Andrei Pavlov ...and these words are NOT from a Jackie/Sammo fan. The point is that, for instance, Mr Jackie Chan is able to give us a perfect mixture of comedy and drama (well, not always of course) and here the young actor ("Student") can deliver neither comedy nor drama, at least he cannot do it properly (but mostly in a nauseating, even repulsive way). "Auntie" is very impressive as the movie starts but further on she gets more and more manipulative, becoming a kind of rag doll who gets in corny situations. Some parts of the flick are too prolonged, stupid and simply awful (like "the musketeers masquerade fight" - it's so bad that my urge was to shut the whole cinema down, or "the serenade dance" in front of "Auntie" - the Chinese actors were pathetic and it was painful to watch this dancing-singing schlock).The story had sucked me in to watch this one and the beginning looked promising, but soon it all turned out to be a mediocre kung-fu flick of a dubious quality. The funny moments are very scanty and the fights (tons of them here, but... in vain) don't feel impressive to me (because the director failed to build up the story and the characters). It's very sad that the leading actress, being so beautiful and knowing how to kick some rear, falls flat because of poor direction and because her overacting colleague ("student") looks and sounds embarrassing. Besides, the main villain's character is very underdeveloped. What do we know about him apart from wanting to get the property and having a bunch of henchmen?Just a 3 out of 10 for this third rate flick from the past (the IMDb rating here was absolutely misleading to me, and these Chinese actors ruined my evening when my plan had been to enjoy a kung-fu cinema of good quality). Thanks for attention.

andressolf I am a Shaw Brothers fan, but they made some standout great movies, and some crappy waste of time movies. I had to force myself to log on to IMDb after watching this garbage trash of a film just to not make the mistake of watching it again by accident. If I remember the title of this movie 10 years from now it would only be because of how bad it is.Challenge of the Masters is another one I remember but being a waste of time.My favorite SB movies so far are:Mad Monkey Kung-Fu Return to the 36th Chamber Clan of the White Lotus Legendary Weapons of China Heroes of the East Executioners from ShaolinAny one of those movies if you have not seen them already is worth watching over this one because they have more substance and better fight scenes. This one movie is purely about fighting (as are some other SB films I don't like- and the fighting is unrealistic and has dislikable choreographed fights)

phillip-58 This is one of the great modern kung fu films. A lot of the reviews seem to miss the point that the comedy is based on a quite subtle at times (at other times right in your face) contrast between old and new China. Kara Hui for instance is called a country bumpkin and gets into trouble whenever she tries to adapt to the new but in the end to save her families honour dresses as an old fashioned heroine in contrast to the modern military style of Hsiao Ho. Gordon Liu seems to have played his part for laughs playing off his serious, monk persona with silly wigs and a guitar. The end fight is simply fantastic and ends in a defeat for Johnny Wang rather than death. Kwan Yung Moon should be mentioned for his great playing of a thug with 'invincible armour' - simply terrific. And Kara Hui does some magnificent acting and fighting. A great film.

winner55 Some martial-arts purists think that comedy was the worst thing that could have happened to the old-school kung-fu flick; and it is true that the introduction of comedy into the genre signaled the end of the "chop-socky" period in Hong Kong film. But the fact is, one can only carry-on a primarily physical exhibition of prowess for just so long, then everyone gets bored with it. And that's really why the chop-socky died and how the Hong Kong "New Wave" action film was born: the producers, the actors, the directors all just got bored with hitting people for ninety-minutes straight.Given that, and given the fact that Liu Chia Liang is a professional director with a considerable list of films in his resume, this film has to be seen as something other than just another kung-fu comedy. Rather, it is a comic film within the martial-arts genre, and in fact one of the best ever made.What Liu has done with this film is really a pleasant surprise: he has taken a martial-arts plot and re-constructed it along the lines of a Hollywood-style musical! Complete with episodes of singing and dancing! It was around the time of the making of this film that some film-makers and film fans began to recognize that the cinematic performance of martial-arts (really derived from the acrobatics of the Chinese opera) has more in common with dance than with fighting. (I will continue to point out this connection until most Americans realize what they are actually supposed to look for when watching a martial arts film - well-choreographed body movements, using the plot of an action film as an excuse for their performance.) At any rate, quite clearly Liu Chia Liang made this connection and decided he would explore it close to its limits.The result is an incredibly charming entertainment, filled with marvelously human characters attempting miraculous kung-fu (and tripping over their own shoelaces as often as not when they do so). and the film being set at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, allows Liu the opportunity to explore the nature of the Westernization and Modernization of China that contributed so greatly to the making of the China we know today. So the film has considerable historical import as well.Also, fans of Stephen Chow's recent Kung Fu Hustle should really watch this movie carefully, as Chow clearly learned from it before the making of his own film.A very amusing, well-made film. Oh, yes, and the kung fu in it is really, really good.Purists won't admit it, but this is probably director Liu's best film.