It occurred to me the other day that I had over-looked reviewing this movie. It fell through the cracks because I saw it on El Rey Network before I started this blog. They used to show it frequently and even though Wang Yu turns in an excellent performance, I didn’t really like the character he was playing. El Rey has not shown it in a long time, so I decided to track it down on DVD and watch it again with a more open mind. After watching the DVD, it became clear why it’s not one of my favorites. His character is so different from most everything else he’s ever played. He plays Lin Jenshiau, the son of a hunter who becomes the student of Master Mui Lingchuen after the Master saved his father from an attack by a tiger. Master Mui Lingchuen owns “The Sword of Swords” that has special powers, known for defeating entire invading armies and has been passed on for generations. Tien Feng plays Fang Shishiung, who pretends that he is a loyal student of the Master but really is waiting for the Master to die so he can inherit The Sword. So the problem I have with Lin Jenshiau is that he is so righteous and honorable it becomes his major flaw. As a result he, his family and his wife suffers much pain and grief. Sickly Master Mui Lingchuen has Jenshiau and Shishiung duel for the right to inherit The Sword. Jenshiau purposely loses because Shishiung is his elder and therefore the rightful inheritor. When Shishiung reveals that he’s been lying all of these years just to get The Sword, Master orders Jenshiau to kill Shishiung but he instead let’s him go! The Master gives Jenshiau The Sword and tells him to only use it when absolutely necessary. So, now in order to get Jenshiau to break out The Sword, The Shang Family (who Shishiung works for), kidnap his wife killing Jenshiau’s mother-in-law in the process. Jenshiau’s family begs and pleads with him to go rescue his wife, but Jenshiau knows it’s just a ploy to get him to use The Sword, and because his kung fu is not as good as The Shang’s, he decides that he simply can not go rescue her. His father berates Jenshiau and beats him with a bamboo chair. Meanwhile, his wife is getting beaten and whipped just for the amusement of The Shangs. They finally release her realizing that Jenshiau is not taking the bait. They then send some henchmen to harass Jenshiau’s family to get them to reveal where The Sword is hidden and wind up killing all of them. Finally, Jenshiau goes to fight The Shangs; a little too late in my opinion. He kills a bunch of them, but he’s just not good enough to kill Shishiung. He flees with his family to hide out. A few years go by and Jenshiau has a baby with his wife. The Shangs track them down yet again and kill a few more of his in-laws leaving only his wife and the baby. He still doesn’t use the power of The Sword! It’s so frustrating, he’s supposed to be the hero, but I found it very hard to admire him for being so honorable to the point of losing almost his entire family. I do have to say that it does make for a lot of suspense and drama. The ending fight scene is amazing and very well done. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good Shaw Brothers movie, directed by Cheng Kang. Jenshiau is just the weirdest hero I’ve encountered so far. I don’t know if I’ll ever resolve whether I actually like his character or not.
