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Starring
:
Cliff
Lok
Shek
Kien
Yeung
Wai
Director
:
Ng
Tin Chi
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TIGER'S
CLAW (1974)
A.K.A.
- Karate Vs. Tiger
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
With
a desire to be deemed the best fighter around, an arrogant
young fighter (Lok) roams the land and challenges anyone who
is considered worthy. After another successful bout, he hears
rumours about a legendary fighter named Tiger (Kien) and those
who knew him claimed he could never be beaten. As he has a new
target, the young challenger gathers information about Tiger
and discovers that he has been in prison for a considerable
time. This single-minded obsession with excellence drives the
assured fighter to get into prison and break Tiger out.
Refusing to accept a duel, Tiger instead discovers more and
more about the betrayers who sent him to prison. His
investigations uncover the truth behind those he once trusted
and the reasons behind the untimely death of his wife.
Nevertheless, his prospective opponent finally hounds him into
a proper duel that is to be contested in front of the village.
Tiger, however, learns of an incredible secret about the
swaggering traveller that could influence both of their lives.
The
'hammer hitting a baking tray' sound effects and the flailing
arms and legs dates this kung-fu drama back to the early to
mid-70s. 'Tiger's Claw' also appears dated with the first
sights of a very young-looking Cliff Lok taking the lead role.
Immediately then, prospective viewers will get an initial
indication of whether they'll enjoy this film or not. Lok was
never the Jade Screen's most graceful fighter - indeed his raw
energy and rough approach draws an obvious comparison to Wang
Yu - but his lead role is watchable as is Shek Kien's more
mature performance. The big annoyances with this film are
based around its unimaginative choreography and poor
direction. Firstly, even though this dates back to 1974,
there's still a definite lack of spark in many of the fight
scenes; the odd one or two confrontations do prove to be
reasonably engaging, but as a whole this isn't the case. Also,
Lok's character is so unpleasant and arrogant that it is quite
a challenge to warm to him. Unfortunately he's the main star
and so his irrational behaviour and dreadful treatment of
others is meant to be accepted by a gullible viewer. There are
moments of intrigue that help 'Tiger's Claw' to entertain and
it's definitely not the worst the genre has to offer. However,
any chance of a three star rating is undermined by some very
dubious plot twists and a complete lack of development of
them.
Reasonable
kung fu drama.
Rating:
 
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