36 Shaolin Beads is an interesting old school wu xia movie. It never quite reaches the peak it hopes to with its surprises, twists and storyline - but it also never lacks entertainment with its blend of spooky going-on's and swordplay action.
I was a little confused overall with the storyline as the main monk (played by Mark Long) and his colleague Pai Ying (the main bad guy in Royal Warriors) go in search of - a bad general rebel who is recognisable because of his large head tumour, and some stolen dragon needle guns. Along the way they encounter ghosts, swordsmen, prostitutes and ninjas until they arrive at a mansion filled with skeletons and spooky traps for the (first) grand battle.
The fights aren't amazing, but at the same time far from terrible. They film's fight choreographer is Wong Wing Sang, an actor and action director with an extensive career who would be best known for his role as the Indian fighter in Jimmy Wang Yu's - Master Of The Flying Guillotine. In 36 Shaolin Beads, his main focus is on blade work and weapons with Mark Long's monk character dishing out most of the hand-to-hand combat!
There is some wire-fu of course, but the most of the fighting is pretty grounded. The last lot of fights are pretty lengthy, and as I say with all of these washed out classics - I'm sure it would look even more impressive cleaned up in HD and in widescreen. There is an obvious amount missing in its 4:3 ratio cut, and while the overall video quality is poor, its still very watchable.
Overall: Not boring by any means, 36 Shaolin Beads has some interesting moments and good fight scenes, but it just misses out on being a memorable classic!
