A lighter-in-tone collaboration between Chang Cheh and the Venom mob (the mob being the ‘Five Deadly Venoms’ – Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, Sun Chien, Lo Meng, and Wai Pak), ‘Ode to Gallantry’ jettisons the heavy male bonding and bloodshed of their other team ups to tell a tale of mistaken identity, along with the requisite smattering of Venom crew styled action.

Philip Kwok plays Mongrel (or Bastard (!) depending on which version you may be watching!) a lowly street urchin who while trying to score something to eat gets caught up in a scuffle between warring clans and through the confusion becomes the owner of the Black Iron Token: which allows the current owner protection and one wish granted by the token’s owner Xie Yanke (Wong Lik). Taken under Xie Yanke’s wing, Mongrel is then mistaken for the notorious leader of a local gang (also Kwok) and thus finds himself thrust into the leader position, pursued by said leader’s love interest (Candy Wen), and confronted by various rival gangs who want vengeance for the heinous crimes his lookalike has committed.

To say ‘Ode to Gallantry’ is convoluted is an understatement but mercifully it all makes sense (pretty much!) once everyone converges for the epic fight showdown. There’s a lot of convolution, confusion, and coincidence as Mongrel bumbles his way through his mistaken identity, dealing with his new love interest, and learning martial arts along the way. While it’s a bit silly, overly confusing, and the moments alluding to Mongrel’s doubles’ horrible crimes adding an-at-odds-dark-tone to proceedings, everything is carried with confident aplomb by star Philip Kwok. He carries the film through its shakier moments, his likeable Mongrel taking everything in his stride, and a welcome lighter counterpoint to all the serious shouting from the various clans/opponents. He balances his dual roles well and while he doesn’t get to cut loose in the fight department until the finale, it’s worth the wait.

‘Ode to Gallantry’ is relatively light on action for a Chang Cheh/Venom team up with only Kwok and cameos from 2 of the other five Venoms featuring this time around. However, Cheh keeps proceedings moving briskly, the impressive sets adding to the heightened almost fantasy aspect and there is fun to be had in seeing how Mongrel will deal with the next outlandish situation he finds himself in. Likewise, as Mongrel is not really a fighter for a good portion of the film, there is creativity in how he defends and dodges when he does find himself forced to fight.

While the film may be lighter on action, the epic showdown delivers some impressive choreography the Venom mob where renowned for, as Kwok takes on various adversaries in some fantastic weapon-based fight action. Perhaps not what one might be expecting from all those involved but nevertheless ‘Ode to Gallantry’ is another solid Cheh flick buoyed by a fantastic lead performance from Philip Kwok.