An eccentric monk (Mark Lung) leaves Shaolin to recruit and train five pupils in order to help him fight an evil abbot of black magic (Jack Lung) who desires a kung fu book belonging to Shaolin.

People who watch a lot of old school kung fu learn to appreciate the nuances of the genre. Oh sure, you have your distinctive kung fu uniforms, grueling training sessions, verbal insults, and so much else that seems to appear in just about every film. But little touches begin to stand out like real expert martial arts forms, dynamic camera movement, and the noble spirit of Chinese heroism. This isn’t one of those movies. Now excuse me while I step into a more comfortable vernacular…

Let’s talk about Five Fighters from Shaolin, a movie that rips up the screen with an endless onslaught of mind-numbing kung fu and gymnastic action, exploitive violence, and slapstick comedy too far gone to even quantify. From the get go, you will either be offended, laughing, or in shock. If not, then you better check your pulse.

The pre-credits opening is an eye opener as a mostly naked woman is sacrificed on an alter by Jack Lung. But before anyone gets the wrong idea, a single knife plunge into her chest causes an insanely enormous geyser of blood to erupt and the scene is immediately cut short by the title screen. This macabre opening seems out of place with the rest of the movie unless you consider the over-the-top nature of everything else that unfolds.

We’ve seen it before. Ninja-like interlopers sneak into Shaolin temple hoping to steal some important kung fu manual. But out of nowhere pops this wild man of a Shaolin monk (Mark Lung) who goes right after each one of the intruders and sends them all packing. He then has a falling out of sorts with the head Abbot and leaves to recruit his own pupils, beginning with a hack priestess and her gymnastic cohort. Next, a strapping young Wong Fei-hung look-a-like played by Chen Shan (Shaolin vs. Lama) joins up, followed by a pair of thieving waiters, one of whom is played by acrobatic Venoms alumni Chiang Sheng. Lastly, they stumble upon a large laborer (Ching Kuo-chung) pulling a loaded ox cart uphill. With the exception of the girl, they all begin training in kung fu as unofficial Shaolin pupils under Mark Lung’s guidance. Each one focuses on different training including gymnastic kung fu. It is a bit progressive, but we’ll let it go because the actor is obviously well-trained in real gymnastics. Other special training includes wooden dummies, staves and spears, weighted leaping, pole climbing, and lots of heavy lifting for the bulky Kuo-chung. At least a third of the film is dedicated to training sequences, but unlike so many other kung fu films the scenes are elaborate, inventive, and quite amusing.

Everyone is having such a good time that you almost forget about the nastiness at the beginning of the film. Then the gymnast fighter is temporarily poisoned by one of Jack Lung’s lackeys. Things get a lot uglier when Jack works some voodoo magic on Mark and then challenges the Shaolin Abbot openly to hand over the manual. In order to save the temple, Mark lures Jack and his cronies to his camp where his five pupils wait. A minor epic of a battle ensues with head-rupturing excitement as the pupils draw the baddies into their natural training environments to get the advantage. But the fight doesn’t go exactly as planned, especially when Jack belatedly shows up to ruin everybody’s day.

If you really don’t like wires, undercranking to speed up movement, or nonsense comedy, Five Fighters of Shaolin probably will not agree with you. On the other hand, all of these elements are so maniacally excessive and wonderfully performed with a relentless drive that it is virtually impossible to step away from the film. Rarely have I seen such unabashed enthusiasm with an ‘anything goes’ mentality expressed in a martial arts film. If you can keep from looking down on the heavy use of undercranking and less-than-authentic kung fu forms, you’ll see some incredible examples of physical prowess and choreographed magic. It is much like a live-action cartoon in the best sense. The actors and stunt performers work up a frenzy, especially in the film’s electrifying finale. Although with less blood, people are dispatched with Chang Cheh-style absurdity. Watch for broken limbs to be twisted around poles, heads to pop off, and bodies to be stabbed, strangled, and yes, even detonated.

These gruesome scenes combined with the high level of intensity and skill during the fights, and the near-constant comic undertone makes for a brilliant camp classic. Everyone associated with Five Fighters from Shaolin is in top form, especially Mark Lung who plays the Crazy Monk. This is the sort of film to watch with a room full of friends and laugh hysterically. It is also worth a purchase as repeated viewings are recommended.

by

Related Topics: