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CHALLENGE
OF DEATH
AKA:
Dragon And Snake In Spider's Web
Year:
1980 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Four
years after 'The Hot, The Cool And The Vicious', director Lee
Tso Nam decided to make this semi-sequel to his runaway
success in the hope that he could recapture some of the old
magic. Wong Tao, Tan Tao Liang and Tommy Lee all
returned, albeit in new characters, and the stage was set once
more for some friendly rivalry and rip-roaring battles.
Security
Officer Lu (Tan Tao Liang) is on the trail of a mysterious gun
smuggler. His investigations lead him to Madam Wu, an
eccentric lady of the night who appears to be the link between
smuggler and client. Luckily for Lu, it appears that she
has a soft spot for the womanising gambler known as Chang
(Wong Tao) so Lu arrests him in the hope that, with a little
brute force, he will assist in the case. His inside
information brings about the identity of the true man behind
the smuggling ring who is a master of the little-known Spider
kung fu. Only by combining Lu's Dragon fist and Chang's
Snake fist can the two heroes stand a chance of bringing this
villain to justice.
Action-wise,
'Challenge Of Death' is certainly a worthy successor and has a lot to offer. As
with the first flick, Tao mainly provides the impressive
handwork whilst Liang sticks to what he does best and lets his
feet do the majority of his talking. This is a
successful mix that is employed for the majority of the fights
and is clearly at its most effective for the thrilling finale
in which our two leads combine their skills to battle the
ruthless Spider kung fu master. However, Tommy Lee's
Spider style emerges as one of the most disappointing elements
of the film unless you like your kung fu to be humourous.
The cumbersome combination of poor wirework and rather silly
hanging manoeuvres only really provides unintentional laughs
and this can overshadow what is an otherwise well
choreographed set of action set pieces.
The
plot is probably the point at which most fans will find their
patience lacking here. Where 'The Hot, The Cool And The
Vicious' was a tightly crafted traditional kung fu movie with
a story that was easy to wrap your head around, 'Challenge Of
Death' introduces rather inane moments of comedy and provides
a plot line that really could have been told in half the time.
If it had been two lesser known actors in the starring roles
then this lack of direction could have caused the production
to fail but the stars' action abilities do keep the pace
moving and force you to
watch on in anticipation of the next confrontation.
'Challenge
Of Death' was always going to provide some exhilarating action
thanks to three such captivating combatants but the story
certainly leaves a lot to be desired. However, it does
enough to hold your attention between the kung fu and is worth
sticking with just to see the closing fight sequence.
Therefore, this is not nearly as good as it's predecessor but
a worthwhile watch none-the-less.
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