The Prodigal Boxer 2 (1976)

The Prodigal Boxer 2 (1976)
Aka: Enter the Whirlwind Boxer, Prodigal Boxer 2, Drunken Master Dollar Fist, Young Hero of Shaolin
Chinese Title: 傳奇方世玉
Translation: Legendary Fong Sai-Yuk

 

Starring: Meng Fei, Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, Doris Lung Jun-Erh, Liu Ping, Wei Ping-Ao, Hsieh Han, Yi Yuan, Ma Chiang, Huang Fei Hung
Director: Ulysses Au
Action Director: Lau Kar-Wing

 

Young Hero of Shaolin was the sequel to Meng Fei's The Prodigal Boxer. The latter stands out as being the first modern kung fu film (i.e. kung fu film made after 1970) about Chinese folk hero Fong Sai-Yuk. Fong Sai-Yuk is known in Chinese history for being one of the first laymen to study kung fu at the Shaolin Temple and for being a staunch anti-Qing (re: Manchurian) patriot. He was a contemporary of Hung Shi-Kwan, another layman student of Shaolin kung fu and recognized founder of the famous hung gar style of kung fu. Fong himself is often considered to be a proponent of the same style and was often portrayed in movies by actors trained in hung gar. The Prodigal Boxer is considered to be a genre classic by most fans of the genre, if mainly for historical value, as the fights themselves are a bit on the crude side. In this film, Meng Fei's portrayal of Fong Sai-Yuk come across for the type of likably-cocky fighter that Jackie Chan would popularize a few years later.

Meng Fei returns as Fong Sai-Yuk, this time getting involved with an evil kung fu school who has been brutalizing the locals. He goes undercover at the school as a servant and gradually kills the evil teacher's main bodyguards one by one until it's time to face the main bad guy himself. Tan Tao-Liang shows up as a wandering fighter named Kao who goes around challenging schools and fighters to duels. Kao tries to fight Fong early on, but Fong declines. Kao eventually defeats the villain's bodyguards and joins the school. Obviously, his presence will be a threat to Fong, whom Kao recognizes almost instantly. The two eventually fight, after which they form an uneasy bond and team up for the final fights.

The good news here is that Tao Tao-Liang steals the show with his charisma and kicking skills. He's allowed a little more range than the usual stoic persona that defined most of his career and gets to smile quite a bit. His kicking is good, with him performing high and fast spin kicks with both legs. His handwork is rather simple, in sharp contrast to Meng Fei's more elaborate hung gar techniques. His fights, as with all the others, are rather short. Sadly, his talents are completely wasted in the finale, even though he gets to fight the principal villain along side Meng Fei. That said, his best fight is his introductory fight, where he beats up the students of some random school plus said school's teacher.

Ulysses Au's direction here is standard; he doesn't do anything here to really set the movie apart from the hundreds of other movies that make up the old school chopsockey film. Nor does he use his talent well; in addition to Tan Tao-Liang not getting as much fight time as he deserved, Taiwanese kung fu starlet Doris Lung Jun-Erh is completely wasted in a non-fighting role. Hung Gar specialist Lau Kar-Wing, brother of legendary Shaw Brothers director Lau Kar-Leung, takes on the action directing duties once more (he was the action director of The Prodigal Boxer) and does a fairly good job by 1975 standards. There are some spots of creativity, including a quartet of villains made up of a Mongolian axe thrower, a man who fights with a fishing net, a swordsman who wears his sword like a belt, and an ersatz Shaolin abbot. There is also some stock footage from the first film showing us that movie's final fights as part of a flashback sequence; it's a little easier to forgive that since home video hadn't quite been invented at that time.