What's happening, all you fighting films lovers out there? Hai! Karate returns with the next post covering a Shaw Brothers flick not widely spoken of but still dope as hell, Shaolin Mantis!!! This film from 1978 stars Shaw action heartthrob David Chiang, Cecilia Wong, Lily Li Li-Li and Lau Kar Wing at the forefront of a real solid cast! Directorial duties here are by the late master Lau Kar Leung himself.
Shaolin Mantis begins in the courtyard of
the Qing emperor Ping Xi (Frankie Wei-Hung)
who has summoned Scholar Wei and his son,
Wei Fung(Chiang). On the surface, all seems
innocent. Emperor Xi asks Wei Fung to show
off his kung fu, first against a Mongol
fighter, and then against a Shaolin priest.
(Side note: the priest is played by none
other than Gordon Liu. more on that later.)
After dispatching both of them, Emperor
Xi decrees that Wei Fung leave his studies
and go to infiltrate the Tien clan's house
in order to obtain proof that they are
planning to rebel. These orders come with a
serious consequence; if Wei Fung doesn't
return in 3 months, his family's royal
standing will be stripped. 6 months, they
will all be jailed. And in a year, they will
all be beheaded.
Wei Fung comes to the Tien's home shortly
after and winds up in a slight confrontation
with Tien Gi Gi(Wong), Tien's granddaughter
after she threw her elderly teacher out.
Gi Gi takes a liking to Wei Fung and asks
him to be her teacher. She takes him into
the clan home, and Wei Fung meets all of
the family including Master Tien(Kar-Wing).
Master Tien gives permission for Wei Fung
to stay over the protests of Gi Gi's uncles.
Time passes, and Gi Gi and Wei Fung fall
in love. A dangerous fact, and one Gi Gi
has to reveal after Wei Fung tries to flee
and is caught. The suspense builds as Wei
Fung realizes time is running out for his
family. He intends to leave, and take Gi
Gi with him. But Master Tien and Gi Gi's
family have sworn that he would not leave
and are dead set against him doing so. Wei
Fung manages to flee after a series of harsh
fights against the clan, but loses the list.
Wounded, tired and looking for vengeance,
he stumbles upon a praying mantis in a
thicket of bamboo, and begins to craft a
new style in order to triumph. But will he
succeed?
Shaolin Mantis is an underrated dramatic
saga in my opinion, vastly so. It is a bit
interesting to note that this film may
have not been expected to do too well.
One reason being that it was Lau Kar Leung's
fifth film directing. He had crafted
great films prior to this, Challenge Of
The Masters and The Spiritual Boxer among
them. They may have wondered if he could
keep the magic going. Of course, having
Gordon Liu do a cameo didn't hurt. This
film was done shortly before the masterpiece
that would launch both Leung and Liu into
international stardom, The 36th Chamber Of
Shaolin. Liu features prominently on the
poster and the subsequent cover art on the
Celestial DVD release when he's only in
the film for less than FIVE minutes! That
aside, Leung put together a great film.
David Chiang is superb as Wei Fung, the
conflicted Qing spy. This film was done as
he was in the later years of a long career
with Shaw. His rakishly handsome looks
still worked for him, although in some
shots you can see his age more prominently.
His fighting talents are in full display
here. especially his acrobatics which
Leung made sure would be put to the max.
Cecilia Wong as Gi Gi shines, deftly
making you feel sympathy and warmth as
she becomes less of a brat and more of a
tragic figure, loving her husband but
trapped against her clan. Lau Kar Wing
as Master Tien does well enough to not
just be a stock villain. Lily Li as
Gi Gi's mother gives another great role
justice; she would prove to have a knack
for these roles throughout her career.
Add Wilson Tong and Norman Chu as Gi Gi's
uncles and you've got a cast that solidifies
the film. As far as the fighting, while
it is less than you might expect from a
Shaw film, what is there balances the
film's dramatic plot out well. One would
have like to see more of the mantis style
training scenes later in the film, but
it is good enough without that. And the
plot twist at the end is 'WTF' enough
to seal the deal. There may be one or
two moments where you'll find your focus
wavers but Shaolin Mantis is strikingly
good. Check it out when you can, it's
out on DVD and online.
RATING: 3.5 of 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
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