Two children whose parents were killed in an attempt to possess the martial world’s most powerful weapon, the Holy Flame, are raised by competing masters, trained in kung fu in preparation for a fateful duel.
Forget “Holy Flame,” “Holy Cow!” is more like it. Holy Flame of the Martial World is a wuxia pien with the action dial set to eleven, ludicrous speed, you name it. It’s unrelenting fantasy martial arts mayhem of the highest order where super-powered heroes fire laser blasts from their finger tips and spin around in mid-air in a lotus position. Whether this is all good or not is debatable. This film is so extreme in its direction and content that viewers are virtually guaranteed to love it or hate it.
The story begins with a couple and their two children surrounded by the Seven Grand Masters of the martial world all desperately seeking the Holy Flame, the world’s ultimate weapon that this family owns directions to. Stepping to fore are their superiors and partners in crime, the gray-haired mistress of the all-women’s Er Mei Clan, Jing Yin (Leanne Lau) and Monster Yu (Jason Pai Piao), a wicked master with a thick mane of golden hair. They kill the parents and are about to get their hands on the directions when in swoops The Phantom (Philip Kwok) with his Ghostly Laugh that is so powerful it literally blows everyone away. He snatches the young boy, leaving the daughter in the hands of Jing Yin and promises that the boy will return in eighteen years to avenge his parents’ deaths. And that he does, but before doing so Wan Tien-sau (Max Mok) must retrieve what turns out to be one of two Holy Flame swords from a deadly cave, save a snake master’s daughter (Mary Jean Reimer) from the clutches of the Blood Sucking Clan, and contend with his sister who possesses the other sword and has grown up believing her parents to be killed by The Phantom.
In the entire history of world film, Holy Flame stands out as a unique example of fantasy excess delivered at blinding speeds. Hong Kong’s film industry is known for churning out fast-paced action films, but this one is unbelievable. It never slows down. Every frame of footage contains some elaborate wirework, special effect, or manically-laughing kung fu master. It’s like director Tony Liu Jun-guk set out to destroy every wuxia film ever made with shear energy. It’s vastly different from his more conventional wuxia film Secret Service of the Imperial Court and most of Chor Yuen’s many film adaptations of wuxia novels. But like the equally outrageous Buddha’s Palm (1982), it has roots in the fantasy films of China’s silent film era.
What viewers may be most struck by initially is the extreme over-acting on the part of the actors. No one is taking this film seriously and the viewer shouldn’t either. It’s a live-action cartoon that I’m sure I would have appreciated much more had I seen it first at about age eleven or twelve. Philip Kwok still deserves special mention for delivering a completely insane performance as The Phantom. With his tied, blonde wig and handlebar mustache he looks like Viking and spends half his screen time bellowing in laughter as air machines wreck havoc on the artificial sets. As far as specific action, forget about the swordplay. The swordplay in the film constitutes the “slow” parts, although Max’s flying sword trick is slick. The real highlights are to be found in special effects shots such as the ghosts that swarm Max Mox, the giant Chinese written characters that attack him, the tapestries from where demon-headed fighters emerge, or the bolts of energy that reduce their victims to crushed bones. The title weapons look like diamond-shaped, plastic cricket paddles with jewels in the center and serve little purpose until the end. But rest assured, once they’re put to use, expect mondo destruction. All of this action takes place on some of the most unusual and interesting sets Shaw Brothers ever mustered and with some terrific music backing up the mood. It’s all nonsense to be sure, but impressively pulled off.
If obnoxious behavior and continuous cartoon violence are positive attributes, then Holy Flame of the Martial World is genius filmmaking. But it’s just as likely to test one’s tolerance for such fare. In the end, it’s little more than a gaudy curiosity, one that initially demands your attention shortly before it’s lost in the overwhelming havoc that unfolds onscreen.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Holy Flame of the Martial World (1983) • Shaw Brothers • Wuxia
