While 7 Star Grand Mantis is a very colourful, and often entertaining kung-fu flick from South Korea, it still lacks a little something that stops it from being a classic. With involvement from Godfrey Ho and Tomas Tang on the Hong Kong side, you could be forgiven for expecting the worst, but ultimately the film is a corny, kung-fu comedy that reminds its viewers of the late 70's and early 80's Hong Kong classics such as Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu, Dirty Tiger & Crazy Frog, and more...
Starring Benny Tsui (who looks surprisingly like Elton Chong), as the leading man, the 7 Star Grand Mantis is as cliched as it gets with a silly student and long-haired master, a plot of revenge, an evil ass kicking bad-guy, and a female friend with some great moves. Its nothing new, and certainly doesn't highlight much of the titles kung-fu style, but the film has a wacky charm about it, is shot pretty well, and has a bevy of decently choreographed fight scenes performed with some great moves. South Korean actor and martial artist, Eagle Han, plays Benny's silver haired master with a sense of humour, and some fantastic moves. Han has always proved to be a great mover and actor, with films under his belt such as Jackie Chan's brilliant Dragon Fist and epic Fearless Hyena, as well as a host of other South Korean and Hong Kong collaborations.
The soundtrack for 7 Grand Star Mantis is nicked from any number of HK kung-fu classics and often tricks you in to thinking you're watching something better - but honestly, it's not that bad. If you can handle zany slapstick and cartoon humour, you'll enjoy it, with a hilarious riff of the bronzemen, and plenty of fun cockiness from Benny Tsui - similar to Jackie's early roles - or even that of Dean Shek.
The fights are handled by South Korean choreographer Kim Yeong Gil who provides some pretty fun fight scenes. Actress Song Jeong A impresses with her moves, but really, Eagle Han steals the show with some incredible kicks and kung-fu. Of course, Benny Tsui saves the best of what he has for closer to the end, with a great fight in drag and the 20 minute finale giving us a fantastic showdown against the evil villain and his gang - including a fire hose gag using their mouths. Insane but funny!
Overall: Far from disappointing, 7 Star Grand Mantis is a fast paced kung-fu comedy that entertains!
