of Fury is in an utterly forgetful villainous role despite some decent martial arts display. He really needs something like a big wig, outlandish clothing or a kooky kung fu style. None of the rest of the cast distinguishes themselves in any remarkable way. And like the cast, the film itself doesn't really stand out within the genre. But as a Tai Seng release, this is actually one of the better ones from their early catalog of Martial Arts Theater titles.