Da hai dao

This film essentially begins with a sea battle between a European ship and a Chinese vessel belonging to a notorious pirate by the name of "Chang Pao Tsai" (Lung Ti). Although clearly outgunned, the Chinese pirates manage to board the European ship and, after an intense battle, kill the foreign crew and seize all of the wealth aboard it. Unfortunately, not long after the battle, they discover that their own ship has sustained significant damage and, as a result, they decide to anchor not too far from a small village on the coast in order to acquire the supplies needed for repairs. Meanwhile, a notorious brigand by the name of "Hua Erh Tao" (Fan Mei-Sheng) manages to break out of the prison in this same city and, when he learns of the pirate ship nearby, becomes determined to become its captain to further his escape and also gain a measure of revenge upon Chang Pao Tsai for an earlier dispute between the two of them. To further complicate matters, Chanp Pao Tsai also has to contend with a government official named "Chiang Yu Lun (Ching Tien) and his sister "Erh Ku Nai-nai" (Feng Yu) who desperately want to collect the bounty on his head. But what none of them realize, however, is that a top Chinese general by the name of "Hu Yi" (David Cheung) has been secretly ordered to this village to coordinate efforts to eliminate piracy in that area-and this creates difficulties for all concerned. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be an entertaining pirate film due in large part to the intricacies within the plot and the acting of Lung Ti who performed his role exceptionally well. Admittedly, almost all of the martial arts sequences were rather unrealistic but, even so, I enjoyed this movie for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.