Slapdash sequel, made directly after the success of the original and even released within the same year, which is unconnected to the first film, despite the return of Joseph Kuo as director and the three major cast members from the first film. There's an undeniable cheapness to the movie which is exemplified by the re-use of sets from the original to a less impressive effect here. The nonsensical plot is basically an excuse for Wong (this time an anti-hero type character who deviously changes the will of the Emperor to make himself the successor, and may be involved in the murder of one of the Royal Court), in flashback of all things, to re-enter the Shaolin Temple, spend tons of time training and once again fight the ever-impressive Bronze Men of the title - and, by God, I swear one of them is played by Alfred Hitchcock!
While the two standard parts of the film that bookend the main backbone involving the golden guys are cheap and crappy-looking, once again the fights with the Bronze Men are impressive and sometimes visually stunning. This time Wong must face a variety of threats, from huge armoured bronze guards, to swordsmen, pole fights, finger-fights, gymnasts, being beaten with metal bars and the ultimate threat, a huge bronze bell which is repeatedly pushed into the fighter's back (!) and usually turns out to be fatal. My favourite test is the one in which the fighter has to sit in the middle of a circle with his eyes closed and identify the direction to which coins are thrown through his hearing alone - if he fails, a huge stone block is dropped on his head!
There are also some cool traps and tricks to be traversed, my favourite being the poles which jut from opposite walls and threaten to crush you inbetween, or maybe the sections of ceiling and wall which drop or close at a moment's notice. Wong is an unlikable hero but proves himself worthwhile in the martial arts sequences, which unfortunately come too few and far between for this fan. As for Peng and Kuan, their appearances are a bit of a mystery considering they occupy so little screen time and amount to little more than cameos.
