REVIEW:
Feisty screen legend Polly Shang Kuan stars in this swordplay whodunit that runs at a blistering pace with nearly non-stop fights, rapid camera edits and a plot sure to confuse the unwary viewer.

Set in the wu xia world of noble fighters where justice is served by the point of a sword, Sing Pei Pei (Polly Shang Kuan) arrives in town to investigate the theft of eighteen jade arhats (figurines). Joining her is swordsman Kung Chin Ya (Lee Jan Wa) who agrees to find the murderer of a prominent citizen and martial artist named Wong Chun Wei (Chang Yi). As their investigations proceed Chin Ya finds himself the target of dozens of attacks, most offered as a test of skill. It turns out that the person responsible is the only other master of the Lo Han style and he wants to make sure he is the only master! Hu Ying Pao (Lo Lieh) becomes the prime suspect in the murder case, but Pei Pei sets a trap that ultimately reveals the real murderer who also happens to be the arhats thief and the Lo Han master all in one.

This story may not seem difficult to fathom, but the way in which it is presented makes it so. Within the first five minutes of the film we are introduced to our heroes and a fight ensues. Polly Shang Kuan's motives remain unknown for the first half of the film and both characters just seem to run into one fight after another. The editing is very quick and takes the zoom-ins to the extreme which becomes disconcerting at times. Flashbacks with characters seen at an earlier age and the shear volume of characters that run in and out of the narrative is confusing enough.

The kung fu is fast, occasionally memorable, and constant although poor direction is responsible for too many scenes shot in low levels of light and close-up which both restrict your ability to see the action clearly. Polly is delightfully expressive and easily maintains her image as one of Hong Kong's greatest kung fu queens. Her balancing act on a gold ball opposite Phillip Ko Fei and another one atop a pole while facing off against Fang Fang are highlights. Lee Jan Wa is either a newcomer or possibly a Taiwanese actor who had this shot at fame in Hong Kong. I will not say that he blew the opportunity, but he makes a mediocre male lead. Lo Lieh gets screen time as another hero, although he is best known for his villainous roles. For Polly and Lo this film is somewhat of a throwback to their early swordplay films, only on a smaller budget and with lousy editing.

In spite of its flaws, The Eighteen Jade Arhats could have been a decent, if modest swordplay film if not for a fanatical effort to cram in everything. The constant challenges go beyond reasonable during a bizarre detour the story takes when Polly and Lee visit the house of Wong Chun Wei. They are greeted with a mob of fighters dressed to look like zombies and later Lee is nearly seduced into a deadly bed of meat tenderizing. After this "misunderstanding" the two are admitted, told the master is dead and then they leave. And with that you can leave your expectations behind that this film is anything more than another kung fu quickie trying to milk the talented players who appear in it.