When an evil kung-fu master kills a couple in search of a secret fighting manual, the housekeeper is left to bring up their infant son and encourage him to gain revenge. On reaching manhood, the orphan (Liu) learns kung-fu basics and then, with housekeeper still by his side, he searches for a skilled master to follow. Thankfully he happens upon a renowned leg fighter (Kwon Young Moon) who has been employed by a wealthy local, therefore he's given the opportunity to learn in secret. After a brief time under his new master's care, the secret student is discovered by the employers and thrown out of the house along with a newly acquired sidekick. The friends work as street traders and use their time to observe the various fighters who wander the streets. Following a few entanglements, they find two new masters who teach them a variety of kung-fu styles and techniques. By the time the avenger meets his parents' killer, he's fully trained and ready to exact revenge.

The description for 'Fighting Ace' doesn't exactly make it jump off the page, but it proves to be a better than average effort. Firstly the expected plot twists and turns prove to be enjoyably handled; the usual master/student story is expanded to accomodate four masters and an extra student. Even the opening catalyst for revenge allows for a bit more empathy than usual and John Liu's character is given extra depth because of it. Perhaps it is this character enhancement that makes Liu's performance more charismatic than he often is and instead of being just a superb screen fighter, he has a certain charm here as well. The leading man is comfortably assisted by a solid cast including fellow kicking king Kwon Young Moon who steals the brief scenes he features in. The fight action is also excellent to watch with a bit of innovation going along way. As was mentioned, the film loses some of its qualities later on with the cliches happen at a slackly delivered pace; the last twenty minutes packs in all of the tiresome moments and again features a very inadequate epilogue. 'Fighting Ace' features one of the sequences that was in just about every independent kung-fu film of the time, perhaps due to some obscure Asian law: the young heroine of the piece must meet a gang of lecherous bullies who harrass her only for the hero to leap in at the last minute. Seeing scores of these moments before, one wonders if ancient China was one of the most dangerous place ever, especially if you were twentysomething, female and attractive. It's this kind of cinematic drudgery that stalls this in the three star category.

PICTURE: A Brentwood DVD, part of the excellent value 10-disc 'Fists Of Fire, Swords Of Death' collection. Considering how cheap the DVD is as part of the pack, this is a good print. The picture is fairly dark and has quite a few blemishes, but has reasonable depth. The colours are murky and are prone to bleed, though its certainly watchable.

SOUND: Good English dub with familiar voices.

TRAILERS: None.

EXTRAS: Just a short text explanation of the origins of kung-fu.

REVIEW
A tiresome start kicks up a notch once John Liu makes his entrance in this run of the mill revenge-fueled flick.

The film tiresomely begins with a generic baddie fighting to get his hands on what sounds like San Te's Kung Fu book. San Te is the famous ruffian turned Shaolin monk who takes his knowledge of kung fu to the streets so that average citizens could fight the tyranny of the Ching Dynasty. Of course, that's another story...

Having nearly beaten the owner of the book to death, the fellow finally gets what he wants when the defender's wife hands the book over. Big mistake. With the book in hand, our antagonist decides he wants the woman too. After having his way, he leaves the pair dead with their infant son in the care of their housekeeper.

Twenty years later, the child has grown into a man named Fan Chi Kou (John Liu) who decides to learn kung fu in order to get revenge, never mind the fact that he wouldn't even know where to find the creep. Chi Kou and his housekeeper go to work for a wealthy man who has just hired a kung fu master to teach his lazy son. Realizing that the wealthy son is basically an idiot, Master Yen (Kwan Yun Moon) is more than happy to teach Chi Kou instead, who proves to be an apt pupil. But a wicked headmaster discovers the truth and after making the mistake of beating Chi Kou's friend, ends up getting a serious thrashing that results in our hero getting kicked out.

Chi Kou and his housekeeper are joined by Ah Chien, one of the workers on the estate as they try to earn a living as peddlers. Chi Kou ends up meeting two different kung fu masters and secretly taking lessons from both of them at the same time. Master Yen's daughter, who has become romantically attached to Chi Kou blows the lid thinking he betrayed her father. In truth, he never calls either man master and the whole matter is eventually settled. Shortly after having defended his girl from hormonally-driven thugs, Chi Kou meets their boss who becomes the young man's fourth teacher. But it doesn't take long before Chi Kou realizes that his latest teacher is not only a nasty buy but also his parent's killer. The only thing left is for Chi Kou to take care of business.

I wouldn't blame anyone for losing interest in this film initially. After a brief, generic opening fight sequence that appears to have had the full credits cut out, the story begins with a painfully unoriginal scene. Now John Liu is one of Hong Kong's top superkickers and he gets to shine, but not until a full 30 minutes into the film. Kwan Yun Moon is actually quite good himself early on. The story lumbers along for a while as Kwan takes Liu through the paces of a series of mostly uninspired training sessions. Liu's buddy, Ah Chien provides most of the comic relief, although a small but entertaining role by Wu Ma as Liu's third master is noteworthy. He performs an impressively chaotic style of kung fu that resembles drunken boxing. Doris Lung, as Liu's love interest gets to belt out a few good moves but like most women co-starring in these '70's-era films, ends up at the mercy of some salivating goon.

