It opens with horseback riders in the snow. They crack the whip and sing a song. Everyone looks happy. Three bullies ride by and give Lee Kwan a hard time. Cheng Pei-Pei and Lee enter the town and he finds the bullies in a tea house sitting at a table with Yueh Hua. He goes for revenge but forgot he has no kung fu.
First I must complain. My favorite martial arts movie is "Legendary Weapons of China". This movie focuses on eighteen authentic Chinese martial arts weapons. I do not like hokey weapons made up just for flash in a movie. The real deal is flashy enough. I have practiced many different styles of martial arts for more than 30 years and have never seen a whip in a martial arts class. Nevertheless, whips have found a place in martial arts movies. They are for safety. Any actor (with or without martial arts skills) can be injured by a weapon even if it is made of wood instead of metal. The whip is rather safe in that respect. First, it is almost impossible to hurt yourself even with a real whip. If you have never practiced weapons in martial arts you might be surprised to know there is more of a chance of you hurting yourself with a weapon before you even practice against an opponent. So in the movies the actor using the whip is very safe from self-harm and all it takes are good camera angles for the safety of the opponent. Flashy things can also be done with whips - as long as you are ignorant of the laws of physics. Enough said.
This movie is not one of my favorites and I rate it only slightly above average. The positives are the cinematography and plot structure. All the sword fight sequences are excellent. I just can't get past the whip taking me totally out of the moment.
