Men from a rural community in China are kidnapped and forced to mine for gold as slaves. Three men desperately make several several attempts to escape.

Super kicker John Liu occasionally found himself starring in films that fell outside of the normal boundaries of classic kung fu genre convention, but he hit new territory this time. Struggle through Death is Taiwan’s kung fu-infused answer to classic prison films of the West like Papillon and Stalag 17. A major difference apart from the obvious Eastern setting and kung fu action is that this low budget flick is intolerably bad beyond my worst nightmares of what a bad kung fu flick could possibly be. Overstatement? I don’t think so.

The plot is unbelievable. Some generic thugs are randomly kidnapping men they happen to see roaming about the countryside and putting them into forced labor at a gold mine. John Liu, in lousy kung fu mode, is just about to catch a ‘wascally wabbit’ when he’s nabbed and tossed into this camp. For the next eighty minutes or so, Liu and a pair of newfound friends repeatedly run away, are captured and beaten again and again and again… over and over and over. A lot of fists, feet, whips, and clubs left fly and I don’t think a single blow is ever blocked. Liu himself gets beaten and abused so often that it literally becomes a joke. No, really. Both covered in bandages after taking their second or third major beating that should have left them permanently crippled or dead, Liu and Chin Lung ‘humorously’ bump into each other and fall down only to laugh at their light-hearted misfortune.

At some point, the endless cycle of abuse finally turns in the prisoners’ favor, but by that point the viewer is more likely to feel abused than either the prisoners or villains. The acting, direction and art direction is awful, far beyond what’s normal for a low budget kung fu flick.

Watch in amazement as extras posing as slave labor stand around shaking digging tools in mock anger as guards lazily whip the ground in front of them for several minutes straight. Witness the horror of three separate mining cave-ins coming to vivid life as small Styrofoam rocks fall on heads and the same little piece of wood posing as a beam falls on three separate victims who are ‘crushed horribly’ by its gargantuan, quarter-pound weight. Scream in agony as Fist of Fury’s ‘pet ass’ Ngai Ping-ngo and friend entertain their fellow prisoners with ‘witty’ renditions of “Old McDonald” and “This Old Man.” If only I had a dollar for every time a prisoner called a guard an “animal,” or “worse than an animal.” I lost count.

This flick is so annoying. Liu is usually a tough guy in his other films, but doesn’t unleash his mighty right leg until late in the story. Instead of some great kung fu action throughout, we’re treated with Liu and Ma Chin-ku getting into a series of pointless scuffles with guards where the only certainty is that they’ll both end up tied and whipped or have their feet beaten to a pulp. There is no action gratification for ninety percent of the film. Chin Lung as Liu’s overanxious pal is obnoxious and gets just what he deserves for being such a whimpering git.

The illusion of the mining camp as a place that could hold anyone against their will for any length of time is ruined by several factors. There are no gates and the guards are massively-outnumbered, rarely use lethal weapons, and only resort to killing to set an example after countless escapes and rebellious activities take place. Furthermore, the camp is a short walk from a village that Liu makes several unsanctioned visits to. The locals are either oblivious or resigned to the abductions and slave activity.

The sympathetic foreman, played by Chui Chung-hei eventually trains Liu’s right leg. Yes, only his right leg. The truth is that Liu always favored his right leg in his films. He was able to do amazing things with it, but any fitness trainer or sensible martial artist could tell you that training both limbs equally is necessary for good health, balance and safety. Yet even with his mighty leg Liu is held back when the foreman asks him to help the whole camp to escape. After the foreman is killed, the prisoners finally rebel in a clumsily-shot uprising and Liu finally takes on the boss.

There are a few good kung fu moves that nearly get lost in the monotonous sea of mediocre brawling. There is a crazy, backward windmill-style kick that a thug uses. For his age, Chui Chung-hei unleashes some great moves including a low-level scissors kick, followed by a prone-to-standing flip. Liu shows off some amazing dexterity and control with his right leg. The best scene has him standing on his left leg and dishing out multiple kicks with his right to three successive attackers, all in one shot and without lowering that leg once. Unfortunately, the end fight is spoiled by one early mistake by Liu. His opponent gets a solid hold on that leg after a kick and any other smart fighter would have broken it right there or at least forced Liu to the ground. But Liu is supposed to be the hero now, so the boss generously lets go and promptly takes his medicine like a good baddie.

Ultimately, a few slick kung fu moves cannot do a thing for Struggle through Death. The overriding issue is the seemingly endless repetition. Nothing is worse than having to watch slight variations of the same, bad scenes repeatedly in one movie. Even John Liu’s legwork seems stale under Cheung San-yee’s incompetent direction. I’m hesitant to lay blame on either of these two though as they had also teamed up for Incredible Kung Fu Mission, which is a fun classic. In closing, I do have to say that Struggle through Death is an apt title as it accurately describes my state of mind as I suffered through what turned out to be a big disappointment for this John Liu fan.

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