The real highpoint is Liu's legwork, although I must admit to being frustrated that he didn't make more of an effort to incorporate the unique styles he learns. But then, aside from Wu Ma's moves, the styles are not emphasized or even named. The stock music also deserves special mention for its obvious Spaghetti Western roots. Partially, because both film genres revel in excess, the energetic music successfully provides more excitement than the film deserves.

In 1979 or thereabouts, Hong Kong reached the peak of its classic kung fu boom with next generation filmmakers like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung already coming out with arguably some of the best films of their careers while Cheng Cheh and Lau Kar Leung would continue to crank out great work for the next several years. For this reason, Fighting Ace ranks pretty low when stacked up against similar comedy/revenge sagas like Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979) or Knockabout (1979). For general viewing, if you make it through the first half hour, you can expect a standard, but mildly entertaining film with a bit of humor thrown in. I'll leave it to you to decide on whether or not its worth the effort.

John Liu plays Kao Chi, who as an infant had his family wiped out by a callous Kung Fu master. His family’s elder servant, Ah Chung, escaped with the baby and raised him into an upstanding young man. However, Kao Chi has dedicated his life to mastery of the martial arts in hopes that he will one day learn the identity of the killer and bring him to justice. Kao Chi is determined but wonders if he will ever achieve his goal because they barely have enough money to buy food. Meanwhile, a rich man with questionable ethics hires a martial arts instructor, Master Chang (Kwan Yung Moon), to teach his lazy son the ways of Kung Fu. Kao Chi and Ah Chung discover that the respected Master Chang is training at the rich man’s palace, and they go there looking to get jobs as housekeepers. There they meet up with Ha Shan, the scrawny lead housekeeper who dreams of getting even with his wicked employers. Ha Shan is small but smart, and arranges for Kao Chi to meet up with Master Chang, who immediately takes a liking to the hungry young martial artist. Soon, Master Chang’s daughter, Shao La (Doris Lung) arrives at the villa where her father is working. She meets Kao Chi and they are immediately attracted to one another. The hardworking Kao Chi soon earns the respect of everyone, except for the rich man and his servants. When the rich man discovers Master Chang teaching Kao Chi and ignoring his lazy son, he becomes angry. The lead housekeeper punishes Kao Chi by whipping him. Kao Chi wants to keep his job so he willingly absorbs the punishment. Shao La sticks up for Kao Chi, and the rich man sends them all packing, except for Master Chang who is bound by contract to stay. Ha Shan even quits his job so can leave with his new found friends (Ha Shan believes that Kao Chi can teach him Kung Fu).

Kao Chi, Ah Chung, and Ha Shan survive by selling goods in the local village market. There they encounter another martial arts master who agrees to take them on as students. This new master is a sour individual who demands Kao Chi address him as ‘Master’. But Kao Chi considers Teacher Chang his true master and refuses. Instead, he agrees to call his new master, ‘Godfather’. While pushing more goods in the village, Kao Chi and Ha Shan witness a gang of bullies punishing an old man (Wu Ma). They are quick to give him a hand. The old man is overjoyed at their assistance, and he offers to buy them food and drink. When he finds out that his saviors are seeking to learn more Kung Fu, the old man offers to impart his skills upon them. Kao Chi and Ha Shan are skeptical that the old man can deliver on his word, but after sparring with him they believe him. Both Kao Shi and Ha Shan spend their time learning from these two masters, who are unaware of the other. Later on, Shao La meets her friends in the woods, and is disturbed upon hearing that Kao Chi has forsaken her father as his Master (this is after all, a matter of honor). Kao Chi reassures her that he considers her father his true Master, and that he is only using these others to help him achieve his vengeance on those who killed his parents. She is happy with his reaction, and leaves him to practice. As she is walking through the woods, she is assaulted by a gang of thugs who want to defile her. But being the daughter of a Kung Fu master has its rewards, and she promptly puts these men in their place. Kao Chi arrives to help her punish the attackers.

