|
Starring
:
Yiu
Nam Hi
Lung
Jun Er
Lo
Lieh
Producer
:
Joseph
Kuo
Director
:
Joseph
Kuo
|
THE
SMART CAVALIER (1978)
A.K.A.
- The Cavalier; Dancing Kung Fu
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
A
grandfather and his young granddaughter travel to town with a
very unusual proposition: if any man can beat her in a fight,
she will be his bride. The task, though, proves to be a far
from easy one and the numerous potential suitors are well
beaten by her confident skills.
When
a Ming revolutionary stumbles upon the contest unaware of the
prize, his resounding victory leaves him with a new
responsibility. However, knowing that marriage would impede
his political activities, the victor and his friend decide to
flee, with the grandfather and granddaughter in hot pursuit.
Wherever the two friends go and no matter how elaborate their
disguise, their pursuers are never far behind and always eager
to finally cement the wedding plans. Matters take a more
serious twist when the revolutionaries meet their brotherhood
and must face the might of the Ching armies. Thankfully
though, the grandfather is familiar with the cause and decides
to add his own helping hand in the finale.
Joseph
Kuo has shown in some of his best features that he has the
ability to develop excellent kung fu films. With a fascination
for colourful characters and his own directorial touches, Kuo
is one of the better independent directors of the 70s. 'The
Smart Cavalier' though is a sloppily directed, poorly
developed kung fu comedy with little to entertain. The actual
concept of the chase between the revolutionaries and the
grandfather/granddaughter along with the revolutionary
overtones has definite potential; the mix of characters and
situations could have spawned something akin to Kuo's better
work. However, by the half-hour mark, 'The Smart Cavalier' has
all the excitement and intrigue of a Scooby Doo cartoon.
Indeed it is that the film seems to mimic the same format as a
cartoon: the heroes escape; their pursuers appear out of
nowhere; the heroes escape; their pursuers appear out of
nowhere...and on and on. Whereas Scooby Doo is twenty minutes
long though, this tired chain of events happens throughout a
90 minute duration. Things seem to improve at the film's
ending, but even this fight finale - featuring the brief 10
minute appearance by Lo Lieh - is ruined by poor character
development. Too often this production introduces characters
with no history or persona and then expects the audience to
believe in them. 'The Smart Cavalier' is a below par effort
from Joseph Kuo, a director who should know better.
Rating:
 
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