Shi da sha shou

Kung fu films don't come much more loosely-plotted than 10 MAGNIFICENT KILLERS, a 1977-shot quickie that was filmed in Hong Kong. I had no idea who the main actors or director were, which left me to sit back and enjoy the story on its own merits. The storyline, what exists of it, features a young martial artist and a middle-aged master who find themselves the targets of a series of hired assassins, no less than ten of them.

Yep, it's a film which features a series of ten fight scenes with a little humour and a little emotion in between the bouts. It's a light and sketchy production, filmed on the cheap at the edge of the woods somewhere. At least without the complexities of a plot viewers can simply sit back and enjoy the action. It's not classic stuff - there's no choreography up to the stand of a Sammo Hung or a Yuen Woo-ping here - but it fills the time pretty well, and you never end up looking at your watch.

The one actor I did recognise was the ever-excellent Bolo Yeung, who unsurprisingly plays one of the villains (and the toughest too, of course). Yeung is a delight and brings warm and humour to his part, and he excels in the fighting stakes too. Imagine a couple of 'hip' actors like Shia LaBeouf teaming up to fight Schwarzenegger in his '80s heyday and you have some idea of the entertainment value here. Yeung does his trademark 'look away' kung fu and also employs a long red ribbon as a secret weapon; his presence is undoubtedly the highlight of the movie.