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KUNG FU EXECUTIONER is a very ordinary vehicle for Indonesian martial artist Billy Chong, who best work was in the supernaturally-themed likes of KUNG FU ZOMBIE and KUNG FU FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE. By comparison this is a conventional story lifted only by a supporting role from Carl Scott, a black martial artist and one of the few black actors in the history of Hong Kong cinema.

The story is very ordinary and sees Chong and Scott gunning for revenge when Chong's family is threatened by a criminal syndicate. Cue lots of low rent fight scenes, some of which have some slapdash violence. Generally the level of fight action is slightly below average and this is a routine basher more than anything else. The film's time period is rather odd; it's ostensibly set in the early part of the 20th century, but the characters all wear outrageous '70s-style fashions with massive shirt collars and the like so I'm not sure what's going on there.

At times the production seems to be a 'Bruceploitation' flick with dubbed on sounds playing over Chong every time he fights; come to think of it he's even given the same hairstyle as Lee. Anyway, the cheapness of KUNG FU EXECUTIONER lets it down, leaving this one for the dedicated fans. Also be aware of some unwelcome animal violence including an impaled bird and a severed dog's head that looks remarkably realistic.

Those who watch this genre just to see endless fight scenes will most likely consider this one as merely average. But as a legitimate film, "Kung Fu Executioner" is surprisingly well made, with much attention paid to the aesthetics such as set design, and artful camera angles/cinematography. This one is visually beautiful to look at. It also boasts a good crime story to compliment the visuals. Heavily influenced by "The Godfather" films, we get a classic tale of two warring crime families, featuring the always great Billy Chong as "the good guy," and his pin-up star looks combined with his skill in the Martial Arts makes him an extremely likable hero, even when he is playing a gangster. It's always great to see African American Kung Fu star Carl Scott in action, with his lightning fast moves, even though his scenes don't always look like they are part of the same film, as if his fight scenes were edited in from another movie. We also get two of the coolest looking assassins to ever appear on screen, one guy who is the son of the opium dealing mob kingpin, who never loses his hat in battle., and the other, gold suit wearing bad guy, who never loses his sunglasses, even when the lenses are shattered in combat. Featuring some full frontal nudity and bloodletting, this one isn't exactly family entertainment, but fans of the gangster genre who also appreciate the artistic qualities of cinema should enjoy "Kung Fu Executioner. '

Carl Scott shows off some moves over the opening credits. Chan Sing escapes from prison in chains. The big shots talk business. Cut to Carl and Billy working out. Back to business and the business is opium. Billy returns home. He mixed up suit cases with a girl on the train. Chan Sing and a partner kill some people then make a deal for opium.

There is a lot of drama to the movie and it seems to copy scenes from "The Godfather". Carl Scott seems out of place. He has three major fights. In every one, Carl just pops into the scene and starts fighting a guy. All the drama is dropped near the end and Billy just goes from one scene to the next killing off the bad guys.

Every fight is excellent. Although those viewers with a good eye will notice Chan Sing is not the powerhouse he was a few years earlier. I rate it a grade above average for the fights alone.

Kung Fu Executioner is about a man Li (Billy Chong) who must take revenge on the killers who killed his father and other family members. A criminal name Hung Chun Fai (Chan Sing) escapes and is bent on building up his criminal empire using opium. Gathering together some hired assassins and thugs he sets out to get a bunch of leading business men together to help in his scheme. They form a syndicate, but Li's father decides he wants no part of it, eventually leading to his death and others in his family. Li along with his friend Donny (Carl Scott) take the law into there own hands and get revenge for there family. To no surprise the cops seem to be nowhere in this movie while the body count rises. As Kung Fu movies go this is better than the average ones, but does not come up the level of The Shaw Brothers films. However this is still action packed with some very well choreographed fight scenes, mostly involving the Kendo men and there teacher Shima (Chiang Tao). But, there are many fights in which the opponent is knocked across the room with a single blow. These should have been left on the cutting floor, but unintentionally will give you more then a couple of laughs. The ending kill is rather stupid as well. Sing is always a great villain along with Tao and are both appreciated in this film. Chong and Scott have amazing skills, with both there hands and weapons and are worth watching just for that. The dubbing is not to bad in this, but the dialogue as usual is pretty stupid anyway. I believe they probably over did it on the waaaaa stuff that was voiced for Chong. Overall this is by far not my favorite Kung Fu flick and will bore you at times. I will have to go neutral on this one. 5/10 stars.

Kung Fu Executioner is one I sought out after seeing two other Billy Chong vehicles, the must-be-seen-to-be-believed gonzo horror oddities Kung Fu Zombie and Kung Fu from Beyond the Grave. Kung Fu Executioner is much more conventional and has nothing of the insane feeling of those, but remains a decent showcase for Chong's boyish charm.

In some ways, this is a silly chop socky remake of The Godfather, with a family receiving an unwelcome offer to buy into a drug importation scheme and suffering the consequences of refusal. Other parallels include an attack on the elderly patriarch in an open market, followed by a further attempt on his life in a hospital.

This family, however, instead of an Irish consigliere, has adopted a black kung fu fighter, played by the able Carl Scott. Also, while all of this is apparently supposed to be taking place in the 30s or 40s, any illusion of this is destroyed from the outset by the 70s flare collars and other anachronistic fashions.

Fans of schlocky martial arts films of this period will no doubt find themselves at home. Men get angry and punch and kick at the drop of a hat or sometimes even fight with their friends for fun. I don't know the name of the man playing Shima, but he seems to be the villain in almost every kung fu movie I see. There's also a fair amount of gore for this genre, though it looks more like the sweet and sour sauce at your local Chinese buffet than anything that would ooze out of a human being.