Showdown (1972)

Showdown (1972)
Aka: Royal Fist
Chinese Title: 天王拳
Translation: Heavenly King Fist

 

Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chang Ching-Ching, Chiang Pin, Lu Ti, Fuh Bih-Huei, Chan Wai-Lau,Ke Fu-Chen, Shan Mao, Hsueh Han
Director: Ting Shan-Hsi
Action Director: Kwan Hung

 

When is an early 70s basher not an early 70s basher? The answer is: When it’s Jimmy Wang Yu’s Showdown. In that case, what would appear to be an early 70s basher is actually closer to a wuxia pian, but set in the Republic Era. Not many wuxia films are set after the Qing Dynasty, the only one that sorta comes to mind is What Price Survival? From 1994. This an odd duck of the film, which sort of follows Jimmy Wang Yu’s movement in the direction of weird when it came to his kung fu movies—perhaps as a way to offset his limited formal MA training.

The movie opens at a camp of Chinese soldiers, presumably at some point during the Warlord Era. The soldiers, led by (whom I think is) the Purple Darts’ Chou Shao-Ching, are out collecting taxes and have just bought themselves a young lady for their amusement and pleasure. Before they can molest the poor girl, a stranger in white (Jimmy Wang Yu, who needs no intro) shows up and rescues her. At about the same time, a bunch of bandits clad in black show up and steal all the money. The stranger, Fong Xiao Ching “the White Dragon”, has come to the region looking for the bandits who murdered his father. Could they be the same people who stole the tax money?

Anyway, Fong takes the girl—who was injured during the raid—to the nearest inn, run by Tang Sung (Lu Ti, of Four Riders and Man of Iron). Tang Sung was the martial brother of Fong’s dad and now runs the inn together with his wife (Fuh Bih-Huei, Heroes Behind Enemy Lines and Fantasies Beyond the Pearly Curtain), his mother (The Fearless Hyena’s Chan Wai-Lau in drag), and his children and their families. What Fong Xiao Ching discovers after his arrival is that he had actually had an arranged marriage to Tang’s youngest daughter, Hsiang Yen (Chang Ching-Ching, The One-Armed Swordswoman and The Big Fight). So, those two start exchanging flirty looks. At the request of Granny, Fong and Hsiang Yen are wed. It is only then that Fong discovers that the Tang family are robbers and the price for leaving the inn and its environs is death…

The thing is, Showdown is a mix of genres, mainly kung fu and comedy. Several scenes are sped up for obvious comic value, like whenever someone is running away from someone else, or when the aforementioned soldiers show up at the inn looking for a free meal. Moreover, there are a number of esoteric styles mentioned and displayed, including the ability for Fong Xiao Ching to disappear and reappear several yards away, a lá Nightcrawler from the X-Men. That sort of approach to the action, combined with the fact that most of the fights involve weapons, give this film a more wuxia feel. Indeed, if it were set in any dynasty prior to the Republic Era, it would surely be classified as a wuxia by filmgoers.

The action sequences are staged by Kwan Hung, who also did the action for JWY’s Rage of the Masters and Beach of the War Gods. Much like wuxia films, characters can jump—through reverse footage projection—up entire cliffs, kick stand and dirt as if they were projectiles, and all sorts of craziness. Chang Ching-Ching wields a pair of double short swords known as “The Twin Blades of Doom.” Wang Yu also wields a sword, but sometimes engages in hand-to-hand combat, like during a duel with Taiwanese regular Shan Mao, who plays a Japanese bandit. At that point, the fighting is typical JWY arm flailing. In another fight, he takes on an entire bandit army (brandishing swords, whips and staves) with a log of wood. It all culminates in a 10-minute climax in which the evil bandits (led by JWY regular Hsueh Han) team up with the soldiers to attack the inn, and JWY and Chang Ching-Ching fight them off with swords. The choreography picks up a bit in this sequence, considering that Wang Yu was more convincing with a weapon than with his bare hands. In the end, Showdown is harmless fluff that I’d recommend more for Jimmy Wang Yu completists.