Avenging Warriors of Shaolin Reviews

This is a solid entry from Chang Cheh's period with the "Five Venoms" team of action stars that allows Cheh to showcase his lighter side as an action director. The script is rooted in the kung-fu comedy genre, offsetting the standard kung-fu film elements of its plot with an array of self-contained scenes that blend kung-fu acrobatics and slapstick humor in equal measure. The approach works nicely because these setpieces are inventive and lovingly choreographed: highlights include a fight that demolishes a restaurant and the finale, which pushes the film in a more intense direction with a breathless onslaught of life-and-death brawls. The "Venoms" stars acquit themselves nicely, with Kuo Choi and Lo Meng making appealing leads who can get laughs while also convincing the audience on the action forefront with their physical prowess. Cheh is better known for melodramatic action fare but he clearly has fun with mostly comedic goings-on here, capturing the action with style but letting the humor shine through (fans of the director can rest assured the all-stops-out finale returns to the more hard-hitting style he's known for). The end result isn't as wildly inventive as other "Venoms" films like Crippled Avengers or Five Element Ninjas but Shaolin Rescuers delivers plenty of action and a surprising amount of laughs for the kung-fu film fanbase.