Revenge of the Shaolin Kid is the epitome of a budget kung fu movie where the entire plot revolves around a rudimentary quest for revenge. Shaw Brothers veteran and Hung Gar kung fu practitioner Chi Kuan-chung stars as the exiled son of a murdered Ming general, trained in kung fu for the sole purpose of finding and killing everyone involved in his father’s death.

The film uses a paint by numbers kind of script, if there even was one, where a collection of simple genre conventions are tossed together to fill out the running time with minimum effort. Chi encounters a variety of faceless fighters as he tracks down three assassins one by one, followed by their mysterious master. One complication comes in the form of a young girl he rescues, who turns out to be the daughter of the man ultimately responsible for killing his father. Another sees Chi duped into trying to kill the wrong man.

Thrown into the midst of this story is a disjointed scene in a gambling hall featuring Hong Kong movie veteran Wu Ma as a petty gambler and capable screen fighting actress Lee Chia-ling as a heroine disguised as a beggar. After Wu’s cheating is uncovered, fighting breaks out, however this whole affair is not related to the rest of the movie. Some attempt is made to bridge the gap with the appearance of several no-name actors portraying what appear to be Chia-ling’s beggar associates. But they serve no purpose either, except as fighting fodder.

Chi Kuan-chung is a lousy actor, but one of the world’s best kung fu movie stars when it comes to traditional Southern Shaolin forms, not to mentioned he’s also one of the most chiseled. He possesses little charisma as he emotionlessly fights his way through the movie, but fares better with the action.

We’re not supposed to know who the villain is, but it’s painfully obvious if you’ve paid any attention to the credits or cast list. Lo Lieh performs one of his usual tricks of making a late entry to battle Chi in the finale. This is pretty much how he was able to appear in well over 100 movies during his lifetime. Unfortunately, his role is as routine and bland as the rest of the characters.

Lee Chia-ling makes one of her last screen appearances in this movie, although her footage is most likely taken from another film, possibly as unused leftovers. It’s still nice to see her in action once again as she remains one of the genre’s most talented and attractive female fighters.

Other notable star appearances include Kong Do and Chan Sing. There is a great opportunity for kung fu excellence when Chan and Lo briefly square off in the end, but the match is poorly directed.

One true oddity is the appearance of a Western fighter cheaply dressed like a Mongol. He’s clearly meant to be a massively strong opponent for Chi to battle. But with a very average build, modest skills and the looks of some kung fu movie fan who just walked off the street, the guy and the scene he appears in are a joke.

This flick is low rent all the way. It’s basically a few guys in standard genre garb beating on each other out in the wilderness, occasionally in and around cheap-looking sets or generic buildings.

The direction and camera work are uniformly awful. Many crude attempts are made to ape spaghetti westerns with overused, extreme close ups and dramatic perspective. There’s nothing wrong with a low budget kung fu movie that sticks to basics, but the director here is making a mistake in trying and failing to give his movie added dimension. It’s much like the overused quick zooms found in other kung fu movies.

The only reason to watch this movie is for the generous amounts of kung fu and even then, it’s not exactly great. Chi is in good form as usual, but is forced to rely more on weapons combat this time around and that’s not his forte.

The action direction is below average and it isn’t helped by equally poor editing. Combat feels rushed and lacks any sense of real impact. Even Chi falls victim to throwing out the occasional limp kick or animal forms attack. Chi spends most of his time fighting generic thugs and interrogating their boss, who ends up dying by the toss of a dagger. Afterwards, the process begins all over again.

The end fight is a big letdown. Chi Kuan-chung, Lo Lieh and Chan Sing all together sounds like a genre fan’s dream, but weak direction and disappointing follow through makes this a highly forgettable brawl. Chan’s sword skills are built up prior to the fight and very little of them are shown. But like Chi, Chan was also better known for his open-hand sparring.

The best fight is most likely not even a part of the movie. It’s Lee Chia-ling’s tussle in the gambling hall where she wields a short stick like a real pro. Compare this fight to the rest in the movie and it’s apparent that they were not choreographed by the same person. The action is much tighter in this scene and Chia-ling is quite dazzling in her ability to take on a roomful of thugs. It’s unfortunate that she doesn’t appear elsewhere in the movie.

Revenge of the Shaolin Kid has a lot of kung fu action, but its more quantity than quality. The film lacks seriously in every other area, save for the presence of some of the genre’s better stars. Obviously made on the cheap, it’s not one of Chi Kuan-chung’s better movies and falls far below the likes of Iron Monkey or Disciples of Shaolin, which both displayed his real-life skills far better.

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