KUNG FU BLACKLIST is an odd and forgotten little contemporary kung fu thriller made in Hong Kong in 1972. It's chiefly remembered these days for being one of the original films that cut-and-paste director Godfrey Ho borrowed and turned into various ninja movies during the 1980s; as I understand it, this formed the basis of NINJA HEAT which may or may not be the same film as NINJA EXTERMINATOR. It also bears the title NINJA BLACKLIST, although there are no ninjas in this film.
Instead this is an ordinary type thriller in which a guy gets out of jail and goes gunning for revenge on the people who set him up and put him there in the first place. The protagonist is played by Chen Sing (DRAGON SQUAD), a second-tier kung fu star who nonetheless works hard in the fight scenes, but at least half of the running time is bogged down with overwrought family drama and histrionics.
Sadly this turns out to be a very ordinary fight film and the only thing it really has going for it is the novelty of the '70s setting; most kung fu films from this period went for earlier settings. The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of '70s funk and music ripped off from spaghetti westerns. Watch out for the unintentionally hilarious death scenes accompanied by cheesy flashbacks experienced by the dying...
