Release Year: 1977

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.

Any production that brings together a cast of this nature is worth watching, but the fact of the matter is that this isn’t as good as it should have been.

Any Sammo Hung fan would love this film, as would anyone who enjoys old-school martial arts flicks.

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

This sequel doesn’t match the original, but there are enough fresh ideas to make it watchable.

Chor Yuen is once again painstaking in his vision of the visual ambience of the martial world, while he also gets fine performances out of his cast.

Wong sets the screen alight with a stunning array of kicking that nearly steal the entire film. For this reason – and the assurance that this is a good film – ‘The Shaolin Plot’ is solid entertainment.