Review of Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) by Michael H — 23 Apr 2016

While Shaolin Martial Arts remains steadfast in the general formula, its execution is what truly raises the film above the basic storytelling that it does. The casting is stacked here and you know that itâ??s ridiculously stacked when Gordon Liu plays one of the backing secondary roles.

Just the villains are played by fan favorites Johnny Wang and Beardy (as gimmicky invincible style roles) and we are giving some decent sized actors for the heroes too â?? including a Shaw favorite Fu Sheng.

While the film does tend to oversell some of its red herrings in the second act and detract away from adding even more emotional beats and depth to the main characters, Shaolin Martial Arts moves at a wicked pace that flows with ease.

The film is littered with plenty of fights to keep it going, even if most of them feel a bit generic compared to the sheer power and snappy choreography of the finale. In this way, fans are still going to love what the film has to offer â?? and as a surprise Chang Cheh throws some a bit of horrific gore in at the end for us.

Just to keep us on our toes.