These gang members return to their Boss (with their tails between their legs), who happens to be the same man responsible for the death of Kao Chi’s parents. He now sits atop not only his own crime gang, but also teaches martial arts from his palace. The villain orders his men to go to the village and dispose of Kao Chi and his friends. The gang members return to the town in full force, where they seek to destroy their fierce opponent. However, Kao Chi has now studied at the feet of several masters and is more than up to the task of thrashing these jackals. Suddenly, their Boss shows up and breaks up the epic battle. He informs Kao Chi that he is a respected martial arts instructor who is impressed with his skills, and offers up his services. Kao Chi, always looking for free martial arts lessons, accompanies the Boss back to the school and begins learning from him, unaware that this is the man he is sworn to kill. The cunning Boss slowly gains the respect of Kao Chi and then takes advantage of him. He convinces Kao Chi to go after rival Kung Fu masters by informing him that they are evil. Luckily, Shao La (who is friends with these rival instructors) enlightens him that he is being used. That’s when Ah Chung finally recognizes the Boss as the man who murdered Kao Chi’s parents. Likewise, the Boss discovers that his student is the offspring of the folks he killed. The Boss assigns him on a mission in the forest, and orders his men to finish him off without witnesses. While Kao Chi is detained, the Boss himself tracks down and challenges Shao La, Ah Chung, and Ha Shan. Even with her skills, Shao La cannot defeat her superior enemy. Kao Chi is outnumbered, and must must find a way to defeat his opponents in order to save his friends from the evil Boss...

FIGHTING ACE is another revenge-driven film tale with light moments along the lines of DRAGONS CLAW (1979), BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR (1979), or THE BUDDHIST FIST (1980). Most of these Hong Kong or Taiwanese martial arts movies have at the core a young fighter who seeks to learn from some wise old master (or some drunken bum). FIGHTING ACE breaks this mold with it’s depiction of the teacher-student relationship. John Liu wants to advance his skills (and quickly) so bad, that he takes on not one master, but four! This subplot (and the training scenes that go with it) take up much of the 77 minute running time. It becomes something of a running joke with Liu willing to comply with anyone who claims to be a martial arts expert. These masters demand to be treated as such, but Liu has the nerve to refuse their requests, so that he may stay true to his first instructor, Master Chang. John Liu and Doris Chung are clearly lusting for one another in this flick, but their relationship is never played out or consummated (and the script is not by I Kuang!). Another major flaw to the film is the establishment of the lead villain. He is glimpsed in the opening minute, and then does not show up again until the last act. His presence in the film has the feeling of no forethought or planning. To make matters worse, the main villain is not identified throughout the entire picture (so we refer to him as the Boss in our synopsis).

FIGHTING ACE benefits from a capable cast and some well-staged martial arts sequences. Doris Lung is the rarest of all Hong Kong actresses—she’s beautiful and tough. Lung can be seen on such DVDs as THE MAGNIFICENT (1979), SHAOLIN INVINCIBLES (1979), and MOONLIGHT SWORD AND JADE LION (1979). Here she plays the pride-filled daughter of John Liu’s true Kung Fu master. Kwan Yung Moon portrays Master Chang. Moon previously kicked ass in such films as DUEL TO THE DEATH (1983), MASTER WITH CRACKED FINGERS (1974), and RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER (1980). The cast is also rounded out the appearances from Wong Chi Sang (KILLERS FROM ABOVE (1977), SHAOLIN VS. LAMA (1983), and MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING (1979) and actor/director Wu Ma. The martial arts choreography is very natural and not overly flashy or sped up. It’s all in real time with Liu not relying on his high kicking ability much like his earlier efforts. We see more of a full balanced attack from this man than ever before. Liu and his friends fight against multiple opponents and use their fists and kicks to overpower their attackers who wield various weapons. Also impressive is Liu’s training scenes with Korean boot-man Kwan Yung Moon.

SIGHT
FIGHTING ACE was filmed in the 1.85.1 aspect ratio. Xenon’s transfer is matted to 1.66.1 (and not 1.33.1 as the back cover indicates). This DVD is obviously mastered from a video source, yet the source materials appear to be in fairly good shape. As you can see, things are a bit dark. Some scratches, dirt, and grain are normal for these films. The opening moments display some blemishes, but the image clears up shortly after the opening. The picture is clear and sharp, though it lacks full-bodied colors. The cheap film stock can be blamed for this colorless appearance. The action takes place mostly in exteriors, with some decent production design (though nowhere near Shaw Brothers standards). The black levels are perfectly calibrated, giving the film a solid contrast and polish. The detail level is good, and allows the viewer to appreciate the limited sets and period costuming. The fight choreography is above average and adequately framed considering the matted widescreen presentation.

SOUND
Like all of Xenon’s DVDs, the sound is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. There is no pops or crackles in the soundtrack, and only slight background noise at times. The frequencies are a little restricted so the sound is often tinny. The English dubbing is presented as usual with no distortion or break-up. One big drawback to the English dubbing is the use of British or Australian accents for many of the characters. Though some of the familiar voices are prominent, there are many more who are unproven and not as seasoned in their vocal delivery. One big plus for FIGHTING ACE is the excellent Spaghetti Western score which are uncredited, naturally (so I can’t tell you who composed the movie or which film the music is from). But I can tell you that it all gels together perfectly. The sound effects, dialog, and score are superbly integrated into the sound mix.

FEATURES
The colorful Main Menu reflects the front cover artwork, and adds some tinny Chinese stock music. The only extras on the disc are the bonus fight scenes from the other movies in the Wu Tang Classics collection: