|
Cast:
Kuo
Chui
Chiang
Sheng
Lu
Feng
Chin
Siu Ho
Wang
Li
Chu
Ker
Action:
Kuo
Chui
Chu
Ko
Chaing
Sheng
Lu
Feng
Producer:
Mona
Fong
Director:
Chang
Cheh
Score:
 
|
MASKED
AVENGERS
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1981 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
The
fearsome actions of the Mask Gang - a group of highly trained
killers who are terrorising the martial world - come to the
attention of law enforcer Chi (Chiang Sheng) and his loyal
team. When a badly injured man stumbles barely escapes the
gang with his life, Chi decides to further his investigations.
Using a slender lead, Chi and his best men travel to a nearby
town to watch wealthy suspect Lin (Lu Feng) and see whether or
not he is connected to the killers. As the investigation
continues Chi's men are attacked by the masked attackers while
Lin seems to have no connections to the events. The only
suspicious character proves to be the cook who eavesdrops the
officers' conversations and is never too far when the
mysterious assassins strike. One of Chi's assistants, Cheng
(Chin Siu Ho), manages to befriend the cook after a great deal
of effort and slowly learns of the hidden agendas. After one
of the gold masks of the gang's leadership is found in the
cook's belongings though, the law enforcers make him the
number one suspect while Cheng sticks by his friend. Finally
the divided loyalties are put to one side by the team as they
finally discover the identities of the three chiefs of the
Mask Gang. With weapons in hand, the avenging fighters find
the Mask Gang's secret headquarters and prepare for the final
battle.
'Masked
Avengers' is somewhat different from many of the other films
in the Venoms canon. Firstly, it only features three of the
five Venoms, which means that perennial Chang Cheh supporting
players such as Wang Li and Chu Ker are given an opportunity
to prove their worth. The characters are also slightly
different to what viewers may be expecting from a Venoms film:
Chiang Sheng is more like Kuo Chui in a serious role that
features none of his usual mischief; Chin Siu Ho manages to be
a hybrid of both Chiang Sheng's and Lo Meng's usual
characters, combining boyish charm with a willingness to
fight; Kuo Chui is again in a heroic role, but there is a more
sinister side to him that is gradually developed making this
quite a departure from the norm. These aforementioned changes
do not make 'Masked Avengers' an unworthy effort though and
there is much to admire in this baroque production. The cast
were, by this time, so used to the appearing together that
there is a unique familiarity to the proceedings. The three
Venoms gel superbly when on screen together and when they do
fight it is poetry in motion - a choreographic masterclass.
Chin Siu Ho stands out among the newer stars with a
performance that oozes confidence while his fighting abilities
are equal to this.
All
of the hard work of the cast cannot conceal the faults that
they are powerless to prevent. The simple fact of the matter
is that no film with only three of the Venoms can be
considered among the very best, such is the need to linking
each of the five together. Chu Ker, Wang Li and especially
Chin Siu Ho are very good in their respective parts, but
there's always the constant desire to see Lo Meng and Sun
Chien tear across the screen - something that nobody can
compensate for. Strangely enough, Chang Cheh's usual way of
gripping the viewer from the very beginning of the narrative
is lacking in 'Masked Avengers' as the opening twenty minutes
are too patchy to fully absorb. Nonetheless, although this
isn't the best Venoms film, it certainly isn't the worst and
still features a hundred reasons why it should be recommended
viewing.
|
