The Crippled Avengers (1978)

The Crippled Avengers (1978)
aka Mortal Combat, Return of the Five Deadly Venoms; Avengers Handicapped
Chinese Title: 殘缺
Translation: The Deformed

 

Starring: Kuo Chi, Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, Sun Chien, Chen Kuan-Tai, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Yang Hsiung, Yu Tai-Ping, Tony Tam Chun-To, Ching Miao, Helen Poon
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Director: Robert Tai, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng

The Crippled Avengers was released about a month after Invincible Shaolin. One may assume that shooting schedules for both movies either overlapped, as with pre-production activities for this film. The tight deadlines for filming also imply choreographers Robert Tai, Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng—Leung Ting did not join the Venom Mob for this film—were simply action directing geniuses who were able to create the long, complex fight sequences for this movie on the fly and keep things on schedule. The Venom Mob films have often been lauded by fans for their intricate choreography, graphic violence, and preference for exotic weapons—or traditional arms that simply got less attention than your usual swords, staves and spears. Moreso than The Five Deadly Venoms and Invincible Shaolin, The Crippled Avengers serves as a model for things to come.

As the movie opens, three fighters storm the manor of a local warlord, Black Tiger Dao (Chen Kuan Tai, of Iron Monkey and Dragon Tiger Gate), for whom they harbor ill feelings. Not finding him there, they take his wife and son and proceed slice cut off her legs and his arms. The presumably wife dies of shock and blood loss, although the son, Dao Chang (who’ll be played by Lu Feng as an adult), seems to take it in stride. Young Dao receives a pair of prosthetic arms made of steel, which he periodically changes as he gets older. Him and and his dad also become tyrannical kung fu wackos as the years pass.

One day, a local blacksmith, Wei (Lo Meng), starts mouthing off to the two at a restaurant. When a travelling salesman, Chen Shuen (Phillip Kwok), agrees out loud to the blacksmith’s insults, Dao Chang pokes his eyes out. Dao’s men, led by Keeper Wan (Johnny Wang Lung-Wei), invite Wei for tea at Dao’s manor. There, Wei is forced to drink a draught that makes him mute…and then has his ears boxed in a way that leaves him deaf. Another poor shmuck (Sun Chien) bumps into the son on the street and gets his legs cut off…you know, as a reminder to watch where he is going.

It comes to a head when a would-be knight errant, Wang Yi (Chiang Shang), tries to stop Black Tiger Dao and company, only to get captured. Black Tiger has an iron headband placed on Wang Yi’s head and tightened with leather cords. This causes his brain to swell, ultimately rendering him a childlike imbecile. And thus we reach the end of the first half hour (and Act One).

Act Two sees our our four handicapped protagonists discovering a letter on Wang Yi’s person addressed to his teacher. They decide to take Wang Yi back to Master Li Jing-Ying (Ching Miao), taking advantage of the opportunity to ask him to teach them kung fu. While initially reluctant to adjust his curriculum to a blind man, a deaf-mute and a guy with no legs, he eventually agrees on the grounds that Black Tiger Dao’s crimes are so heinous that someone has to take him out. Chen Shuen uses his undistracted hearing to throw darts at falling leaves, plus assorted acrobatics and weapons forms. Blacksmith Wei trains his eyesight with a device that is a wooden wheel on fire: Wei must punch through an opening on the wheel as it is spinning to strike a pot on the other end. Finally, Sun Chien must learn how to walk on prosthetic legs, and then uses the strength developed in his upper legs by lifting them to improve his kicking.

Crippled Avengers is a violent and sadistic film, moreso than I remember it being the first time I watched it. It is about as bad as The Five Deadly Venoms if not worse, considering that the opening scene has an innocent child and a woman get bloodily maimed. There are some moments that I don’t know if they are supposed to be harrowing or blackly funny. Another early scene has Dao Chang celebrating his birthday by mutilating the sons of the men who had cut off his arms. In a few moments, they’re all writhing on the ground with broken limbs and severed tendons.

My favorite moment of dark humor comes later in the film revolves around an old colleague of Dao’s, Master Chiu (Yang Hsiung). Master Chiu is a large, muscular fellow whose specialty is qigong, which has made him almost invincible. Chiu challenges Chen Shuen and Blacksmith Wei to a contest: if they can make him flinch in three punches or three kicks, he’ll allow them to stay in town without fear of reprisal from Black Tiger Dao. If they can’t, the agree to take three punches and kicks from him, which they presumably would not survive. Sun Chien’s character eventually appears and asks if he could have a shot. Wang Yi, in his childlike innocence warns Master Chiu that Sun Chien has “legs of iron”. Thinking that “legs of iron” is the name for some fancy-yet-exaggerated technique, Chiu allows Sun Chien to compete. Sun Chien proceeds to kick a hole in the guy’s stomach, killing him.

The major artistic flaw of the movie, which indicates the presumably rushed nature of the production, is that Ni Kuang and Chang Cheh’s script is awfully repetitive in the last forty minutes. Several scenes end with our characters, mainly Blacksmith Wei and Chen Shuen, back at the inn, fighting Dao’s men to a standstill before Keeper Wan calls off the attack. Those scenes never feel like they are truly escalating the conflict, simply because neither side is taking losses at that point. Thus, the movie feels like it is spinning its wheels until the final blowout, which is something to behold.

The action itself is truly spectacular. Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng and Opera schoolmate Robert Tai pull out all the stops here for some of the most complex choreography of all time. The first notable fight is the one between the sword-slinging Wang Yi and Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, who’s armed with a meteor hammer, which is sort of like a flail or morning star that the user whirls around his body. The meteor hammer is an uncommon weapon to see in these movies, simply because rope or cord-based weapons are so difficult to choreograph. Notable movies to feature this particular weapon are Yao’s Young Warriors and Yellow River Fighter. There are some interesting fights involving two villains who fight with flashy kicks, daggers, and bow that shoots iron balls. The latter is referred to in the dub as the “ball-shot technique,” while the subtitles call it “projectile kung fu.”

The final fight is a blizzard, filled to the brim with wild choreography. Lo Meng, Phillip Kwok and Chiang Sheng take on a small army of henchmen armed with sabers led by Johnny Wang Lung-Wei and his meteor hammer. Kwok fights with his walking stick, which is actually a metal staff that he can wield with one hand. Chiang Sheng fights off bad guys and kills them with their own weapons, while acting like it is just a game. Lo Meng then pits his deaf boxing—his usual chu gar mantis style—against Chen Kuan-Tai’s black tiger style. Meanwhile, Chiang Sheng and Phillip Kwok square off with Lu Feng and his dart-shooting metal arms. This particular fight really exemplifies what people either love or hate about the Venom Mob. On one hand, once our heroes start fighting with the metal hoop, the whole skirmish turns into an over-the-top display of synchronized gymnastics. It is indeed impressive to see just how many acrobatic moves all three performers can pull off in a single take. On the other hand, some more serious-minded viewers with actual martial arts backgrounds will dismiss the entire sequence as a circus routine and not an actual fight. It is certainly a sight to behold and martial arts fans will probably never see anything like it again in genre film.

A second downside to the film is that the third act establishes a plot point in that Sun Chien’s iron legs must be kept a secret until the right moment. What that translates into is that he spends most of the last forty minutes on the sidelines until the final stretch of the big fight against Chen Kuan-Tai. I really wanted to see him kick a swatch through a contingent of lackeys like a reaper in a wheat field, but alas, that was not to be. However, with so many craziness and creativity on display, The Crippled Avengers still comes with a strong recommendation. It just misses the ranking of all-time classic on account of its wasting Sun Chien and its meandering third act.