Young Hero (1980)

Young Hero (1980)
Chinese Title: 迷蹤霍元甲
Translation: The Mysterious Hero Huo Yuanjia

Starring: Yuen Miu, Hwang Jang Lee, Kwon Yung-moon, Yuen Chu, Tino Wong Cheung, Au-Yeung Yiu-Yam, Chan Lau, Chiang Kam, Lee Chun-Wa, Wang Sha, Chin Chun, Wo Seung
Director: Law Ka-Po
Action Director: Wong Shu-Tong, Tino Wong Cheung, Kwon Yung-moon

When we talk about the Seven Fortunes, the first three names that come to mind are Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. No conversation about the best martial arts and Hong Kong action films of all time will be complete without discussing the works of those three men. Those three are followed in some distance by Yuen Wah, best known for his villainous roles in films like Eastern Condors; The Iceman Cometh; and Police Story III: Supercop.

At Yuen Wah’s level of recognizability is the late Corey Yuen. Although Corey did act onscreen on occasion, he is best known as a director and fight choreographer, whose career took him all the way to Hollywood on multiple occasions. Corey frequently worked with fellow Seven Fortune Yuen Tak, who was a talented onscreen fighter when given the chance (see Angel 2 and The Dragon From Russia), but was just as good an action director, too. A little lesser known, but no less prestigious was Yuen Bun, a frequent collaborator of directors like Johnnie To and Tsui Hark. Yuen Bun may had done some stuntwork at the Shaw Brothers in his early career, but his better known for his action direction, which spanned all the sub-genres of Hong Kong action: wire-fu, pure kung fu, bullet ballet, etc.

Then there are the lesser known of the Seven Fortunes. Actress Yuen Qiu had a solid career moving back and forth between Hong Kong and South Korea before she retired in the 1980s, presumably after getting married. She returned with a vengeance after the huge success of Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle and found her career recharged, often alongside co-star and fellow Seven Fortune Yuen Wah. Then there was Ng Ming-Choi (aka Yuen Ting), who was introduced to Western audiences by getting killed by Bolo Yeung in Enter the Dragon. He had a busy career in the 1960s and 1970s as a stuntman and extra, although he did get play Lam Sai-Wing, student of Wong Fei-Hung, in the eponymous Butcher Wing (1979). He also did some action direction, including for the legendary director King Hu. He spent much of his career after the turn of the 1980s as a producer, presenter, and production manager. There was also Meng Yuan-Man, who set the genre alight with his memorable performance in Hell’s Wind Staff, and made a few more films (The Master Strikes; The Fighting Fool) before retiring early due to a heart attack.

Young Hero stars probably the two least-known of the Seven Fortunes: Yuen Miu and Yuen Chu (not to be confused with Yuen Qiu). The latter had only worked previous to this in Joseph Kuo’s The Fearless Duo, which also pit her against Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee. After this, she had some behind-the-scenes job in She Shoots Straight (1990), making it the last of her film projects. Yuen Miu spent much of his career in bit roles, usually as thugs and students. He also worked on the stunt teams of both Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung throughout his career, although I don’t think he was ever an official member of either—maybe the Hung Ga Ban. Yuen Miu also helped choreograph a number of Yuen Biao’s films, like Rosa and Kickboxer, so that’s his claim to fame. That said, Young Hero and Blood Child (aka Five Fingers of Steel) is probably the only film that allowed him to take on a starring role and show off his skills. And interestingly enough, both of those films also star Korean kickers Hwang Jang Lee and Kwon Yung-moon.

There isn’t much of a story in this film. Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee plays a Japanese karate fighter who is going around China challenging kung fu schools and shutting them down. He is accompanied by some other Japanese fighters and a couple of Chinese sycophants, played by Chan Lau (Dragon on Fire and Tiger Over Wall) and Chiang Kam (Snake Fist Fighter and Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow). One day, he challenges the school of Fok Jan-Dai (Mandarin: Huo En’di—played by Kwon Yung-moon, of Inheritor of Kung Fu). Hwang defeats Master Fok and his sons, except for the youngest son, Fok Yuen-Gap (Mandarin: Huo Yuanjia, played by Yuen Miu). Yuen-Gap was too busy getting his ass handed to him in a fight with a girl, Ah Ku (Yuen Chu).

