One day, on a routine delivery, he runs into a hood named Shi (Kong Do aka The Human Testicle), who wants to recruit him into his gang of crooks. Xiang declines his offer and is beaten up. After more encounters with Shi, Xiang decides to learn kung fu so he can defend himself. With the help of Gen Lai (Ti Lung), he is introduced to reputable kung fu teacher (Simon Yuen).

With his mind on life's hardships and constant bullying by not only gangs, but also his own boss, Xiang obsesses over his martial arts training. Mixing rage, determination, and physical training, Xiang begins to master fighting styles faster than any other student do and becomes a killing machine almost naturally.

It's during another brawl with Shi during which he becomes victorious, that his uncanny fighting ability catches the eye of a triad leader named Mr. Tou (Lo Dik) who wants to use him as a personal assassin. At first, Xiang is skeptical but when Mr. Tou reveals his lavish salary, he accepts; no questions asked.

What ensues is a war between two crime bosses with Xiang as the key player in the middle of it all. It is only a matter of time before Xiang rethinks his violent lifestyle and questions his role in life. After admitting to his mother about his deadly career, Xiang decides to turn himself in to the police. Mr. Tou ultimately finds out about Xiang's change of heart and is threatened that he will tell the police about his crime operations. Now that Xiang and his mother's life are in jeopardy, he decides that he must do one more thing before he turns himself in to the law; and that is to kill Mr. Tou.

"The Young Rebel" is yet another coming of age tale of those good boy turned gangster flicks made popular by Chang Cheh (ie "The Delinquent," "Generation Gap," and "Chinatown Kid") throughout the 1970s. Though it was produced under Chang Cheh's film company, "The Young Rebel" was directed by Shaw star Ti Lung, who also guest stars. By the end of the movie, you realize that Ti Lung's talents go beyond his onscreen ability. Though not as well paced and easy moving as Chang Cheh's similar themed films, "The Young Rebel" still holds its own. In fact, if someone told me that Chang Cheh was the co-director, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

"The Young Rebel" plays as one big flashback; a structure style that would become an ongoing fad years later in Hollywood films such as in "Pulp Fiction." That alone gives the film a hip, groundbreaking edge that was probably considered strange back then. Considering how the beginning and end of the film reveal what makes sense, you realize how ingenious the idea is. Between Ti Lung and I Kuang (the two credited screenwriters), I'm really impressed.

There seems to be some debate surrounding the film's choreography. The Celestial DVD sleeve credits Simon Yuen as the fight choreographer, however, in the film's actual credits, it lists Liu Chia Yung, Huang Pei Chi, and Chan Chaun as the film's "Fighting Instructors." Personally, I think it was Yuen. For a 1973 film, the fight scenes seem to be more defined and swift than, say "The Angry Guest," which is of typical early 1970s Liu Chia Yung fare. Whoever was responsible for the fight scenes did a damn good job, especially considering the time.

"The Young Rebel" has a lot of action, but for the most part, the drama takes up most of the space (David Chiang's character doesn't learn how to fight until about halfway through the film). It's not as bloody as the average Chang Cheh film of the time, but the hard-hitting detailed action makes up for it.

Look for a handful of cameos including ones from Sammo Hung, Simon Yuen, and an extended one from Eddie Ko. Not only, music enthusiasts might get a kick out of hearing Pink Floyd's "Time" which comes out of nowhere and surprising, it fits in well with the movie.

Highly recommended.

Review: The Young Rebel is one of several dramatic action films Shaw Brothers stars Ti Lung and David Chiang teamed up on to create in conjunction with Chang Cheh's Taiwanese-based film company. It bares resemblance to Cheh's juvenile delinquency films like The Delinquent and The Generation Gap, but sees Ti Lung stepping behind the camera to direct himself. Also different is the film's replacement of Chang's patented heroic bloodshed with a more socially conscious theme.

David Chiang stars as the title character, a troublesome youth named Xiang Rong who is forced to get a job to support his mother and sister after his father dies. His friend Gen Lai (Ti Lung) lands him a job delivering groceries, but Xiang frequently quarrels with his new boss. After two years of this, Xiang's run-in with bullying thugs leads him to learn kung fu. Driven by his inner demons, Xiang advances far beyond his fellow students at the gym. But seeing his aggressive tendencies, his master (played by Simon Yuen) asks him to leave. One fateful grocery run leads Xiang to the thugs' boss (Lo Dik) and a new high-paying job as an enforcer. But when Xiang is asked to kill, he finds himself in over his head with his mother threatened and the only way out is to fight.

A "socially conscious" kung fu movie is not a bad idea, unless it ages as poorly as The Young Rebel has. Chiang's rebelliousness is quaint by today's standards and the ruffians he mixes with are nothing more than caricatures. A scene where the gang, led by Kong Do, introduce themselves to Chiang is unintentionally funny as they run through the list of illicit gratuities they can offer him such as drugs and women. It's implied that Chiang is initially angry over his father's death, but there's no explanation for his continual delinquency over the span of several years. As is usually the case in their movies together, Ti Lung plays Chiang's more responsible brother, this time not by blood but by close friendship. Yet, Ti spends most of his time behind the camera, leaving Chiang to run amok with little guidance. What starts out as a drama gives in completely to kung fu mayhem in the second half. This creates an unevenness to the story that makes it hard to swallow the commentary on misunderstood youth.

The first half of The Young Rebel lacks any quality martial arts action simply because Chiang's character doesn't know how to fight. What we get instead are scenes of him clubbing gang members with a big lamb chop or running from them in an extended bicycle chase. This chase does not hold up well at all as it's slow-paced and lacking any element of danger or desperation. Wong Chung's motorcycle battle with thugs in The Delinquent is a much better example of how to make an action scene on two-wheeled vehicles interesting.

In the second half, the action gets much better as Ti Lung appears out of nowhere to rescue Chiang from getting a royal beating. From here on, it picks up as Chiang quickly becomes a kung fu expert himself after wiping the floor with all of his classmates. He even battles Ti briefly. This is all setup for the final, explosive events as Chiang first fights for the gang boss and eventually turns on him. Backing up Lo Dik are his lieutenants played by strongman Lee Hoi-sang and the well-dressed Eddy Ko Hung, both genre regulars. With Kong Do added as a lesser thug, the film can definitely boast as having an excellent set of screen villains for Chiang to take on. Lau Kar-wing and his co-choreographers handle the action very well and offer up the sort of rugged, street-style kung fu boxing that was popular in most contemporary films of the day. Chiang also handles himself well in these scenes, even though he is not one of SB's stronger screen fighters.

Dramatically, the second half is also better as it deals with the responsibility a martial artist has to not misuse his or her abilities. Simon Yuen reluctantly must sever relations with his best student because Chiang refuses to keep his inner rage under control. Chiang's training amplifies the effects of his bad decisions that he continues to make. Of course this leads to some great action, but we also see Chiang forced to face the results of his mistakes.

Sammo Hung makes an unusual appearance as a gambling thug. It's more of a cameo and he doesn't fight unfortunately, but the fact that he's even in a Shaw Brothers film is interesting considering that most of his classic kung fu-era screen appearances have been in Golden Harvest films.

The Young Rebel finishes well and this helps to make up for the film's dated drama, a low-intensity first half, and the limited presence of Ti Lung. It's actually nice to see a potential romantic angle curbed and the focus on Chiang's relationship with his mother strengthened. Yet, what really sells the movie is the action once Chiang gets fired up and turned loose on the baddies.