Disciples of the 36th Chamber

Gordon Liu Chia-hui reprises his famous Monk San Te role as he tries to support and protect Shaolin her Fang Shih-yu who purposely attacks corrupt Ching officials. Fights by legendary action director Liu Chia-liang are to die for.

I am not knowledgeable enough to properly critique kung fu films. Many seem the same to me. I don't hold this against them, as this is really my fault and not theirs. (As a fan of the slasher film, I would not be surprised to hear someone say they're all the same... few people would want to get to know them like I have.) One thing I do know, however: this film is ground-breaking. It is a Shaw Brothers film at a time that looks to be a transitional state. We still have the great choreography and fights of the Chang Cheh films, but we have what appears to be a much higher production value, something that will really be apparent in "Martial Arts of Shaolin" a year or two later.

So, I liked the film, but it was a very frustrating experience. I love Liu Chia-Liang, I really do. And I liked Gordon Liu returning to the role from the first film. And Lily Li is always good. But I HATED the main character of Fang Shiyu. I get that a lot of these movies had that wild, uncontrollable, disobedient young hero, but this one went too far and I was actively rooting for his death. I'm not going to say this was actor Hou Hsiao's fault. Good lord was he a great fighter. I just think it's hard for a character like that to be likable to me. You know who always did it just right for me? Alexander Fu Sheng. He mastered that kind of role. And I guess since I liked the two early 90s Fong Sai-Yuk movies with Jet Li, I thought he did that particular character well. But I just wanted to rip my hair out here! AHHHHHHH!!!! But, some super smooth action, some great group fighting scenes towards the end, and I always feel it's a treat when Liu Chia-Liang gets in front of the camera for one of his own movies. So I'd still recommend this for fans of the genre/era.

I apologize for being so negative, but how we got from the original first film to this is just saddening. The films plot is as boring as it is needlessly chaotic, with Gordan Liu returning from the second film (though NOT as who he was playing as before, which in turn was NOT the character he played in the first film). Instead he returns as San Te from the first film and not Jen Chieh, though they somehow downgrade his character from the first, and he isnt as nearly as interesting as the San Te from the first, or even Jen Chieh from the second for that matter. Instead, the new protagonist is Fong-Sai Yuk, an annoying brat but talented martial artist who can't stop showing off how amazing he is. If anyone found Jen Chieh from the second film annoying then Fong-Sai Yuk will be deemed insufferable. His character completely destroys the formula of the warriors journey and as a result I simply found no enjoyment in watching a character begin a story and end it just as powerful and skilled as he was before.

If people disagree with me and enjoy this film then by no means dont pay me any mind, but the original in my opinion is beyond the superior film, and by some extent, the second too.

This is the second film where Lui Chia Hui plays San Te. He, however, is not the focus of the film. Fong Sai Yuk, played by Hsiou Hou, is the main character and occupies most of the screen time. Fong Sai Yuk is portrayed as a brash, young super fighter who can't stop getting into fights. He's a bragging, annoying character whose sole redeeming quality is that he can back up his boasts.

One of the last Shaw films before they shut down the studio, the film is set bound and looks like it could have been done ten years earlier. The plot is just decent with a back story that is slightly unexplained. The actors all do a good job. The music is very canned. The highlight is the fighting and there's plenty of it. A moderate amount of wire-fu doesn't detract from some excellent choreography. Liu Chia Liang really got into mass fight scenes towards the end of his time at the Shaw Bros. The final scene at the governor's palace is a small masterpiece of mass fighting.

A good kung fu film.

On paper, the premise for Disciples of the 36th Chamber probably sounded promising, sadly this is a disappointing finale to the 36th Chamber trilogy. There's little of the inventiveness and vitality that figured so heavily in the previous films, instead, we're given a sub-standard kung-fu revenge plot tinged with the occasional comedic beats. It feels like a product of yesteryear, marking the passing of the torch when it comes to populist Hong Kong action cinema. One that relegates Gordon Liu to a mere supporting role and focuses on the most annoying Fong Sai-Yuk in the history of Hong Kong cinema as played by Hsiao Ho. That being said, Lau Kar-Leung's direction remains particularly strong but it's his script where the film falls apart, with a few tweaks here and there, it could have been a winner. The usual production values that so epitomise a Shaw Brothers production are all here but ultimately it's at the expense of awfully sluggish pacing, this is the shortest film of the trilogy and yet it feels the longest to the point at which I felt I was zoning out. Sadly, there's not a lot to distinguish Disciples of the 36th Chamber as its own unique experience. It feels tired and stagnant, even with all its traditional Shaw Brothers style, signifying a changing tide for audiences.