The narrator explains how the rivalry between Buddha Fist practitioners and Lohan Fist became a political Ming versus Ching thing. The rebels plan to kill the Manchu prince when he visits the temple.
At the temple, Mang Hoi does his chores and gets bullied. His friend, the crazy old monk, Chin Yuet-Sang (see him in "Kung Fu vs Yoga"), is warned to make himself scarce during the visit. Hwang Jang-Lee, the prince, arrives and Mang Hoi saves his life by calling out "Assassin!"
The prince rewards him and he goes back to the temple as a big shot over those who bullied him previously. The prince asks for a kung fu demonstration. Then we go to a casino for some reason and Mang Hoi gets into a fight and crazy monk comes to his rescue. Crazy monk decides Mang Hoi needs to learn Lohan Fist to defeat the prince who wants to destroy Shaolin temple.
At about 35 minutes in there is a fabulous stunt off the balcony. I can imagine how filming this scene went. Corey Yuen says to the stunt men, "I need a guy to jump off that balcony." Nobody volunteers. Corey says, "Don't worry, I'll put down some padding." One guy says, "Okay, I'll do it." Corey says, "Great, okay, the rest of you stunt men are the padding!"
Mang Hoi is a very talented martial artist with strong acrobatic skills. Due to his short stature and baby face (I think he looks like a ten year old Biao Yuen) he was not leading man material. This is likely his biggest role. Nevertheless many other action directors appreciated his skills and he continues to be in movies until today. Also, as an action director, his list of 30 some credits doesn't have a stinker on it.
The copy is wide screen and good enough resolution for a modern television and has English dubbing by the A-team of voice overs. There are a few sections that are not dubbed for some reason. After watching this I start thinking "lost classic" and "needs a high definition restoration". Dream on!. I rate it above average and recommend it for all.
