A naive, but honest kung fu expert (Lo Meng) quits working for corrupt Qing officials to open a gym with a conman (Wong Yu), but the pair end up protecting a valuable anti-government document that Qing operatives are after.

When you think of the best of the best in hardcore, old school kung fu action a few names may come to mind; Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Lau Kar-leung, and Tommy Lee to name a few. But two names that you probably won’t see on anyone’s top ten list are Chin Yuet-sang and Hsu Hsia. Oh they’ve been around and avid viewers have probably seem them countless times as stunt actors in better Golden Harvest or independent features such as John Woo’s Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979). But this pair will forever rank as two of the finest crafters of martial screen mayhem for just one film, Lion vs. Lion.

Avid genre enthusiasts may be be excused for overlooking this pair. Lion vs. Lion is one of only a handful of films they directed and choreographed together or separately and most of these films would fall into the post-old school era of 1985 and beyond. Although experienced in direction action, this would be their first full directing gig and one of very little collaboration with Shaw Brothers who were obviously outsourcing for filmmaking talent in the face of increasingly superior kung fu movies produced by major rival Golden Harvest. Between the two of them, Chin and Hsu put fifteen years of stunt work and eighteen films as action directors into this one movie and created a near-masterpiece of bone-jarring action the likes of which you’ll rarely see anywhere, ever.

The story is standard material for the era and mixes bawdy comedy and some drama with plentiful kung fu. It’s all presented well until the filmmakers overextend themselves in the final fifteen minutes or so. Much like the dominate themes from Hong Kong’s ‘early 90s revival of kung fu, the fight by Ming rebels to overthrow Qing oppressors sets the stage. Usually paired with his fellow Venoms co-stars, Lo Meng shines on his own. He plays Ah Yue, a simple and low-ranking Qing official of virtue with great kung fu skills and distaste for the corruption he sees in the government. He quits to find his own way and hooks up with a master conman named Ah Cun (Wong Yu). Together they open a kung fu school. After an initial encounter, the two get further mixed up in the affairs of a rebel faction known as the Heaven & Earth Society when they face off against a local kung fu master named Bill Zhu (Johnny Wang) in an elaborate lion dancing competition. Purely by accident, they end up with one half of a valuable map that could be detrimental to the rebels if recovered by Qing authorities. Eventually Qing operatives come looking for the map and the powerful kung fu of Yue and the mischievous tricks of Cun are put to the ultimate tests.

Lion vs. Lion contains a few glitches in the story, but runs circles around most of its peers when it comes to pure kung fu brilliance. The plot glosses over a lot of development such as Lo Meng’s opening of the school and leaves major points unresolved or solved in an unsatisfactory manner. The very end in particular features one of those abrupt and irritating cut off’s after an unnecessary change in pace leads the viewer from a fantastic highpoint of action to a bit of spooky funhouse hijinks that should have taken place earlier in the film or not at all. Crude comedy is tossed in at times, although less so than in Yuen Wo-ping films of the same era. Expect to see questionable scenes such as a staged dog fight and infidelity jokes that lead to a timely, yet unrelated scene of a poor little boy’s trousers being yanked down by bullies.

Looming large over such minor trifles is enough quality kung fu action to fill a dozen lesser productions. It’s hard to find any comparison despite many great films with equally great kung fu. It comes down to seeing a lot of extremely precise and creative kung fu cranked up to just the right speed. In each battle, the moves literally build on one another as each one seems to get better and better until you’re left dazed with awe. A beefy Lo Meng is front and center through most of it and is at the peak of his outstanding performance capability. He takes on multiple opponents at once in practically every battle and his ability to weave among them while manipulating or deflecting all of their incoming arms or weapons is amazing. Unusually deft acrobatics like triple aerial rolls and countless backflips added to the proceedings will leave you glued to the action.

Chin Yuet-sang and Hsu Hsia were clearly gunning to compete with all comers by not only having incredible fight choreography, but also by staging a spectacular lion dance competition. Lion dancing is a festival and Chinese New Year tradition that is usually practiced by kung fu schools. In films, two schools usually square off by pitting a pair of dancers in large dragon or lion costumes against each other in a race to see who can first reach an offering of cabbage, usually left dangling from a high platform that requires great skill to mount. Lion vs. Lion’s competition is one of the film’s highest points and is easily one of the longest and most exciting, even more so than similar scenes in Dreadnought and The Young Master.

All of the action is great, but four of the film’s finest fights take place in the second half. The first is between Johnny Wang who owns the screen with his powerful presence and co-director Chin Yuet-sang who plays a shadowy Qing spy. Employing chairs and an unwieldy whip chain, the fight is arguably one of the most satisfying in film history as the two masterfully go at each other in an increasingly desperate, fast, and powerful struggle of equals. This is followed up by a fight between Sharon Yeung and Johnny Wang. Sharon is very impressive as she wields a wicked knife that folds out to become a twirling double-ended blade. Next up is a more humorous, but no less exciting battle between Lo Meng and two rivals as played by Chung Wing and Siu Tak-foo. Their weapon is an odd one indeed. It’s simply a giant straight razor with matching giant razor strap. A bizarre and funny fight ensues as Tak-foo sharpens his razor on the strap which is held by Wing in between each swipe at Meng. Somehow it all works and must be seen to be appreciated. The last major fight is between Lo Meng and the leading Qing spy. This one is bloody and increasingly brutal as it goes from indoors to a bamboo forest. Expect surrounding bamboo to be used as a weapon and Lo Meng to go into a magnificent berserker mode.

Lion vs. Lion not only has tons of perfectly choreographed fights, but great camera work, music, sets, weapons, and costumes. Anyone put off by Shaw Brothers’ usual house style needs to give this flick a try. Even with minor pacing and story flaws, it competes with the very best in the genre all across the board. If simply the best kung fu action is what you’re looking for, look no further.

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