Review: Synchronized fighters covered in metallic paint are a surprisingly common occurrence in classic kung fu movies. They originate with a legend concerning 'eighteen bronze men' employed at Shaolin temple to test students. Their skin is supposedly capable of deflecting bladed weapons and in the films, you often hear a metallic clank when they are struck. Rivals of the Silver Fox is an independent feature that takes this premise and mixes it with the idea of clan warriors, a sort of 18 Bronzemen meets 72 Desperate Rebels. One viewing of their antics and you'll understand where Stephen Chow might have gotten his idea for lampooning the bronze men in God of Cookery, but more on that later.

Rivals of the Silver Fox is a gaudy production that borrows many elements from previous kung fu classics, but since this genre repeats itself infinitely, this should not be a major concern. Though filled with kung fu action, the film's selling points boil down to the presence of the stately Casanova Wong and the fierce Phillip Ko Fei. Adequate performances from their co-stars, a bit of drama, and some visually impressive landscapes assist, but circus-like choreography and a sloppy narrative bring the whole picture down a few notches in quality and enjoyment.

Ma Tien-shun kills his master and becomes the new leader of the 72 Silver-Bronze Lo Han Clan. They are named so for the 72 painted warriors who guard their homestead. All Ma needs now is a special kung fu book which ends up lost. Enter Casanova Wong with his infant, who we learn through flashback, is after the person who stole the book from him originally and killed his wife. Of course this eventually leads him to attack Ma and his 72 warriors, but not before befriending a mischievous thief who poses as a monk and a pretty lass whose father was killed by Ma.

Yet, Wong needs the obligatory training before he can possibly succeed, so he meets the 'old master' of the story, Priest Wu Kuo who is played by Phillip Ko Fei. He's the silver-haired character referred to in the film's title, but this is misleading. 'Silver Fox' came into being with Hwang Jang-lee playing a silver-haired villain named Silver Fox in The Secret Rivals. The popularity of this film clearly led to the use of the wig and name again, although the characters bear no relation in any way. Ko fans should be disappointed with his role here as it seems like a throwaway and his action scenes are few. He should have been the lead villain instead.

Much of the fighting in the film is quite animated with Wong delivering some outstanding moves, but the editing and overall choreography is poorly done. Casanova Wong is much like Hwang Jang-lee in that he was a powerful martial arts star who became popular just as the classic kung fu boom was winding down. He appeared in a number high profile films such as Sammo Hung's Warriors Two, but ultimately had to suffer in lesser independent productions. Rivals of the Silver Fox is one such example. His performance is excellent. He delivers blistering leg work and acrobatics, combined with a strong presence and dramatic acting potential. The touching scenes of grief over his wife's death and the bonding with his infant son are nicely juxtaposed with his ability to floor opponents. Wong's character appears more vulnerable, more human as a result. Then the director ruins it all by turning the action into a three-ring circus. The main attraction is the fight against the 72 clansmen, but it is the most ridiculous battle in the film. I'm all for elaborately choreographed action with silly costumes, but it needs to be either excessively violent or creative and this is neither. As Wong fends off attackers, you can see more of them running in coordinated circles in the background. Whah!? Since they all have "metal skin," he cannot really kill them, so there is no payoff when they're hit and he never decisively beats more than five of them. And this "metal skin" starts to wear off as the fighting progresses. Some of the paint even ends up on Wong. I don't even want to go into the vital points that mysteriously appear on the fighters in red spots of paint after Wong's thieving buddy mentions this as a weakness. The cymbal-banging warriors are pretty stupid too. Suffice to say, this end fight is a joke that goes on for way too long. The only thing left to stick around for is Wong's duel with the lead villain and I was not impressed by him at all.

Rivals of the Silver Fox is an uneven jumble of mixed action and a convoluted story with a whole subplot about another revenge-seeking fighter not even worth mentioning. Casanova Wong deserves better, especially after showing himself to be so capable in many of his action scenes. Sadly, this film has a lot going for it and could have been better with more accomplished editing and direction. As is, it's hardly worth a rental beyond collectors.