Shang Hai Tan da ye

Surprisingly staid kung fu flick despite a good opening and some colorful, slick production values. Sadly not alot can be said about this Chinese/Korean co-production except that it should've been in the same league as 'Duel Of The Iron Fist' and 'Flying Fists Of Death' but the lackluster storytelling seriously impairs the usually fluent style that most good chopsocky dramas are known for. I'm not discounting the value of the film as it probably deserves a wider berth but upon remembering the disappointment the film left I'm hard pressed to dust off my old Paragon/King Of Video print this review is based on.