By day, Chen Long Ge (Yuen Hua) is a stuttering simpleton, by night a masked vigilante and thief known as The Lizard. He steals from rich foreigners in 1930′s Shanghai and gives to the poor locals, while a ruthless Chief Investigator (Lo Lieh) is hot on his trail.
Irreverent comedy, exuberantly violent action, and strong performances from the cast make for an entertaining ride through 1930′s Shanghai with The Lizard.
In a slight twist on the popular backdrop of a Shanghai occupied by foreign powers (made famous in Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury), a mysterious Robin Hood-like figure known as The Lizard (Yeun Hua) emerges to terrorize the wealthy foreigners, frustrate local officials, and inspire the Chinese people. No one is more frustrated than officer Yo (Yeung Chi Hing) who appreciates what the Lizard is doing for the people, but must endure his Chief’s anger for not catching the crook. When an attempt to steal a jewel in broad daylight nearly goes awry, Yo’s granddaughter Xiao Ju (Connie Chan) discovers that a bumbling young man she has grown up with, now a police officer named Chen Long Ge, is actually the Lizard. Armed with kung fu skills just as potent as Long Ge, she teams up for a series of small-time crimes that show off the Lizard’s impressive thieving. Trouble arises when Long Ge is imprisoned for being the Lizard. Ironically, it’s only a setup meant to get him out of the way so that Xiao Ju can become the Chief’s latest conquest. To save Long Ge, Xiao Ju assumes the role of the Lizard and with the help of Yo, pulls off a high profile robbery of a sword sent from the Japanese Emperor. This tips off the Chief who plans a trap for the newly released Long Ge and his friends.
The Lizard is the last screen role by Connie Chan. She’s a beauty, reminiscent of Michelle Yeoh and appeared in over 200 films during her career, which is remarkable considering she retired in her mid-20′s. She delivers a great performance, especially in her screen fighting. Yuen Hua may play the film’s title hero and be a noteworthy kung fu star himself, but Chan shines the brightest. The style of martial arts used is not very specific and the movements are very exaggerated, but it looks terrific. In two standout scenes, Chan is surrounded by thugs who come at her from all sides and she takes on every one of them. And she does this with very few takes.
Lo Lieh is made for the role of the sleazy Chief who sells out to the Japanese. He may have been a nice guy in real life, but he plays one mean bastard on screen. He struts around in a stylish white suit, slicked back hair, and sports a vicious sneer. The choreography by Yuen Cheung Yan (Daredevil) makes him look even meaner as he kicks and punches with wild abandon. Cheung Yan’s brother, Yuen Wo Ping makes a brief cameo as one of Lo Lieh’s bodyguards. It’s likely that that he also had a hand in developing the fight scenes.
Yuen Hua, who successfully starred in many of Shaw’s swordplay films, does just as well in this quasi-contemporary role. The Lizard is a bit of an odd name for a masked hero, one who leaves a small red lizard as his calling card. Yuen Hua really has to play two roles since he pretends to be a stuttering buffoon by day. He does it well and once his identity is revealed, he becomes the complete and punishing vindicator that we expect him to be. Yet, this dual role provides somewhat of a gapping plot hole in that Connie states that she’s grown up with him, but sees him only as this oaf. How he manages to play the fool for his entire life is a mystery. Plus, they never go into detail about why he does what he does or who trained him.
As long as you don’t look too deep into this film, there is little reason not to like it. The pointless opening sex scene between two Caucasians is risqué enough to lead one to think they were watching softcore porn rather than kung fu, but the rest of the film takes no more diversions into this realm. Rather, there is an emphasis on light and sometimes bawdy humor that proves to be quite enjoyable through the first two-thirds of the film. A gambling hall scene where the Lizard uses his finely tuned skills of perception to win back all of the money the casino cheated out of their customers is a highlight. It may have been coincidence, but it bore a remarkable resemblance to Shintaro Katsu’s performance as Zatoichi the blind swordsman and gambler who always managed to outwit the cheaters. During this time the kung fu action does come a little slower. But the rest of the running time is devoted to increasingly fierce fighting, as it should be. The final fight within a typically well-crafted Shaw set made up as a forest delivers the goods as our heroes are surrounded by dozens of armed assailants.
Based on this film alone, Connie Chan deserves her place in kung fu cinema history as one of the queens of kung fu. She is reason enough to see The Lizard, but the rest of the cast plus great, dynamic choreography all prove to be assets as well.
by Mark Pollard
