The unique selling point of the film is Phoenix Chen's contortion-ism and acrobatics - possibly the least practical fighting techniques ever captured on film, but hey, it's something a bit different.
The basic plot is that various orphans are taken in by Madame Kao who then teaches them fighting skills and acrobatics. A variety of complications ensue which, to be honest, I can barely remember, but it involves a town elder framing Madame Kao for selling dodgy medicine, leading to her eventual murder. There's a bit of a plot twist involving the town doctor toppling the corrupt town elder and taking over the crime gang, while Ah-Fei (another of Kao's students) falls out with Madame Kao over taking revenge on their enemies and temporarily joins the bad guys.
The film itself is pretty poor, the editing is rough and scenes jump around with little context. Enemies appear with little introduction (especially the 'drunken master' (see below) )The kung fu is nothing special apart from the circus-style acrobatics (used in a fairly surreal way to trap the big boss's head at the end). I was never sure what era the film was set in - I assumed early 20th or late 19th, because everyone is wearing traditional clothes, but then there's a guy in jeans and the crime gang seem to be wearing golf caps.
It's a pretty bog standard film - although one moment does stand out when, for no reason at all, a 'drunken master' and a Jackie Chan lookalike turn up to fight our heroes! My dub even had the Jackie Chan lookalike announce the fact he looked like Chan! There are also some odd moments of humour (cross dressing as a disguise etc) ported in at inappropriate moments.
One final note, I'm fairly sure that Wah Yuen (the landlord from Kung Fu Hustle) has a small part as one of the gangsters.
The basic plot is that various orphans are taken in by Madame Kao who then teaches them fighting skills and acrobatics. A variety of complications ensue which, to be honest, I can barely remember, but it involves a town elder framing Madame Kao for selling dodgy medicine, leading to her eventual murder. There's a bit of a plot twist involving the town doctor toppling the corrupt town elder and taking over the crime gang, while Ah-Fei (another of Kao's students) falls out with Madame Kao over taking revenge on their enemies and temporarily joins the bad guys.
The film itself is pretty poor, the editing is rough and scenes jump around with little context. Enemies appear with little introduction (especially the 'drunken master' (see below) )The kung fu is nothing special apart from the circus-style acrobatics (used in a fairly surreal way to trap the big boss's head at the end). I was never sure what era the film was set in - I assumed early 20th or late 19th, because everyone is wearing traditional clothes, but then there's a guy in jeans and the crime gang seem to be wearing golf caps.
It's a pretty bog standard film - although one moment does stand out when, for no reason at all, a 'drunken master' and a Jackie Chan lookalike turn up to fight our heroes! My dub even had the Jackie Chan lookalike announce the fact he looked like Chan! There are also some odd moments of humour (cross dressing as a disguise etc) ported in at inappropriate moments.
One final note, I'm fairly sure that Wah Yuen (the landlord from Kung Fu Hustle) has a small part as one of the gangsters.