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Cast:
Chu
Kong
Angela
Mao
Carter
Wong
Chan
Sing
Casanova
Wong
Kam
Kong
Yeng
Wei
Mars
Action:
Chan
Kam Chuen
Yuen
Fa
Director:
Huang
Feng
Score:
  
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THE
LEGENDARY STRIKE
AKA:
Iron Maiden
Year:
1978 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Director
Huang Feng never quite made the transition from an
above-average kung fu film director to a truly great one.
Nonetheless, when Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung mentioned him as
an influence on his own directorial career, Huang's
credentials as a film-maker surely deserve attention. With
'The Legendary Strike', Huang Feng shows viewers the
difference between the standards of his work with the endless
other genre directors.
A
Chinese relic becomes the subject of much interest from
various devious parties who inhabit the martial world. This 'Dharma's
Relic' is sold by scheming Lord Yeung (Carter Wong) to a
Japanese envoy who then hides it on his person before he
leaves the palace. On the journey back to Japan, the relic's
new owner is attacked and killed by a fighter who fails to
find the whereabouts of this treasure. This fighter is then
confronted by a supposed Shaolin monk (Kam Kong) who defeats
him before he also looks around for the valued item. Watching
these events from a safe vantage point is Tan (Chu Kong) who
begins to work out how and where the relic is likely to have
been hidden. Therefore he takes the corpse of the monk's
victim and decides to travel with the body until he has an
opportunity to investigate further. The monk decides to follow
along and also discover how much this newcomer knows before he
makes his move. Meanwhile Lord Yeung grows increasingly
incensed by the events and decides to send some of his best
men to get back the relic and eliminate anyone involved. Min
(Chen Sing), the Lord's most feared underling, chases after
the suspects with a few top fighters in tow. Tan is one step
ahead of his rivals though and forms a useful alliance with
Ming patriot Chin (Angela Mao) who agrees to help her fellow
Ming-supporter. Lord Yeung's ruthless ambition is constant and
he elects to lure out his enemies by taking a whole village
hostage and promising to execute them in the morning unless
the relic is returned.
With
a storyline that's hardly out of the ordinary for the genre
and a band of well-worn characters, 'The Legendary Strike'
doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary at first
glance. However, its merits are truly found in Huang Feng's
execution of the basic material; there's a potential for
matters to become very convoluted by the end of the film, but
Huang's assured handling means that this is never the case.
Although there's the odd hole or inconsistency, the production
mostly runs at a sustained pace that draws the viewer along
with it. The main reason why the 'The Legendary Strike'
doesn't come across even better is due to a few false steps in
other departments of the film. Chu Kong is a very able lead
actor with a strong command of the material, but he's quite
blatantly not a screen fighter. Therefore scenes of action
involving him are filmed in an awkward manner to hide the
obvious use of a stunt double. This naturally hinders the
anticipated finale and dampen the potential sparks on offer.
Thankfully Chu is surrounded by a cast of some of the genre's
greatest names: Angela Mao doesn't quite match up to the
performances of her heyday, but still shows what a great asset
she was to any film; Chan Sing is yet again the villain par
excellence, powerful and imposing throughout; Casanova Wong
rounds off the cast with yet more of his glorious bootwork.
There's plenty to enjoy here and relatively little to grumble
about. 'The Legendary Strike' therefore proves to be a genre
flick that stands out from the crowd.
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