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Starring
:
Leung
Kar Yan
Wong
Yat Lung
Yuen
Siu Tien
Eddie
Ko
Action
:
Wong
Ha
Producer
:
Chow
Fook Leung
Director
:
Yip
Wing Tsui
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SLEEPING
FIST (1978)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Policeman
Chin (Leung Kar Yan) is well-beaten by thugs one day in a
fight that sees him hopelessly defeated. Coming to his rescue
is a young lad who couples his abilities with a cocky
self-assurance and who manages to take the injured man back to
his master. While recovering from his wounds, Chin meets the
eccentric master who trains his eager young student in a
seemingly cruel fashion. When the youngster is himself injured
one day after a brawl with the local bullies, the master
decides to teach both of his students the bizarre kung-fu
technique of the 'Sleeping Fist' - a style that is almost
surreal in display, but very effective. After an arduous
course of severe training, the trio set out to avenge the
battering that the youngest received. Easily defeating their
foes, the threesome find themselves up against a real
challenge when an Eagle's Claw master (Ko) is hired to tear
apart the Sleeping Fist.
After
the runaway success of 'Drunken
Master', literally scores of exploitations of the same
theme were churned out for a quick buck. Every one of these
producers used clones of Yuen Siu Tien or, if they were
fortunate, the man himself. Unfortunately some have alleged
that the deluge of work that hit Yuen after 'Drunken Master'
contributed to his death a couple of years later. Whether this
is true is not something that will be debated, but there was
no doubt that many of these exploitations were poor in
comparison. 'Sleeping Fist' was one of the more watchable ones
thanks to leading star Leung Kar Yan and the highlighting of a
very unusual style. Another significant strength is the
presence of acrobatic kid Wong Yat Lung who strikes up a
pleasing chemistry with his co-star. So much was this in
evidence that they were again put together in the superior 'Thundering
Mantis'. Although it is certainly different in some areas,
'Sleeping Fist' suffers from a storyline that's too formulaic;
there is no attempt to add any twists or turns in the way that
some films have done. Therefore it becomes easy to telegraph
what will happen and even when it will happen. 'Sleeping Fist'
is not brave enough to offer any variations on a very tired
theme, but it is consistently rewarding from an action
perspective. It is this that recommends this film to ardent
genre fans.
Rating:
 
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