Name: Xia nu bao ta jie
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Rating: 5.8
Cast: Feng Hsu, Ling Chia, Kuang-Tseng Lin

Action-packed Taiwanese martial arts flick

Set in imperial China, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty is betrayed and murdered by one of his high officials. His son goes on the run but is poisoned. Two female warriors step forward to protect him from hostile enemies and navigate the dangers of a shaolin temple which stores the only known antidote to the poison.

This is an example of the Taiwanese strand of the kung fu action flick. Like others of this type such as Chase Step by Step (1974) it's pretty much non-stop action from start to finish. The martial arts sword play is well done and the two female fighters made for very good heroines. The final section of the film mainly compromises of two different encounters happening simultaneously and edited together, namely one girl fights with the chief bad guy, while the other navigates the floors of the temple. It very nicely executed and makes for a satisfying pay-off. The film ends a little later with an amusingly silly scene of the prince passing himself successfully off as a dancing girl in order to get close to take final revenge on his father's killer.

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 Tang emperor is betrayed by one of his most trusted aides who is the general of all the armies. He attacks the palace to establish himself as the new emperor. The real emperor is killed and his daughter commits suicide rather than be taken prisoner.

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Shaolin Temple

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