| "I don't want to be a bandit no more", is the message of The Bloody Escape. This Sun Chung production, is one of those fugitive on the run, i must return to fulfill my destiny formulas, and the leading star, Chen Kuai Tai, has the fists to back it up.
On the heals of the Boxer From Shangtung, he has a brooding, hidden energy, that streams when his fists and feet "kick" into action.
Veteran Lau Kar Yung, who would go on to classics such as, Shaolin Mantis, and The Odd Couple, keeps the action very simple, with each encounter more street-like.
Shih Szu, the female lead, carries a real volunerablility, as the damsel, rescued by Kuai Tai's character. Her portrayal here is with such subtle innocence, it's dificult to think of her as an on-screen fighter, which in fact she was.
Kuai Tai's a member of a gang of bandits, which have lost their leader, and the next in charge, played by veteran Yueh Hua, seems to forget the "code" bandits live by. When Hua attempts to kidnap and rape Szu, Kuai Tai's moralistic hero helps her escape and he leaves the gang to turn over a new leaf. He soon finds shelter and work in a nearby town, discovering living the straight life is not so bad. Only after finding out Hua has placed a bounty on him does he elect to return and dust up his old foe.
This is definetly a formula film and Chen Kuai Tai is one of the few Shaw stars who could pull this off. He sort of reprised this role years later with The Big Boss of Shanghai. An ok film, by a director who would become more respected in the years to come. |