Return of the Kung Fu Dragon (1978)

Return of the Kung Fu Dragon (1978)
Chinese Title: 車馬砲
Translation: Chariot Horse Cannon

 

Starring: Polly Shang-Kuan Ling-Feng, Chen Sing, Nick Cheung Lik, Tsai Hung, Chuan Yuan, Tung Li, Lin Chi, Li Chung-Chien, Yuan Shen, Sze-Ma Yu-Chiao, Hsiao Wang
Director: Yu Chik-Lim
Action Director: Chen Muk-Chuen, Jacky Chen Xiao-Long

Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng had a reasonably busy year in 1978, making some seven films with a seventh film, the Korean production The Tigresses, having been produced the year before but released in January. Moreover, 1978 was ultimately her loopiest year, considering how in Little Hero she fought giant rubber kung fu squids and in Zodiac Fighters, men in lobster costumes were her opponents. Lung Wei Village was easily her most conventional film. Return of the Kung Fu Dragon falls somewhere in the middle: the garish costumes and colorful (if cheap sets) serve a conventional revenge tale.

The movie is set in the fictional land of Phoenix Island, located in the South China Sea. The place is run by a benevolent “emperor”—is it possible for an empire to consist of a single island—played by Tien Yeh (of The Super Swordsman and The Blind Hero Fighting Evil Wolf). There is a coup in the empire and the emperor is killed by a powerful magician (Tsai Hung) in the service of a military officer (Tung Li, of Adventure at Shaolin and Dragon on Shaolin Tower) with a goofy dubbed voice. Thankfully, both men’s kung fu is really good, so when they storm the palace, they are able to defeat the emperor’s two loyal generals, played by Chuan Yuan (Tung Li’s real-life brother) and Chen Sing. The former is able to escape the palace with the princess, who will grow up to be played by Sze-Ma Yu-Chiao (whose wide-set, beady eyes makes her look like the Taiwanese equivalent to Anya Taylor-Joy).

Meanwhile, the new emperor (i.e. the guy with the goofy voice) marries the emperor’s widow (Lin Chi, of The Young Tiger and Conspiracy) and takes Chuan Yuan’s daughter as his own and raises her to be the princess. She will played by Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng.

Eighteen years later, the real princess has come of age and completed her kung fu studies under the tutelage of a powerful master (Yuan Shen, of Blood of the Dragon and The Evil Karate) living on a mountain protected by magic fog. The princess, accompanied by the master’s assistant, a red-nosed dwarf (Hsiao Wang), goes back to town to defeat the emperor and take her kingdom (or empire) back. She assisted by the standing princess, who has learned the truth of her identity, plus the sons of the other two generals, played by Nick Cheung Lik (The Dragon Lives Again and Dragon Lee Fights Back) and Li Chung-Chien (The Invincible Kung Fu Trio and The Crippled Masters).

This conventional “defeat the kung fu tyrant” story takes frequent trips into the bizarre, although always with a wink and a nod. Much of the comic relief comes from the princess’s dwarf friend—although to be honest, he may not be a dwarf as much as an exceptionally short young fellow. Polly Shang Kuan largely stopped taking herself seriously in the mid-70s, so she’s almost always smiling, even when face kicking the villains with great aplomb. There’s some unintentional humor in the fact that the evil magician is constantly escorted by a cute young lady (Yang Fang, whose short career consisted of small roles in films like Fight for Glory and 12 Bald-Headed Beauties) who has to carry his long beard.

The low budget manifests itself in the costumes, which vary wildly from one character to another. Polly Shang Kuan frequently wears a gold-sequin tunic, which suggests she walked off the set of a late 1970s disco peplum movie. Her two male companions dress as if they showed up four years early to a Conan the Barbarian dress rehearsal. Some of the lower ranking bad guys wear metal-studded black leather tunics which I assume was taken from whatever bondage porn was allowed to be made in Taiwan in the 1970s. Everyone else wears conventional Ming Dynasty-esque robes.

Taiwanese mainstays Chen Mu-Chuan (Iron Monkey and The Crippled Masters) and Jackie Chen Xiao-Lung (whose name manages to rip off both Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee) handle the action, which is surprisingly not that bad. Chen Mu-Chuan had a solid career in the late 1970s, often working with the best actors (David Chiang, Chen Kuan-Tai, etc.) on their most mediocre films. His films were generally quickly-shot affairs, so the choreography steps were often performed a bit metronomically. Jackie Chen’s work was a lot more uneven: the finale to The Fearless Dragons is one of the best old school fights ever, while Tai Chi Shadow Boxing has some of the slowest fight choreography on record. These two do a surprisingly good job on the action here, no doubt buoyed by the natural talent of the three leads.

Polly Kuan’s tae kwon do skills get a great showcase here and her kicks are as powerful as ever. Nick Cheung Lik and Li Chung-Chien are also solid kickers and their bootwork is just as good as Polly’s. Tung Li and Tsai Hung, both Taiwanese perennials, are also very solid in their roles and do a good job with their fighting. Some of the action is hampered by the occasional use of drop-frame editing, in which a frame or two is removed in order to simulate the use of undercranking. There are no all-time classic fights, but they’re fun while they last. The strangest thing about the fighting is when Polly Shang Kuan visits the old master, who teaches her a new style based on the movements of chess pieces—the Chinese title refers to three pieces on a chessboard. And not once, but twice, our heroes find themselves standing on giant chessboards—in different locales, I’ll add--which allows them to use their special styles.

Outside of the action, the film is a technical mess with questionable artistic merits. I mentioned the costumes and sets. The editing is also dodgy. The best example is near the end, when three of the protagonists attack one of the villains inside his volcano lair (yes, there is one of those) with flying side kicks. All three of them hit their target, but suddenly one of the heroes falls outside of the lair (!?) and hits his head on a tree (!!??) and dies (!!!???). The movie also moves at such a fast pace—rarely do five minutes go by without a fight scene breaking out—that you never really get a feel for the characters. Return of the Kung Fu Dragon is not a very good film, but it’s fun to watch while it lasts.