Rating: 3 out of 5
Director: Lau Kar-Leung
Year: 1977
Plot:
“Executioners From Shaolin” is also known as “Shaolin
Executioners” and “Executioners of Death”, and is a 1977 kung fu movie directed
by Lau Kar-Leung. The story starts fast, as the Shaolin Temple is burned down
and the followers scatter, but not without a fight. Under the orders of Pai
Mei, the white haired priest, the temple is burned down. There are some survivors,
and the shaolin followers split up. The story shifts to one hero and a love
story ensues, I kid you not. The love story features little to no kung fu, and
you have to wait quite a while before you get to the next level. Our hero vows
revenge and after training for a decade comes for Pai Mei, only to fail. Pai
Mei is situated as a master of kung fu, and so much so that he is unbeatable.
After our hero fails twice, his son takes up the mantle and fights Pai Mei with
a mix of crane style and tiger style, with an epic battle.
Thoughts:
The opening fight scene alone is worth price of admission
with “Executioners From Shaolin”. I honestly just wanted to see more Pai Mei
fights, which is why I picked this one up to watch. The movie features a great
deal of fighting, albeit losses for our hero. He trains, and the training is
good, but he cant beat Pai Mei, so his son takes on the mantle. I thought the
story was good, but it was more than a kung fu movie, as there is a lot of time
spent on non-fighting story. The non-fighting builds character, which is nice,
and the love story is pleasant, but you definitely want more action. I wanted to
see more fighting, but that’s ok, the pacing allowed for an ok measure of
success in terms of storytelling. Pai Mei is awesome, his fighting style is
unique, he can take nut shots, and despite being the villain, puts forth some
killer kung fu. The hero here is definitely given a great deal of training, and
while he can’t win, his son does and that’s an interesting story too. Overall, “Executioners
of Shaolin” isn’t half bad, but the mid-level story interrupts the fighting
enough to get a lower ranking. I give it a 3 out of 5 rating.
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