This flick is a flowing kung fu tragedy that Shakespeare would be proud of. The simple plot (sub plots are muddled) of one clan versus another allows for the action to come constantly in waves and the choreography is just pure brilliance with strong performers all round. Some stand outs are Meng Lo (Tung Chien-Chen) pure artistry at work and Sheng Chiang (Hu Wei-Chen) whos aerial and weapons skills are class. The acting is what you expect from a chopsocky, goofy and over-the-top, except for a couple of weak links it's a pretty solid cast.
The Shaolin are pitted against the Wutang, both sworn enemies of the Manchurian Qing government but wrapped in a web of revenge, betrayal, dishonour, love and friendship the Wutang find themselves siding with the government, this will call into question the loyalty of some of the Wutang. The leading two Chien-Chen the Chinese Hercules and Wei-Chen along with others of the Shaolin and with the help of siblings trained in the art of countering the flying dagger must save the Shaolin from annihilation from the powerful Wutang led mainly by Li Pa-Shan (Li Wang) and soldiers of the Qing government. Can they overcome the shiny weapons, flying dagger, monkey style, needles of death and deceit to save the Shaolin?
A must see movie from any Hong Kong martial arts fan, I have only seen the dubbed version, which is wacky at times, not sure if a subtitled version is available, but I'll keep an eye out. The version I watched was called "Two Champions of Shaolin."
Cheesy moment to watch out for: Out of nowhere during a fight a body part is dislodged, the following scene has a sheet draped over the victim with a blood stain at his wound.
