Collaborating for the second and final time, Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers Studios again tap into the martial arts market for this watchable crime fiction that has the benefit of being filmed entirely in Hong Kong. Stuart Whitman ("The Mark") stars as the title character, a hitman who completes a job in Africa, assassinating a dictator. Then he goes to HK to collect payment from a weaselly banker named Hans Leber (Anton Diffring, "Circus of Horrors"), and of course the guy reneges on the deal. Shatter must take it on the lam, being unable to trust most people. However, he does receive crucial assistance from Kung Fu expert Tai Pah (Lung Ti) and masseuse Mai-Mee (Lily Li).
The story goes that this was a very troubled production, with Hammer producer and sometime director Michael Carreras ("The Lost Continent") stepping in to replace original director Monte Hellman, the American cult-favorite filmmaker who made such classics as "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Cockfighter". This, after Hellman had already shot *at least* half of the picture. Given its problems, it's fortunate that the finished product manages to tell a reasonably coherent story, although it's required of special guest star Peter Cushing (wonderful as always) to utter quite a bit of exposition. Even then, Shatter doesn't know the whole story until the movie is almost over.
The action scenes are very well done, in any event, with Lung Ti showing off great athleticism and having a relaxed presence on screen. Whitman is fine as usual, Li is simply adorable, the great German actor Diffring is appropriately slimy, and Cushing remains a delight. Several Shaw Brothers players, Li and Lung Ti among them, have roles large and small. The movie is full of HK sights and sounds, possessing a very exotic appeal, and also has a jaunty score composed by David Lindup.
While not as invigorating as "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires", this entertains its audience fairly well. Fans of both Hammer and the Shaw brothers will want to see it for curiosity's sake.
Six out of 10.
The story goes that this was a very troubled production, with Hammer producer and sometime director Michael Carreras ("The Lost Continent") stepping in to replace original director Monte Hellman, the American cult-favorite filmmaker who made such classics as "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Cockfighter". This, after Hellman had already shot *at least* half of the picture. Given its problems, it's fortunate that the finished product manages to tell a reasonably coherent story, although it's required of special guest star Peter Cushing (wonderful as always) to utter quite a bit of exposition. Even then, Shatter doesn't know the whole story until the movie is almost over.
The action scenes are very well done, in any event, with Lung Ti showing off great athleticism and having a relaxed presence on screen. Whitman is fine as usual, Li is simply adorable, the great German actor Diffring is appropriately slimy, and Cushing remains a delight. Several Shaw Brothers players, Li and Lung Ti among them, have roles large and small. The movie is full of HK sights and sounds, possessing a very exotic appeal, and also has a jaunty score composed by David Lindup.
While not as invigorating as "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires", this entertains its audience fairly well. Fans of both Hammer and the Shaw brothers will want to see it for curiosity's sake.
Six out of 10.