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Cast:
Yuen
Biao
Leung
Kar Yan
Kwan
Tak Hing
Ko
Fei
Yuen
Shun Yi
Fan
Mei Sheng
Action:
Yuen
Shun Yi
Yuen
Cheung Yan
Brandy
Yuen
Chiu
Chun Hing
Yuen
Yat Choh
Producer:
Raymond
Chow
Director:
Yuen
Woo Ping
Score:
 
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DREADNAUGHT
AKA:
Dreadnought
Year:
1981 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
White
Tiger (Shun Yi) and his sick wife are both wanted by the law
for their various crimes. A seemingly innocuous stop at a
restaurant turns into an all-out ambush on White Tiger and
spouse with the waiters revealed to be law enforcers. After a
savage battle, White Tiger emerges, but his wife is killed in
the onslaught; this naturally does no favours for his already
precarious mental health. Now driven insane, White Tiger
travels to the home of an ex-cohort (Kao Fei) who now runs a
kung-fu school in opposition to local hero Wong Fei Hung.
The
focus now switches to the timid yet charming laundry boy Mousy
(Biao) who is the butt of the town's jokes and the victim of
bullying from all quarters. Luckily he has good friend Fu to
rely on and there's certainly no messing with Fu - he's Wong
Fei Hung's senior student. A series of events brings Mousy
into direct conflict with White Tiger, but all he can do is
run in sheer terror of his foe. However, unbeknownst to Mousy,
his sister has been training him in Eagle's Claw without him
ever knowing it. It is these very skills that are needed when,
through a series of tragic circumstances, Mousy must confront
the dreaded villain without the usual help from Fu or Wong Fei
Hung.
It's
very strange how such a well-polished and highly entertaining
film has come under such criticism from some Hong Kong film
fans. Some seem to be uncomfortable with Yuen Biao playing
such a timid character; however, this is one of the film's
many strengths as Biao gains the audience's sympathy with such
a lovable character and then has them cheering when he faces
his final battle. Others have pointed to the fact that the
action is not as frequent as other Yuen Woo Ping films. It is
true that it doesn't reach the action-packed level of 'Magnificent
Butcher', but the entertainment in-between fights is still
very high as the varied characters enjoy some vibrant
interactions. Anyway, could a film that contains the classic
'demon tailor' battle really be criticised for it's lack of
action? Dreadnaught is entertaining and well-filmed throughout
its duration and therefore deserves the film-viewing public's
attention.
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