An aging swordsman (Sek Kin) locked away and forgotten for twenty years escapes with the aid of two young fighters to exact revenge, reclaim his legendary Green-Encrusted Sword, and face both old and new enemies.

Every now and then an old school kung fu movie turns up with a story that transcends low budgets, heinous dubbing, and modest action choreography. The Mysterious Heroes fits into this rare category with a plot worthy of a modern remake.

Lo Tien-fung (Sek Kin) was once the top swordsman in the martial world, but when his family was kidnapped by the boss of Dragon Town, Barron Siu Chien (Wong Hap), he was locked away for twenty years with his famous Green-Encrusted Sword stashed. This sword was one of several fabled Wu Tang treasures (also depicted in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as the Green Destiny) and as such, could cut through virtually anything. Many ambitious fighters continually pour into Dragon Town looking to find Lo, best him, and take his sword. But none are more ambitious than Chu Tien-lung (Carter Wong) who draws the Barron’s attention by proclaiming himself to be Lo. With the aid of his martial sister (Polly Shang Kuan) and a mysterious beggar (Cliff Lok), Chu sets Lo free. After learning how his family died as a result of the Barron’s evil deeds, Lo returns for revenge. But far from being over, the tale continues as the headstrong Chu now seeks to win the sword in a contest. But the price of victory and defeat for both contestants is high as they must face bitter truths, not to mention deadly adversaries from Lo’s past known as the Four Devils.

Possibly the most prolific of martial screen couples, Polly Shang Kuan and Carter Wong team up yet again to show off their competent screen fighting together. Yet neither is given action roles to match their superior individual efforts in the likes of The Shaolin Kids (1977) or Born Invincible (1978). Polly gets to flex her skills in both open hand and bladed weapons on more than one occasion, but for the most part is reduced to being the neglected, flustered, and ineffectual love interest for a distracted Carter Wong. This is indeed a swordplay film, but Carter Wong’s strengths lie in his powerful unarmed fighting. A solution is found as his character is never taught to use a sword. Of course, this doesn’t stop him from trying to get his hands on the Green-Encrusted Sword. Carter’s usually over-the-top intensity is diminished here, but he does shine in at least one teahouse scene where he turns the tables on laughing adversaries by tossing buns into their mouths and responding with a hearty laugh of his own. Giving the film needed depth and saving the story from further harm caused by some poor acting and dialogue (not helped by especially bad English dubbing) is the real hero of the film as played by Sek Kin. As a martial arts film star, Sek Kin is a legend who pre-dates the “old school” era of the ’70s after starring in many, many martial arts films dating back as far as the 1940s. Perhaps that makes him a vintage kung fu star, but regardless, up to the late ’70s he had aged quite well and even became an international star after playing the infamous villain in Enter the Dragon. Despite the notoriety that came with that role opposite Bruce Lee, it did little justice to Sek as an actor and as an action star. In contrast, The Mysterious Heroes puts him front and center performing his own quality swordplay and delivering an emotionally-charged performance as a tortured swordsman looking for closure and peace. Rounding out the principle cast is genre regular Cliff Lok who plays a singing beggar surrounded by children. His character is noticeably modeled after Yuen Hua’s similar yet much better role in Come Drink with Me (1966).

Other aspects of the film are uneven in terms of quality. For production, some of the sets are good and the costumes are quite fetching, especially Polly’s various ensembles. The weapons look good and offer up some variety. The Green-Encrusted Sword is well-represented as the film’s ultimate tool of destruction that easily cleaves through opposing weapons when not sheathed by a thin covering used to protect an adversary from lethal harm. A neat dual-purpose weapon is found in Kam Kong’s massive bow which oddly shoots steel balls rather than arrows. Cutting the string straightens the wood handle as it becomes a handy spear with a blade already affixed to one end. For a stock musical score, the film grabs some adventurous orchestral marches that nearly fit the action like a glove. Bringing down the quality of the film are a few poor sets, notably the prison Sek is living in that laughably sports bars made of tree branches and the artificial outdoor setting for the final fight that contains poorly painted cliffs on walls.

Sek Kin’s strong performance, a well-structured swordplay tale, and a slightly off-beat ending are the main reasons to single The Mysterious Heroes out from the masses of similar independent kung fu flicks. Polly and Carter are true to form, but fail to stand out. The direction and choreography also meet, yet do not exceed standards with a fair amount of trick photography used. Overall the film is entertaining with story-driven action, but those who prefer non-stop or hardcore martial arts should look elsewhere.

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