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Lam Jan-Nam, a retired official, has stolen the Prized Sunflower
Volume from the library in the Forbidden Palace, a martial arts chart
that reveals the secrets of telekinesis, teleportation and x-ray vision,
which he wanted as a sort of insurance for his family ... however, eunuch
Gam-Fuk (Lau Shun) is determined to get the chart back, to secure his
place at the Imperial Court. But the means he uses are somewhat
exaggerated, as before long he has the whole Lam-family erradicated - all
but son Lam Ping-Chi, who happened to e absent at the time of attack.
However, the Eunuch didn't find the first clue of the chart, and the
only one who knows about its whereabouts is Ling Wu Chung (Sam Hui), a
senior student of the Hua Mountain Sect, who just happened to stop by with
his sidekick Kiddo (Cecilia Yip) - a young girl who loves to dress up as a
boy and who's (of course) secretly in love with Ling Wu Chung - on behalf
of his sifu Ngok (Lau Siu-Ming).
However, while Ling Wu Chung proves trustworthy and doesn't even
disclose the secret of the martial arts chart to his own master, the
Eunuch figures the only way to get the chart is to infiltrate the Hua
Mountain Sect, and so he sends out his best agen Au Yeung (Jacky Cheung),
who poses as none other than Lam Ping-Chi seking refuge at the Hua
Mountain Sect. But since he doesn't know that Ling Wu Chung would disclose
the secret hiding place to him (as Lam Ping-Chi) out of free will, he
poisons Ling Wu Chung and leaves him to die.
Meanwhile Hua Mountain Master Ngok has figured the only way to get to
the Prized Sunflower Volume is through the Lam family, so he promises Au
Yueng, the fake Lam Ping-Chi, the hand of Kiddo in marriage, who just also
happens to be his daughter. And to seal the bond between the Hua Mountain
Sect and the Lam family, Au Yueng, Kiddo, Master Ngok and his students all
return to the Lam-residence, where the Eunuch and his men have all dressed
up as Lam family members and their servants ...
The dying Ling Wu Chung meanwhile is found by members of the Sun Moon
Cult, who first mistake him for an enemy and want to question and kill
him, but after they learn he has fought side by side with two of their
rank (Lam Ching-Ying, Wu Ma), they save his life.
Eventually, Ling Wu Chung too arrives at the Lam residence, and in the
meantime he has removed the chart from its hidingplace and carries it with
him to have a better bargaining position. But it soon culminates in a
battle of the Eunuch and his men against the Hua Mountain sect, which is
decided only when Au Yueng, having failed his master, shoots the Eunuch to
avoid punishment (which traditionally is decapitation). But with the
Eunuch gone, the danger is not over since now it's still master Ngok
against Ling Wu Chung, who is less willing than ever to give him the
chart, and caught in the middle are Ling Wu Chung's fellow students, who
are beginning to lose trust in their Master.
In the end, Ling Wu Chung the student defeats his master and doesn't
kill him only on Kiddo's behalf and because his power over the Hua
Mountain sect is broken one way or the other. Instead, Ling Wu Chung rides
off with Kiddo, so at least he gets the girl in the end ...
This film was supposed to be the return of legendary martial arts
filmmaker King Hu's (Come Drink
with Me, Dragon Gate Inn,
A Touch of Zen) triumphant
return to the director's chair. However, the return was anything but
triumphant and during the work on this film - his first movie in years -
he and his producer Tsui Hark fell out, and he was replaced by other
directors - Ching Siu-Tung, Raymond Lee, Ann Hui (only for a few scenes)
and even Hark himself.
The finished product clearly shows its somewhat messy production
history: While the beginning - the scenes about the siege of the Lam
residence and Ling Wu Chung's and Kiddo's ensuing getaway - is a gripping
as well as entertaining set-up for things to come, later narrative threads
- the whole Sun-Moon cult subplot, a subplot about Master Ngok's master,
who teaches Ling Wu Chung a thing or two - seem to be little more than
excessive baggage that don't at all help to tell the tale, even if they
are good hangers for some quite amazing action setpieces. And the extended
finale - that again features great action - seems a bit too overburdened
with too many characters and too many subplots that need a resolution -
and not all of them get one - to really work.
The outcome is not al bad though, it's an entertaining martial arts
film with - as I said - breathtaking action sequences , but it's amazingly
weak on story. Watchable though.
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