Golden Dart Hero (1987)

Golden Dart Hero (1987)
Chinese Title: 金鏢黃天霸
Translation: Golden Dart Huang Tianba

Starring: Wang Qun, Chen Yongxia, Song Wenhua, Zhang Xuzheng 
Director: Li Wen-Hua 
Action Director:  Zhang Xu-Zheng (?)

This was one of two kung fu movies from the Chinese Mainland that was available for rent at my local Blockbuster Video back in the day. The other one was The Undaunted Wu Dang, which I rented multiple times. I never picked this one up for some reason and now that I've seen it, I'm sorta glad I didn't. Watching it for the first time as a (slightly) more mature movie geek, I can appreciate the film more for its intriguing moral ambiguities, which I wouldn't have noticed before and probably wouldn't have bothered with watching it again years later. This is easily one of the best Mainland chopsockey movies out there, not just for its pleasing wushu-based fights, but for its complex character arc. 

Wang Qun (who played Wong Fei Hung in the OUATIC clone Fist from Shaolin) plays Golden Dart, a member of a notorious band of robbers known as The Four Bandits. When we meet him, he's riding along the countryside in a failed attempt to save one of his big brothers from execution at the hands of the local Qing magistrate Shi. He hacks up a crapload of Qing soldiers with his trusty broadsword before making a run for it. Some days later, he goes into town and makes an attempt on the Magistrate's life. He's interrupted by the arrival of a second assassin, the daughter of the leader of the Phoenix Hill Robber Band, who mistakens him for one of the magistrates flunkies. They have this big fight before they figure out that they're on each other's side and start slashing the crap out of the Qing soldiers. 

Golden Dart then goes to see his dying father, a former kung fu máster who has served the government for most of his life. He asks Golden Dart to mend his criminal ways and become a law-abiding citizen like he had been. Golden Dart, being a filial son, heeds his father's wishes and takes up on the rather gracious magistrate's offer for him to become a Deputy. This puts him at odds with the Phoenix Hill band, especially now that the daughter of the Phoenix Hill gang boss has fallen in love with him. He's eventually stripped of his post because of the machinations of a rival magistrate. In any other movie, this might be the moment where he rejoins his gang and becomes an anti-Qing activist. But the film doesn't take the easy way out. He's dedicated to living up to his father's last wish, and when the honest Magistrate Shi is kidnapped by the Four Bandits gang, Golden Dart will have to choose between filial piety and his surrogate robber Family... 

There is a strong moral complexity to Golden Dart's plight here, especially if one understands Chinese culture. After all, being obedient and faithful to one's parents is an important part of Chinese relationships. But on the other hand, "sworn brotherhood" is also nothing that one should take lightly, especially among Oriental peoples. So what happens when the two ultimately fall into conflict? And those Waters are further muddied by the moral stance of the two sides that Golden Dart has to choose from. After all, if the Four Bandits were pro-Ming rebels, one might argue that Golden Dart owed more to his people than to just his Family. But that's not the case, here. They are bandits and criminals, nothing more. On the same token, Golden Dart *is* working for the Qings, who oppressed the Han Chinese people more than 250 years. Under that definition, Golden Dart's father would be a turncoat. Then again, at the very least, the Magistrate who takes him under his wing is an anomaly: a Qing leader who actually cares about the people he serves. So there is no easy way out in the conflict presented here, and the film is stronger for it. 

There's also the Always-dependable wushu-based action, which dominates the first and last acts of the movies. No comedic bouts and mugging at the câmera here. The entire cast is made up of wushu students, and it shows. Wang Qun's is far less ornate than what we've seen from the likes of Wu Jing, Vincent Zhao Wen-Zhuo and Jet Li. It's directness and simplicity reminds me a lot of the fights in Black Belt and Enter the Dragon, as Wang frequently downs people with a single reverse punch or take down. But he does take some time to show off some nice, flashy aerial kicks just to brighten things up. There is also a lot of weapons work, as the combatants fight with sabers, two-edged swords (one of the main actresses wields a mean two-fisted sword), spears, three-section staves, and even umbrellas. One character even gets to fight (briefly) with melon hammers, although his fights with those are a bit too brief. The fights don't quite match intensity of the best Mainland kung fu movies, like Martial Arts of Shaolin and Holy Robe of Shaolin, but they're still satisfying and plentiful. 

I'm happy to recommend this movie to anyone looking for some good fighting with a little more character stuff to chew on than usual.