Don't blink and the first face you will see on screen is Lau Kar-Wing, perhaps the number two greatest man in the history of martial arts movies. He is the brother of Lau Kar-Leung, the man I consider the number one greatest man in the history of martial arts movies. The opening fight supports my opinion.
Ti Lung plays a character (Wu Song) known as "Tiger Killer". Captain Obvious knows how he got that alias. If you need the whole story watch the 1982 Shaw Brothers movie "Tiger Killer". This character also goes on as one of the 108 heroes in "The Water Margin". He is promptly arrested after getting his revenge in the opening scene. He then wears a cangue while walking off to prison. The cangue is supposed to keep him from fighting. Instead, it provides a formidable weapon.
The fights with Ti Lung in the cangue are superb. A note to all viewers - keep in mind how difficult it must have been for Ti Lung to avoid injuring himself with that around his neck and hands. Balance would be hard to maintain and difficult to recover without going to the ground. Hitting the ground with that cangue restraining the hands and neck could make the simplest fall injurious.
The cangue and the character are the two factors that make this movie. The excellent performance by Ti Lung accomplishes both. "The world and time do not exist when one is intoxicated", says Ti Lung and that totally applies to watching this movie.
