O Assassino do Kung Fu

Solid martial arts film that's darker than most kung-fu films (both in story and tone, but also in it's actually lighting). The story follows a tough no nonsense constable who is hired to recover stolen royal property. He first assembles his team and they then set out to recover the stolen goods and seeking justice. It's a better story than most Shaw Brother's martial arts films, though that's not saying much, and there are enough good fight sequences (more swordplay than hand-to-hand) to make this worth watching, even if it's not a classic.

At times you get positively surprised, when you look forward to a film and expect to see some quality work, and you get what you seek out but in a very different way than you thought, and possibly even more. This was the case when I popped Killer Constable into my DVD player and got way more than your regular Shaw Kung Fu hour-and-a-half epistle.

Compared to other Shaw Brother's period Wu Xia and Kung Fu works, Killer Constable differs from the lot quite a bit, and in a very positive way. Director Kuei Chih-hung's background in crime films really show, as he takes interesting elements from hard-boiled crime films and Japanese samurai films, among others, and bring them seamlessly into the Wu Xia movie.

It's more than rare in these films to see the protagonists being as a part of the Manchu dynasty's government. This is probably the main reason why we have such a dark character as the main protagonist. Chen Kuan-tai as the Killer Constable himself is a dark type of hero, bordering the anti-hero nearly all of the time. Along in his company of ever-vigilant law-officers, there's no place for your typical sleek-cheeked do-gooders in the posse, as we soon see, when this group of tough law officers go for their mission to capture and punish the bandit who's responsible for stealing a large sum of Emperor's gold. Also, a bit striking are some features you can see in the villains of the movie, some of them who have unusually humane characteristics, giving less stereotypical image of the characters than your usual black-and-white Good vs. Bad composition found in many of the genre pieces.

While always being a solid actor and great martial artist - one of my very favourite Shaw Bros. stars - Chen Kuan-Tai really shines in his role. He has the powerful presence and charisma as the stone faced law officer who discovers that he is only a tool and gets betrayed by the system he has abidingly served, that the role gets nearly immortalized.

Beautiful use of lighting and scenery, tight script, good balance of action and story, and especially interesting main character make this one the winner all the way. I also have to dish out some bonus points for the very bleak ending shot that somehow emphasized the futility of it all and concretely showed what kind of destruction greed, corruption and following orders without any questioning can lead you to. (This last one may very well be only my interpretation more than the message that was intendedly embedded in the film, but that's how I felt when the last images hit the screen.)

The blend of these elements make Killer Constable very atmospheric and exceptionally dark piece of martial arts mayhem, guaranteed to satisfy the genre fans and most probably being an interesting piece also for the people who are not familiar with the genre. Definitely one of my all-time Shaw favourites!

This is my truth. What is yours?

If you are a kung fu movie fan you can invite your Hollywood movie fan friends over to watch Killer Constable. Tell them it's an action movie that actually has a plot and a dark disturbing emotional impact. Yes, you could even watch this movie with your mom!

I like to analyze plot structure and almost all kung fu movies fall into four plots. 1) Revenge or "You killed my master" 2) The Karate Kid or doofus learns martial arts 3) The fighter who has sworn never to use violence again but is finally forced into it and 4) Martial artists from everywhere come to the tournament which is far more than just that. This actually adds a plot I haven't seen before in this genre. It's the good guy crosses the line plot. If you've ever watched an episode of Highlander the TV series this was a favorite plot there. The protagonist's character progression is amazing and unlike Western plot structure. He starts out as a jerk, then there is hope for him, yet he continues to be a jerk. Then you are cheering for him at the end because sometimes the world needs a jerk to kill the real villain.

The only thing I didn't like about the movie was the fights at the beginning. They are filmed in the dark and you can't see what's happening. With Kuan Tai Chen we need to see everything because he is the real deal. Fortunately the rest of the fights were showcases of his true skill level. Make this one an 8.0 for me. A note to all old school kung fu movie fans. I highly recommend Kuan Tai Chen's latest - "The Gallants" and rate that one an 8.0 also.

Leng Tian-Ying (Kuan Tai Chen) is known as the Killer Constable because as a police officer, he goes after bad guys with ruthless zeal, generally killing them rather than simply arresting the malefactors. When a fortune is stolen from the Imperial Treasury, he is given the task of finding and executing the culprits within ten days. With his best men at his side, he sets out to fulfill this task, but it seems that there are small armies of bad guys all around, all eager to shed his blood for a change....

This is an interesting combination of genres, including the wuxia martial arts system and a touch of noir cinema, creating a very entertaining and atmospheric visual feast. I must say that I soon lost track of just how many bad guys our hero was fighting, and who was on whose side, but it really doesn't matter with this kind of film, it's the spectacle of it all that counts. The only bit that truly puzzled me was a scene where a bunch of straw is set on fire, despite the fact that there has been an ongoing downpour of rain for the previous several scenes - wouldn't the straw be too soggy to light? But never mind, this show isn't about logic, it's about beautifully staged fighting and lots and lots of (clearly fake) blood; take it in that spirit and you'll be quite entertained.

Actually, the title "Lightning Kung Fu" is a bit misleading. There is kung fu, but majority of fighting is swordplay.

Most kung fu movies from the 80s can be either really good or really cheesy. This one is unique since the hero isn't really a hero. The constable is so determined that he doesn't hesitate to kill. So, you get a very jaded portrayal here. However, during his mission, his outlook changes as his allies start to fall by the wayside.

The action scenes in this are really great to watch. There's one scene where an ambush in the dark leaves the constable battling enemies in pitch black! (it was a little difficult to see too). The sword fighting looks authentic and the clanging of blade against blade gets addicting after awhile. The constable's sword looks wicked cool too!! Unlike some cheesy martial arts movies, this one is more serious: you've got fighting, dialogue, then more fighting! Bad guys don't come one on one, they attack at once.

Definitely catch this one.