Search - Secret of Shaolin Kung Fu a.k.a. Invincible Shaolin Kung Fu on DVD

"the moon is bright, the water is dark"

Mantis Lake | Detroit, MI USA | 04/08/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must have liked this quite a bit: Even though it contains some painful humor and other liabilities associated with old-school kung fu, I felt a little cheated that the story wasn't fully developed. I liked a lot of the characters and wanted to know a little more about them. I never did understand the origin or motivation of a paraplegic man glimpsed in the film's opening and closing minutes.

Lee Yi Min ("7 Grandmasters") stars as Wu Han Wei, a young man who waits tables at a small establishment and learns the Butterfly Fist from his old, blind Grandfather (Goo Chang). A mischievous old beggar (Chan Wai Lau, "Fearless Hyena") then shows up at the restaurant to solicit wine and irritate Wu Han Wei. Soon afterward, members of the Beggar Clan start getting picked off by a group of mysterious fighters. The remaining members of the Beggar Clan begin looking for a new Chief, and secrets are disclosed.

The fights are very good for the late 70s. A fair amount of training scenes and fisticuffs. Some of the fighting is inconsistent, but the majority is first-rate. Sun Jung Chi ("Shaolin vs Lama") shows up for the final fight and it does not disappoint. I love a good, long, one-on-one finale.

One of the better discs from Videoasia, it is fullscreen and English dubbed but the picture quality is good. There are one or two night scenes that are difficult to see but they're brief. The only special feature is a flipside instructional video called, "Shaolin Mystery Fist". If you like classic kung fu, this is definitely recommended.

1979. aka: Butterfly 18

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