Shen tui

I'd love to be able to pull off a jaw-dropping martial arts technique with a cool name like the Wu Tang Magic Kick? As a party trick, it would be hard to beat. Mindy's downing a pint of vodka? Who Cares? Todd's juggling terrapins? So what? Brett's doing his Wu Tang Magic Kick!!! Legend status guaranteed!

Of course, the downside of developing such an impressive skill is that a martial arts villain will inevitably seek me out, attacking my nearest and dearest until I agree to take part in a hill-top showdown. That's what happens to kung fu master Mar Tien-Liang (John Liu), whose legendary kicking technique brings him to the attention of evil Fong Kang (Phillip Ko), who causes all manner of bother for the poor guy before challenging him to a duel. Reluctantly, Mar accepts the challenge, but accidentally kills his opponent during the fight, making him a target for Fong Kang's equally evil brother Tu Tang (also played by Phillip Ko) and son Fan Yu-Tang (Wei Tung).

Mar is repeatedly attacked by Tu Tang's men, seriously injured, captured and ultimately driven insane (they seriously rattle his cage—quite literally!). To prevent the bad guys from killing Mar, his poor wife Ling Yu-Han (Bao-yun Tang) agrees to marry Fan Yu-Tang, who very stupidly promises to release her now gibbering wreck of a husband. Spotted drooling in the street by an old friend, Mar is nursed back to sanity and health, and starts training for revenge…

Wu Tang Magic Kick quickly establishes its old-school martial arts credentials by having a villain with impressive eyebrows smash a martial arts school's wooden sign; as kung fu films go, this one doesn't exactly rewrite the rules. But even though the clichéd, revenge-driven plot has been done many times over, the excellent fight scenes, impressive camera-work, stunning locations and solid performances make this a hugely entertaining experience. The hard-hitting fight scenes are superbly choreographed, making particularly great use of Liu's spectacular legwork (especially against a horde of pole-wielding henchmen), the drama between the action scenes works well, and the whole thing builds to a superb climax that sees Mar finally unleash his Wu Tang Magic Kick (and it's way, way cooler than juggling terrapins!).

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the shameless use of music from other films. In addition to using much of the soundtrack to Hang 'Em High to give Wu Tang Magic Kick an epic Spaghetti Western feel, I'm pretty sure that I heard the theme from The Man With The Golden Gun during the film's more dramatic scenes.

MAR'S VILLA (1978) is one of a handful of kung fu films in which the hero is driven mad. Kung fu actors rarely get the chance to play such juicy parts and when they do they pull out all the stops (see Alexander Fu Sheng in his tragic final role in 8-DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER and Chiang Sheng in CRIPPLED AVENGERS). John Liu is no exception and the high kicking martial artist, always one of the great unsung stars of kung fu films (DEATH DUEL OF KUNG FU, SECRET RIVALS, INVINCIBLE ARMOUR), does a superb job here as Mar Tien Liang, a prosperous businessman and instructor of the "the Magic Kick" technique who is undone by his enemies and then has to come back from the depths of mental and physical breakdown to vanquish his foes and restore his family and place in society. The scenes of Mar's cruel torture by the Fang Clan are quite grueling and feature him imprisoned in a suspended metal cage in the hot sun while henchmen bang the metal bars with poles.

While the reasons for the Fang Clan's initial attack on Mar's property are never exactly made clear, the good news is that we're treated to an astounding array of fights, all of them extremely well staged. John Liu was, along with Hwang Jang Lee (HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA) and Tan Tao Liang (THE HOT, THE COOL AND THE VICIOUS), one of a trio of long-legged, high-kicking stars of kung fu films. Here Liu's chief opponent is perennial villain Kao Fei (aka Phillip Ko), who plays a dual role as Fang Kan, the clan leader, and his own brother. The fights between Liu and Kao are packed with exhaustive hard-hitting-and-kicking action. Most of the film's fights are staged amidst the natural settings of Taiwan as well as picturesque temples including one area festooned with magnificent Golden Buddhas. One large-scale stick fight involving multiple combatants is staged in the sprawling courtyard of a historic complex.

Mar's wife (played by Tong Bo Wan) plays an important part in the action as well. She is coveted by Fan, the clan leader's son (Tung Wei), who abducts her and then forces her to go see Mar at the height of his maddened state after which she is told that he'll be freed from the cage only if she agrees to marry young Fan. (Divorce laws were apparently quite lax in Old China.) When Liu has fully recovered, much later on, he turns on his wife, believing she betrayed him, without knowing the whole story.

In addition to Liu and Kao Fei, the other solid performers include Tung Wei (aka Stephen Tung Wai), a darkly handsome actor playing an ever-smiling rogue who manages to possess the body of Liu's wife but not her soul. He has a memorable drunk scene revealing his twisted frustration. Chan Chia Kai plays Liu's fighting servant/sidekick who sticks with Liu through thick and thin and joins him in several fights, including the extended final battle with Kao Fei. Tung Wei and Chan Chia Kai shared the duties of fight direction on this film, while Ting Chung directed.

The chief distraction marring the film is the soundtrack laden with inappropriate and overly familiar cues lifted from American soundtracks, most notably the frequent use of Dominic Frontiere's score for HANG 'EM HIGH.

John Liu is one of the great kickers and some of the kicks here are amazing as are his splits (before van Damme made them his trade mark). The Korean locations are stunning but the plot is only average and the fights, though frequent, stylistic rather than in any way realistic. The madness is an interesting twist but John Liu only has a limited dramatic range and the 'cure' happens suddenly and with little explanation. The final fights are protracted and fairly bloody. The sub-plot with Tong Bo Wan (Mar's wife) doesn't really lead anywhere and though beautiful, acting was not her strong point. On my Vengeance DVD her voice is often hard to hear and the print is not a good one with significant faults at times. The case says there is a bonus John Liu fight which there isn't - this seemed to get replaced with a short but interesting interview with Philip Ko at some stage. As the other comment mentions there is some fun to be had spotting where the soundtrack is copied from.