The Four Shaolin Challengers (1977)

The Four Shaolin Challengers (1977)
Chinese Title: 黃飛鴻四大弟子
Translation: Wong Fei-Hung’s Four Major Disciples

 

Starring: Larry Lee Gam-Kwan, Wong Yuen-San, Jason Pai Piao, Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Lau Dan, Fung Ging-Man, Lau Kar-Yung, Charlie Chan Yiu-Lam, Lau Yat-Fan, San Kuai, Tony Leung Siu-Hung, Siu Gam, Kwan Chung, Leung Siu-Wah
Director: Ngai Foi-Hung
Action Directors: Wong Mei

 

Uninspired Wong Fei-Hung programmer about Butcher Wing (played by Larry Lee) who runs a butcher stall and a kung fu school in Hong Kong. When he starts teaching the "hawkers", or street peddlers, kung fu to stand up against the local extortion racket, they attack his school and injure him. Word reaches Po Chi Lam in Fushan, where three of his brothers--Devil Kick Chi (Bruce Liang, playing the same character that Yuen Biao plays in Kick Boxer and Xiong Xin Xin plays in the OUATIC series), Liang Kuan (Jason Pai Piao, playing whom I *think* is Leung Foon, Max Mok's character from OUATIC) and Ling Yung-Chieh (Wong Yuen San, another Bruce Liang collaborator). The go to Hong Kong and rescue a female friend of Butcher Wing who has been forced into prostitution. They start making trouble at the local gambling halls and brothels trying to discover who's in charge of racketeering in Hong Kong.

Ngai Hoi-Fung spent most of his career as a cinematographer, racking up almost 200 credits from the 50s onward. He spent the end of his career directing kung fu movies, from Jackie Chan's Cub Tiger of Kwantung to the Mainland Chinese Young Hero of Shaolin films. Unfortunately, his directing here is pretty run-of-the-mill, with there being nothing in the visuals, the characterizations, or the action to really set it apart from hundreds of other low-budget potboilers in the genre. Ngai doesn't do anything egregiously incompetent, but you'll most likely be checking your watch whenever fists aren't flying, and maybe even then.

The action is choreographed by Wong Mei, who worked on a number of Brucesploitation films like Bruce Lee the Invincible; Bruce Li in New Guinea; and Storming Attacks. His work is decent here, although Bruce Liang's furious kicking skills seem awfully toned down. Larry Lee looks better here doing shapes-oriented combat than his basher fighting in Showdown at the Equator. The other two actors, Pai Piao and Wong Yuen San, are pretty nondescript in their fighting. Pai Piao is one of those actors who could do really good work with the right choreographer, like in Dragon and Tiger Kids, but looks unimpressive otherwise. There are a lot of group fights--in the street, at a brothel, at a casino--and the finale has our heroes facing off against the main villain (Lau Dan) and a quartet of hired killers, including San Kuai (who throws metal balls at high speeds) and Charlie Chin, who has an iron vest technique. The action gets the job done, but is otherwise forgettable. And that's the film in a nutshell.