bob the moo I recently watched The Five Deadly Venoms and, not knowing much about this genre, did not realize that the general group of actors from that film stayed as a group for other projects; so it was merely by chance that I watched The Kid with the Golden Arms and found that many of them were here again. As with Wu Du, the plot here sets up a series of strong characters and then sees them battle each other; in this case the plot device is a transportation of gold with a collection of people responsible for it while the Che Sa gang are out to get it. Those responsible include Hero Li and Miss Leng who are both skilled with the sword, two skilled axe-men and one drunken sheriff called Hai Tao. On the other side is a collection of chiefs including Silver Spear, Brass Head and of course old Golden Arms himself.In terms of characterization and narrative, it is as simple as a series of confrontations but it still works very well as a plot because this is what the viewer is after and this is what is delivered. What plot there is does move along pretty well and keeps the characters busy, but it is the action and the characters that sell it. In terms of the use of the same actors I saw before, it is easy to see why this group are popular because they are very effective and engaging both in the action and in their performances. Meng Lo is imposing as the title character even if he seems very similar to his Toad. Kwok is a lot of fun with his character and also has a great closing line. Pai Wei and Helen Poon are a bit too po-faced for the rest of the film and their bits feel a little less fun as a result. Sheng Chiang, Feng Lu, Chien Sun and others are equally more in keeping with the action and fun and their deliveries are good. The fight sequences make the most of their skills too and there are many impressive combat sequences with great moves – the camera as ever sits back and we get good steady shots which show off the actor's skills (as opposed to frantic edits like you get in some Hollywood films, which are to hide the lack of skills!). The action is frantic and fun.The Kid With the Golden Arms is not quite as good as Wu Du but it is still very enjoyable with lots of good performances from a strong cast and lots of engaging and well executed action sequences. I look forward to seeing the group in action again.

poe426 Hu Wei Security, headed by Yang (Chien Sun), is tasked with taking 200,000 taels of gold to a famine-stricken area. Needless to say, every wanna-be thief worth his weight in taels wants to get his hands on the loot. Chief among them is The Deadly Valley gang, led by Lo Mang, the titular Golden Armed Kid. (His arms, it seems, are nigh invulnerable, allowing him to take on armed opponents with his bare hands.) Unfortunately for fans of Lo Mang, he doesn't have a whole lot of screen time- but when he's on stage, he's "on," as they say, and his final battle with Kuo Chui alone is worth the price of admission. It's Kuo Chui, in fact, as the "sheriff," Hai Tao, who once again steals the show (a common occurrence in Chang Cheh films, simply because Chui was THAT good- at everything): he's a heavy drinker- lending real meaning to the term "drunken master"- who seems to inadvertently intervene whenever members of the security force are attacked by bandits. "We always get what we want," Copper Head boasts at one point: "That's our motto." The road to the famine-stricken area is paved with poison and booby traps and the sinking suspicion that someone among the security force isn't who he pretends to be- but who could it be...? THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM is a great deal of fun, with some outstanding performers performing outstandingly- and all under the artistic aegis of one of the true masters of the genre. A very solid ten.

Filmfandave What makes this Venoms' film unique? The storyline is downright simple, with a little twist at the end and the locations are uniformly dull, where all take place in the Shaw Brothers studios.So, the best thing about THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM is the characters, the good and the bad, who have their own unique skills. Combined with Chang Cheh's deft direction and a talented group of kungfu actors, you get good entertainment, especially for the Venoms' fans.The story involves a desperate delivery of caskets containing gold for the needy in famine-stricken villages through a place named the Death Valley. The place is so feared that the delivery, which has no other option but to pass it, has to be escorted by a group of skilled fighters.The Deadly Valley, so it is named, is a no-man's land ruled by an infamous robber, highly skilled - the Golden Arm (Lo Meng) with his gang: the Silver Spear (Lu Feng), the Iron Robe (Wang Lung Wei), and the Brass Head (Yang Tsiung), who are all aiming at looting the gold delivery.But, things do not come as easy as they think. The king's official has assigned Chief Security Yang (Sun Chien), together with a group of fighters, to prepare an unexpected welcome for the adversaries.The fighters on Chief Yang's side are as unique as the baddies: Constable Hai To, the drunkard (Kwo Chui); Swordsman Li, the arrogant (Wei Pai); Heroine Leng (dunno her name); Long Axe (played by a cameo; should have been played by Wang Li, though), and Short Axe (Chiang Sen).There are one-to-one mortal combats that are, as usual, exciting to watch - the one between Silver Spear and Short Axe, another with the Iron Robe and Constable Hai To, then the climax between the Golden Arm and Constable Hai To.A little twist at the end is the appearance of a mysterious character the Iron Feet, known to have been one of the deadly duos of the Deadly Valley before the Golden Arm established his reign of terror. He, too, demands his share of the gold.Who, then, will be the last man standing ?

masercot I LOVE this movie. It is one of the few violent movies "grandfathered" into my children's approved stack (Master Killer is another). The movie is a fantasy with superheroes such as Short-axe, Long-axe and Hai-Toh; and, super-villans, such as Brass Head, Iron Robe, Iron Feet, Silver Spear and the Kid with the Golden Arm. Many may disagree with me, but I find this movie better than The Five Deadly Venoms, mostly because it is a lot less sadistic...It is an easy movie to make fun of, I'll grant you; but, there is a solid, if simple, plot line. Agent Hai-Toh is the main hero and easily the most charismatic character. The Kid with the Golden Arm is a less compelling character, with a face that makes you think that he was hit squarely with a board BEFORE becoming invulnerable...The fight scenes are long, even for a Chinese movie; but, for a colorful piece if violent escapism, this is unbeatable...I'd give it, for its genre, three out of four stars...