It starts with Chen Kuan-Tai, in a glorious 1970s style suit, takes out six would-be muggers. The police are after him for a payoff so he hides in the brothel. Other main characters include Ku Feng as the Chinese army general and Fan Mei-Sheng as the escort company man looking for one last glory run.

In one word the problem with this movie is "guns". Guns are a poor fit in martial arts movies for obvious reasons. There are limited options to negate the "instant death at a distance" problem that guns create. This movie quickly uses up all the options. This includes such set ups as: the first three shots always miss, the dagger hits first, or using another man or a dead body as a shield. There is even a scene where the guys say they don't want to use guns because that's unfair. (In real life that has never happened.) After all the excuses, the bullets just have to keep missing and missing. Many times the soldiers used the rifles as if they were just sticks.

This is a Shaw Brothers movie and almost all of these are available in excellent video quality today. My copy is English dubbed by the "A team" of voice over people. I prefer the subtitled versions of these movies because sometimes a bit of the video is missing with the translation. Nevertheless, the copy I have has an 81 minute run time which appears correct.

I first watched this movie back in 2015 but did not write a review at the time. My notes back then put it on my list to watch again sometime as appropriate and today was appropriate. I am sure all fans of martial arts movies of the golden age from 1967 to 1984 have this movie on their list so my recommendation is meaningless. I only rate it as average for the year and genre. The fights are just not that special and the story failed to hold my attention at times.

Mandarin-language cinema across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore explores historical reflection, cultural identity, and personal sacrifice, often expressed through poetic visuals and sweeping narratives. In Mainland China, this takes the form of allegory and large-scale epics that reflect on national history. Taiwan emphasizes intimate modernist realism, generational change, and the search for identity. Singapore contributes stories of migration, multiculturalism, and the negotiation of tradition in a globalized city.

The action genre features fast-paced, thrilling, and intense sequences of physical feats, combat, and excitement. The characters of these stories are involved in daring and often dangerous situations, requiring them to rely on their physical prowess, skills, and quick thinking to overcome challenges and adversaries.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

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