The story of this production and the film it lives in the shadow of tends to color many opinions. Yes, this is NOT the Jacky Chan Drunken Master and, yes, director Liu Chia Liang appears in that film also. Whatever the issues that lead to Liang quitting the Chan production and starting this one in defiance really doesn't make a difference since the films are radically different.
This film is a farcical take on the time of the democratic revolution of Sun Yat Sen. Apparently the return to power of the Manchu emperor hinges around the possession of a Jade Ring. The Manchu's are supported by the mystical White Lotus gang which is run by a white guy who looks all of twenty years old. Anyway a princess is kidnapped by the revolutionaries so that the jade ring doesn't return to the monarchists. She is sent to the countryside to keep her hidden from a Manchu general played by Liu Chia Hui (Gordon Liu). She and the guy assigned to guard her end up in a wine making factory / unwed mother home (!) run by a kung fu master played by director Liu Chia Liang.
The story, if the description isn't clear, is all over the place. The whole production, while excellently photographed, has a very rushed feel to it. The martial arts, which in a Liang production are usually of high quality, are, unfortunately, not very sharp. Some scenes work very well but there's little to distinguish this from other martial art films of the same time. Regardless the film is well paced and easy to watch. The comedy is not very good but also not annoying. The whole film has a cheerful feel to it, like everyone was enjoying themselves. The only major problem is the abrupt ending. It seems like they ran out of money and had to stop the final fight scene. There are some strange incongruous things in the film such as the evil cult leader who looks like he was found at a martial arts tournament in an American suburb. His haircut is really bizarre.
If you are not looking for the Jacky Chan film and are familiar with the low-budget comedy kung fu film of the early 1980's, this might not be a bad way to spend 90 minutes.
This film is a farcical take on the time of the democratic revolution of Sun Yat Sen. Apparently the return to power of the Manchu emperor hinges around the possession of a Jade Ring. The Manchu's are supported by the mystical White Lotus gang which is run by a white guy who looks all of twenty years old. Anyway a princess is kidnapped by the revolutionaries so that the jade ring doesn't return to the monarchists. She is sent to the countryside to keep her hidden from a Manchu general played by Liu Chia Hui (Gordon Liu). She and the guy assigned to guard her end up in a wine making factory / unwed mother home (!) run by a kung fu master played by director Liu Chia Liang.
The story, if the description isn't clear, is all over the place. The whole production, while excellently photographed, has a very rushed feel to it. The martial arts, which in a Liang production are usually of high quality, are, unfortunately, not very sharp. Some scenes work very well but there's little to distinguish this from other martial art films of the same time. Regardless the film is well paced and easy to watch. The comedy is not very good but also not annoying. The whole film has a cheerful feel to it, like everyone was enjoying themselves. The only major problem is the abrupt ending. It seems like they ran out of money and had to stop the final fight scene. There are some strange incongruous things in the film such as the evil cult leader who looks like he was found at a martial arts tournament in an American suburb. His haircut is really bizarre.
If you are not looking for the Jacky Chan film and are familiar with the low-budget comedy kung fu film of the early 1980's, this might not be a bad way to spend 90 minutes.
