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Cast:
Chen
Kwan Tai
Ku
Feng
Piao
Piao
Kuen
Wing Man
Action:
Luk
Chuen
Wong
Pau Gei
Producer:
Mona
Fong
Director:
Kuei
Chih Hung
Score:
 
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LIGHTNING
KUNG FU
AKA:
Killer Constable ||
Karate Exterminators || Karate Warrior
Year:
1980 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Chief
constable and accomplished fighter Ling Tien Ying (Chen Kwan
Tai) is well known for his remarkable success rate in his
dangerous field. Ling, though, is also a ruthless constable
who never spares the fleeing suspects he pursues and even
earns a reprimand by his own brother for this grim
determination. When two million taels are stolen from the
royal vaults, Ling is hired to find the thieves within ten
days and administer his own justice. Ling's first task is to
pick a team of men from his loyal band of assistants and then
sort through the clues. After finding a link with a local
villager and using his own harsh methods to get results, Ling
is attacked by two of the thieves and only just fends them
off. More hardships occur when his men are ambushed by a
significant group of the enemy and their number is severely
reduced by the assault. However, the constable is used to
facing tremendous odds and, after battling through a number of
his foes, slowly pieces together the events of the theft. Only
when he meets one of the ringleaders does Ling finally
discover who was behind the robbery; the answer comes as a
definite surprise.
Far
removed from the standard Shaw Brothers' films and coming at
the end of their kung fu boom, 'Lightning Kung Fu' is blessed
and cursed by its unique style. Filmed in a manner that mixes
the look and feel of the Japanese Chanbara classics with the
craftsmanship of the Shaw Brothers hits, this is a very
different proposition from what is usually expected. Director
Kuei Chih Hung's attempts to paint a potent visual picture is
to be commended and his use of some interesting cinematography
to achieve this is one of the major highlights here. The
workable premise which acts as the film's main pivot houses
one of the bleakest atmospheres in Shaw Brothers'; as with 'Eight
Diagram Pole Fighters' (which was made two years later),
'Lightning Kung Fu is soaked in a nihilistic air of dread and
foreboding. This makes for powerful viewing and hints at some
of the action films that were to come out of Hong Kong in the
late 80s. Indeed, John Woo's highly-regarded 'The
Killer' lifts one of the plot-threads from this narrative,
even using 'Lightning Kung-Fu's later scenes uncannily.
There
are certainly reasons why 'Lightning Kung Fu' could be
regarded as a commendable failure. The most obvious of these
reasons is Chen Kwan Tai's character - the film's supposed
'hero'. The fact is that Ling is so cold-blooded and heartless
that it is not always easy to feel any sympathy for him. Many
film-makers in the past have created the 'anti-hero' role, but
they only succeed when there's some reason behind their
imperfections. Ling is clearly someone with skeletons in the
closet and a history as to why he is so ruthless, but this is
never expanded upon. To this awkward point is added yet
another big weakness of the production: although there are
many intriguing sparks ignited throughout the narrative, never
are they allowed to develop into proper themes i.e. the
thought of the inequality between the royal treasures and the
poverty of the common people. Instead of being quite so
fascinated by ambience and tension, Kuei Chih Hung would have
been better advised to concentrate on the potential of these
missed opportunities. 'Lightning Kung Fu' could have been a
genre film with a heart as well as a brain; as it is, this is
a good, but not great kung fu film in both action and content.
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