Ma lu xiao ying xiong

I found a cheap DVD copy of this movie and wasn't really expecting too much from it, but was pleasantly surprised to discover a very watchable film. The image and sound quality and subtitles were also excellent throughout. Someone obviously thought this was worth properly remastering, and I'd have to agree.

I can't help wondering if this was a contractual filler for Golden Harvest regulars. Maybe another movie fell through, so they set this one up in a hurry and developed the script as they went along. I'm only guessing, but it certainly gets a lot sharper as it progresses, having started out as a "lovable scamps" type comedy affair with some very Boulting Bros style title animations and totally cheesy soundtrack.

The fight scenes aren't the most convincing you'll ever see, but Polly Kwan and Angelo Mao do get to kick and crunch a goodly number of snarly evil doers as the movie gets progressively more uptempo and violent. They also get hit quite hard a few times themselves. Tough babes, those 70s starlets. Added fun comes from placing the faces who take up the supporting roles and minor cameos.

It's not a kung fu classic or a lost masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a decent little film, well acted and directed once it finds its feet and drops the slapstick. There's plenty of worse ways to pass 90 minutes on a rainy day.