What goes on folks? Hai!Karate returns with another flick for your pleasure! This one is a relatively undiscovered gem from the Shaw Brothers Studios, Shaolin Hand Lock!! The film is rich in talent, with David Chiang starring alongside the great Lo Lieh and macho action star Chan Wai-Man! Representing for the ladies are Chen Ping, Shum Lee-Mei and Kara Hui. Role actors Chen Shen and Dick Wei also pop up here. And in the director's chair for this film is the famed Ho-Meng Hua.
Shaolin Hand Lock starts with Li Bai
(Wei)observing his son Ching Yang(Chiang)
and daughter Meng Ping(Ping)training
hard outside of their home. Li Bai takes
a moment to talk to them both about his
lethal technique, known as...you guessed
it, the Shaolin Hand Lock. He also shows
both of them the protection he has against
the one flaw in the technique being exploited.
The kids leave and his servants go to
prep lunch. At that moment Fang Yu Biao(Shen)
shows up to relive old times. See, Li
Bai was a smuggler back in the day. And
his old partner wants him out of the way.
Fang then rubs out Li Bai who tries the
Shaolin Hand Lock, but doesn't have on
his gear. He dies, and Xiaofeng takes out
the servants. Ching Yang and Meng Ping
rush home to find the bodies. A witness
tells Chingyang where to find Xiaofeng.
Who by the time he finds him, is off on
the next boat to Bangkok, Thailand.
Chingyang goes off, but not before burying
his father and telling his sister to
stay behind 'as it's man's business.'
Chingyang arrives in Bangkok and finds Fang
curled up with an escort in a brothel.
Chingyang yokes him up and forces Fang
to confess that he was under orders by
Lin Hao(Lieh), who is a very wealthy
and influential man in town. He then
breaks his neck and plots out how to get
close to Lin Hao.
Chingyang also finds out that there's a
shipment that Lin Hao is expecting, which
is guarded by his daughter Lin Ai(Lee-Mei).
Chingyang then disrupts and steals the
shipment. He then goes to Lin Hao and
brings back the goods but not before
going toe to toe with his right-hand
man Li Kun Shi(Wai-Man). This leads
Chingyang to be one of Hao's main men.
Of course, this puts him under heavy
suspicion by Kun Shi. Lin Ai also keeps
an eye on him, but out of faint romantic
interest. Of course, this intricate bit
of deception faces a lot of peril and
questions. For one, why does Lin Hao
detest his wife, Blind Mama Li(Karen
Yip)? What will Chingyang do to throw
Kun Shi off the trail? What will he do
when Meng Ping shows up? How will he
defeat Lin Hao?
Shaolin Hand Lock is an interesting
flick that doesn't get a lot of talk
directed this way, and that's a shame.
That's not to say that it's a cinematic
standout. The plot does stretch itself
thinner than Kelly Ripa's arms. I mean,
how tight of a villain can you be if
you've got more holes in your security
than a honeycomb? Also, there's a certain
twist with Lin Hao and Blind Mama Li that
smacks of soap opera. Put that on the
screenwriter Ni Kuang who usually didn't
get that far off the path. Also, Shum
Lee-Mei as Lin Ai? This was her only
film role ever, and sadly we can see
why. She kind of fades into the back
a lot. But cheesy elements aside, there's
a good deal to enjoy here. The fight
scenes are crisp, fast-paced and
compelling. Let's also not forget
abundant. They pop up every few minutes
so you can't get too bored. David Chiang
is on his charismatic game here, but
does employ good emoting as Chingyang.
Lo Lieh as Lin Hao is calculating and
sneering as the villain. Plus that
Brylcreem job that's his hairdo works
for him. Chan Wai-Man does well as
Kun Shi and it's good to see how he
and Chiang spar against each other.
Meng Ping however is, outside of a
quick action scene, just relegated
to a foil. It went against her rise
at that time in the studio for both
action roles and those that leaned
a bit on the cheesecake side. The
rich settings of Bangkok add a nice
touch to the film, especially the
reliance on the many boats and the
ruins. Ho-Meng Hua keeps the film going
nicely at an even pace. You don't feel
like anything is rushed, even if there
are one or two moments where you could
use a bit more character development.
Some trivia for you: Karen Yip as
Blind Mama Li would star here in her
next to last feature before retiring.
One little tie in with Chan Wai-Man
is that they both starred in flicks
set in the Scandinavian country of
Denmark. In the same year. Odd, huh?
Kara Hui plays one of the servants
who gets offed in the early part of
the film. This would actually be one
of a couple of roles that she'd take
on her eventual path to Hong Kong
cinema stardom.(Her breakout role was
her third, in 1977's The Brave Archer.)
If you're looking for a film to just
chill with for a little bit, Shaolin
Hand Lock will do just the trick.
RATING: 3 OUT OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
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