So Master Fok is pissed at him and his family getting beaten by the Japanese. He’s even more incensed by his youngest son losing a fight to a girl. So, he tells Fok Yuen-Gap that he cannot train in kung fu anymore while he and his sons, including Tino Wong Cheung (of Secret Rivals, Part II and Invincible Armour), train for an eventual rematch with the Japanese fighter. The girl who beat him up turns out to be the niece of Yuen-Gap’s private tutor (Wang Sha, of Heroes Shed No Tears and Coward Bastard). The private tutor doesn’t know kung fu, but he has spent his life reading just as many kung fu strategy manuals as he has read the Classics. So, he starts teaching Fok Yuen-Gap kung fu “theory” while Yuen-Gap watches his dad and brothers practice in the distance.

One day, Yuen-Gap and his brother meet up with one of the Japanese fighters and Chiang Kam in the woods. A fight breaks out and the two Fok brothers are victorious, but the Japanese fighter is killed on accident by Chiang Kam. Of course, the fat little bastard tells everyone that the Foks were responsible, so Hwang Jang Lee and company show up at the school for some revenge. And from there, things spiral out of hand and bodies pile up on both sides.

During the 1970s, we got all sorts of movies about Chen Zhen, the fictional student of Huo Yuanjia (or Fok Yuen-Gap), but nothing (so far as I know) about Master Huo himself. This film predates the genre classic Legend of a Fighter, the “bullsh*t biopic” of Huo Yuanjia by two years. It makes me wonder if Young Hero is the first movie to actually tell Huo’s story. There was a TV series at around the same time called “The Legendary Fok,” which starred Bruce Leung Siu-Lung. And of course, there is Jet Li’s famous film Fearless and a number of series and Mainland films that followed that movie’s success.

There is some comedy in the movie, mainly revolving around Chan Lau and Fok Yuen-Gap’s beggar friend, played by Au-Yeung Yiu-Yam (who played Hwang Jang Lee’s monk friend in Hitman in the Hand of Buddha). But this is mainly a fight fest, with some training sequences thrown in here and there. There are no crazy training regimens here, just some forms work from Kwon Yung-moon and some sparring, too. And then the rest of the movie is almost pure action.

The fights were staged by Kwon Yung-moon (who had lots of experience from making Taekwondo films in his native South Korea), Wong Shu-Tong (who choreographed Tsui Hark’s The Butterfly Murders), and Tino Wong Cheung (who had assisted in the aforementioned Tsui Hark opus). That said, I am actually really impressed with the general quality of the action. After all, The Butterfly Murders is not the sort of movie that you tout on your résumé on account of its fight action—since the purpose of the film seemed like it was to be as unlike other wuxia films as possible. And doing great Taekwondo choreography is not quite the same thing as late 1970s/early 1980s shapes. I’m guessing that Tino Wong simply picked up enough from working extensively with Yuen Woo-Ping that he was able to bring his knowledge of shapes to the proceedings.

As expected, Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee steals the show with his awesome kicking skills. He opens the film by embarrassing a kung fu master (Wo Seung) and it isn’t long before he’s facing off with Kwon Yung-moon in their first duel. Shortly afterward, Tino Wong gets to fight against Chan Lau and one of the Japanese fighters and does some nice work with the sai swords, but is put down, too. There is a two-on-two fight between Tino Wong, Yuen Miu, Chiang Kam, and one of the Japanese fighters that has some solid acrobatics from the opera-trianed Yuen Miu. That leads into a big fight between the Japanese fighters and the Fok school, including Ah Ku—Yuen Chu impresses as a female fighter in this.

There is a brief fight in a town square between Yuen Miu and a spear-wielding opponent. This bleeds into another fight with Japanese fighters on the beach where the Japanese and their Chinese employers are involved in smuggling. This leads into the climax, where Fok, his father, and Ah Ku face off with Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee and two more of his fighters. The finale starts off at the new Fok kung fu school and leads into a field with high grasses. Kwon Yung-moon gets to perform some nice kicks—he does a lot of high roundhouse and side kicks, often performing several without letting his foot touch the ground. And Hwang Jang Lee does most of his trademark moves, although some of the camerawork doesn’t show off the moves like it should. Yuen Miu is more acrobatic, showing more of his Peking Opera training than any specific styles. But the two-vs-one choreography is quite good, which is surprising, considering the choreographers’ pedigree.

I thought this was middle of the road the first time I watched it. Watching it again, I think this is a lot better. Certainly above average by genre standards. It’s certainly miles ahead of derivative films like The Eagle’s Killer or more lackluster affairs like Ring of Death (which also featured Hwang Jang Lee and Kwon Yung-moon). So, I recommend that y’all give it a try.