A traveling monk reluctantly takes on as his student an orphaned youth looking to find his mother and avenge his father’s murder.
It’s more of the same for Shaolin Monk Fights Back, a Taiwanese production with nothing of great interest to offer viewers apart from modest kung fu action and of course, Choi Wang’s stunning yin-yang ensemble.
A wandering Shaolin monk (Lee Bing-hung) with great kung fu skill meets a mischievous orphan (Lin Hsiao-hu). He eventually enlists the monk’s aid in fending off a Shaolin flunky with a taste for wine, women, and meat who terrorizes a local village magistrate. The boy then becomes the monk’s student and again asks for his help, this time to find his kidnapped mother and avenge his father’s murder. The man (Choi Wang) responsible for both crimes turns out to be the head of a religious Yin-Yang sect who are oppressing everyone. After the boy finds his mother in a brothel, he joins a group of heroes in taking on the sect leader and his followers.
The premise of a peaceful monk compelled to fight for a troubled boy actually isn’t bad and could have been especially good if not for its bland execution. The biggest problem is the kung fu. It’s not poorly choreographed and there is plenty of it, but it lacks diversity and becomes monotonous. The other problem is the lead actors, most of whom are relatively unknown and not all that impressive in action. The main woman in the story who assists the boy has no power in her movements, yet she is supposed to be good enough to take on a roomful of thugs. The kid, who is kung fu child actor Lin Hsiao-hu is supposed to be the star, but he takes a back seat in the second half. His performance is satisfactory, but the film’s glossing over of his training is a shame. By the end, you nearly forget why he’s in the picture. The monk as played by Lee Bing-hung is pretty forgettable.
The best part about the film is the introduction of Choi Wang midway through who appears decked out in a large gray wig and a gaudy costume with a big yin-yang symbol as a breastplate. Seeing him carted around on a sedan chair with a full retinue of soldiers in costume is pretty entertaining. There’s a memorable training sequence where his hands turn purple while he trains Iron Hands by jabbing them into heated rocks and then a boiling liquid.
There isn’t much to say about Shaolin Monk Fights Back. It is what it is and that’s not much to get excited about. It’s not a bad film though and certainly better than most Taiwanese productions of the day.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Genre: Kung Fu • Genre: Shapes • Shaolin Monk Fights Back (1980)
