Cast Member: Chiang Nan

The director has taken complicated source material and distilled it into something arresting before, but here he finds too many sub-plots to balance and too many characters to accommodate.

‘Heroes Two’ is not one of the definitive collaborations between Chang Cheh and Fu Sheng, but it offers quality in most departments.

There’s weaknesses in some of the plot twists, but there’s also good action, fine performances and the kind of bold visual statements that linger in the mind.

Although an above average kung-fu flick (as you’d expect from Chang Cheh) this is one of the weakest of the Venoms films.

The final word is that this is highly recommended for the teaming of fifteen or so of the top stars of the Shaw Brothers era. As a stand-alone production though, ‘Ten Tigers Of Kwantung’ is not Chang Cheh’s best.

Kuo lets the odd moment of peculiar editing affect an otherwise slick kung-fu drama; the final twenty minutes in particular seems far too rushed in comparison to the majority of the film.

Liu Chia Liang’s ‘The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin’ is an important cinematic moment and remains influential not just in Hong Kong film-making, but also globally.

It entertains, titillates and amuses, as well as throws in a hint of social commentary as afterthought, but it’s a giddy, gaudy way to spend some time, providing of course that the subject matter itself doesn’t offend one’s sensibilities to begin with.

Unfortunately, the film itself falls far short the sum of its dazzling parts, with a central love story too lightweight to sustain either the bulk of the plot or the grand tragedy of the climax.

Even fans of the convoluted martial world of the swordplay genre may find ‘Jade Tiger’ a tiresome 90 minutes.

A somewhat straightforward, and at times melodramatic, narrative is given heft by the committed cast, stunning cinematography and set design, and fantastic swordplay action.

Though the overly moral message may deter some, there’s more than enough rough and tumble scraps to entertain fight fans and a host of strong performances from the leads as well as a thoroughly involving story to engage most everyone else.