Dual Flying Kicks (1978)

A mediocre three-way match between Chan Sing, Dorian Tan, and Lung Fei concludes Dual Flying Kicks and provides the only potential reason to sit through this increasingly absurd film.

One of the favorite plot scenarios of the genre, particularly among the independent filmmakers had kung fu fighters busting a crime ring in some generic, rural village. In this case, the film focuses uneasily on Wen Tai (Lung Fei), the town’s mayor who is trying to have a bridge blown for reasons unknown and to have a pair of meddling government agents killed. He’s clearly involved in criminal activity, but it’s only made clear at the end that he’s simply a pawn of another master criminal played by Chan Sing. His birthday celebration provides the centerpiece of the story as various thugs come to pay their respects. Two thugs representing their own gangs end up competing for the lovely hand of Wen Tai’s daughter by attempting to kill the government agents. The action degenerates rapidly as the first battle is awkwardly played out in a failed attempt to copy the more flamboyant and entertaining choreography seen in better Chang Cheh films. The second attempt is made by a gang of turban-wearing oddballs who are lead by a crazed sorcerer. Cheap effects are the order of the day and the leader’s final descent into flesh-munching madness is just bizarre.

The film never centers on a main protagonist, although Dorian Tan’s character comes the closest. He gets the best role as one of the two Dual Kicks who infiltrates Lung Fei’s household by portraying an incompetent son of one of the mayor’s dead allies. Yet, this intrigue is a sloppy affair that is poorly executed by the director. After killing off the two gangs, Tan and his partner confront the mayor while his daughter brings the visiting Commissioner Fung (Chan Sing) who she hopes will pardon her father’s crimes. But in a predictable twist the commish turns out to be a criminal posing as the official and a final brawl involving Sing, the Dual Kicks, and Fei begins.

As mentioned before, the choreography borrows from Shaw Brothers films, but fails to capture any of the same magic. Rushed editing including blatant zooms, forced distortion, and awkward scene changes generates nothing but frustration, confusion, and boredom. Frequently appearing in lower grade kung fu pics as the carbon villain, Lung Fei nearly transcends that stereotype, but a confused script ruins any possibility for character depth. Chan Sing performs the typical maneuver for a main villain of making a brief appearance at the beginning of the film and only reappearing in the final moments. At least Dorian Tan fans will enjoy seeing him portray several classical Cantonese caricatures during the film, along with his spectacular kicking abilities.

Dual Flying Kicks is just another cheapo Taiwanese rip-off that excels at nothing and fails at practically everything. Its truly a shame that performers of Dorian Tan’s stature were reduced to starring in such cinematic sludge.