Rating: 4 out of 5
Director: Godfrey Ho
Year: 1981
Plot:
The story immediately opens up with a brawl, and you get a
sense for what is coming. Silver Eagle comes out of hiding to attack any master
of kung fu, especially those that are from the Shaolin temple. When the temple
is torn down, a beggar befriends a survivor and teaches him Drunk Monkey Fist.
That then leads to training, and eventually an encounter with Silver Eagle. So,
it’s Drunk Monkey Fist versus Eagle Claw in the end, with several styles on
display. There is some sub plot as well, so it’s not just straightforward one
sided brawling, it has some depth of character, which is appreciated.
Thoughts:
The opening brawl gets you in the mood for kung fu action, in
which we first see Silver Eagle attack. He uses Eagle Claw kung fu to take out
an elderly man, and claims he has the superior kung fu. We then move to the
other part of the story, but the opener alone is really well done. The transfer
is VHS quality, and there’s plenty of darkness at times, even though the dub
isn’t too bad. The transfer does leave something to be desired, though.
There is a little comedy rolled into the process of meeting
characters, with the Old Beggar character doing some interesting kung fu. The
story is a little slow to move along, but you get a good setup of character, so
that there’s a sense of meaning to the brawls that are to come. Speaking of
brawls, there are some serious ones and there are some comedic ones. This is
not a superhero type of movie, so there’s a back and forth to the fights which
I appreciate.
“The Shaolin Drunk Monkey” has a lot of great kung fu
action, and comedy. There’s a little bit of everything for the fight movie fan.
It doesn’t always take itself too seriously, and that breaks up the seriousness
of the movie. However, things get serious towards the end, and of course the
end fights are great. This is a good kung fu movie, with lots of action, and
great style. The Silver Eagle is stellar as well, and is a true villain for our
hero to take on. I give this movie a rating of 4 out of 5.
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