Shaolin - Die tödlichen Schwingen des Adlers

Yet another Snake in the Eagle's Shadow cash-in (but at least this one seems to have acquired quite a neat little cast), there are however very few redeeming features in this cheap kung fu quickie other than a delightfully evil Hwang Jang Lee and some nifty Hong Kong phooey near the end. Other than that, this typical tale of vengeance has little going for it. John Chang takes up the orphan do-gooder bumpkin type who's desperate to learn the arts but is ultimately disappointed in his choice of sifu: that is until beggar Fan Mei San saves the kid from some inept thuggies and summarily teaches him all he knows. Hwang enters the fray as an evil Eagle Claw assassin (surprise surprise) when he is hired to take out the two by the thuggie's stuttering boss. Fan is therefore slaughtered leaving our man Chang to go head-to-head with bootman Hwang in an extended duel to the death. It's not inspiring stuff, but I guess it makes do for a little idle entertainment to fill the hours.

After being exploited by a fake kung fu teacher, Ah Tai (John Chang) searches for a real master and ends up meeting a ruthless hit man, Ghost Hands Lo Sum (Hwang Jang Lee). He tricks Ah Tai and sells him off to be a sex slave, but Ah Tai escapes and befriends a real kung fu expert Fan Siu Mung who teaches Tai how to fight so he can avenge all those who wronged him.

The menacing presence of Hwang Jang Lee and some nifty kungfu moves makes this a better than average film in the vein of Snake in the Eagle's shadow. It's got some amusing comedy and one of the worse Kung fu teachers out there. John Chung of Snake in the Monkey's shadow fame makes a good lead, and though this outing isn't good as that film, it's still would please kung fu fans out there. The showdown finale is quite good. Loved the title fight sequence in the beginning.