Flag of Iron (1980)

Flag of Iron (1980)
Aka: Spearmen of Death; The Spearmen
Chinese Title: 鐵旗門
Translation: Iron Flag Gate

Starring: Phillip Kwok, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Lung Tien-Hsiang, Chan Shen, Wang Li, Yu Tai-Peng
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Director: Phillip Kwok, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng

This is a lesser Venom Mob film about a clan of fighters known as the Iron Flag. As expected, their martial specialty are flags with spear heads at the tip. In an altercation with a rival clan, the Eagle Clan (who walk around with feathers in their heads like a band of Ming Dynasty Native Americans), the Iron Flag leader is killed. However, the several members of the Eagle Clan, including their leader, are killed in the same scuffle. After the Eagle Clan complains to the police, Iron Flag member Lo (Philip Kwok) agrees to take the blame for the massacre, leaving Chao (Lu Feng) in charge of the clan.

After a year on the run, we find Lo working as a busboy at an inn in order to pay off his debts, as Chao had never sent him money as promised. Lo soon discovers that a band of professional killers are on his tail and must fight off each of them to stay alive. Lo also finds out from his friend, Yun (Chiang Sheng), that maybe Chao was behind the death of his master and that Chao has brought the criminal element into the clan. Lo and Yun team up with a mysterious assassin named the Spearman to take down Chao and restore the clan to its former glory.

I wanted to like this movie a lot, but ended up liking it only a little. There are three things that hampered my enjoyment of the film. First is the dubbing, which came across as either being badly acted or the dubbers were just overdoing things to the point of parody. It just didn’t sound natural like other dubs I’ve seen. Second is the absence of Lo Meng and Sun Chien in the cast. I’m not sure why they weren’t around for this one, but it hurts the film. Finally, the cut I saw was about 87 minutes or so. Supposedly, the original Chinese cut is around 110 minutes. So the story doesn’t develop as interestingly as I would’ve liked.

There’s a bit of action in this film. By this time, Robert Tai had stopped working on Venom Mob films, so the action director chores fell on the three leads. The action is well-choreographed and the final flag/spear battle between Philip Kwok, Lu Feng, and the guy who plays the Spearman is just wonderful. Chiang Sheng is underused, but looks good in the few fight scenes he does. There is a variety of exotic weapons on display, including a meat cleaver, sickles, an abacus that transforms into a pair of nunchaku, and the titular flags.

This is easily the most violent Venom Mob film I’ve seen up to this point. Losts of stabbings and slashing and red paint are on display in this film. There are some violent deaths that are over-the-top enough to be rather funny, in a black humor sort of way. In one scene, Kuo Chi stabs a guy in the stomach with some chopsticks and then hits the guy in the stomach with a tray, pushing the chopsticks out the guy’s back. Another violent moment, less funny, is a guy who takes a spear through his entire body. It is not a film for the squeamish.

Overall, a worthy but not great effort.