10 Brothers of Shaolin

In this Taiwanese period kung fu film, a Ming revolutionary leader is in need of escort across the Ching territory. His chief guide and protector is Chi Yueng (Dong Wong Tao- The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious). Along the way the evil Ching leader's (Chang Yi- Eagles Claw) men (including Lueng Kar Yan- Sleeping Fist and Steven Tung Wai) try to capture them at every turn, but luckily the countryside is littered with ten Shaolin masters in disguise who aide the duo.
10 Brothers of Shaolin (1979) is a real middle ground kung fu film. As Taiwanese cheapie, it isn't too bad, and Dong Wong Tao is a good lead, but there is just something missing. It is a f b-film, with all the b-film foibles. What makes a successful b-film is the energy, subtext, or inventiveness that makes you forgive the weaker bits like performance and basic or no-plotting. 10 Brothers of Shaolin just really lacked that energy to take me away, drop my jaw, and wish I could shave my head and go study the fighting arts at an ancient monastery. All I kept thinking was that the Ming leader everyone was trying so hard to protect was a real dweeb, chubby, out of shape, and always huffing and puffing a few steps behind. He hardly seemed like much of a revolutionary saviour worth saving.

While the action and entertainment gets better as the film goes on, including a nice bit of pole fighting by female star Chia Ling, mostly I just slogged through the film. It is pretty telling when youfr kung fu film has a good performer like Lueng Kar Yan looking slow and awkward because of bad choreography. Hell, that choreography even grinds one of his fight scenes to a halt by having some Ching archers take out his opponent for him. So, I never really lost myself too much, and in terms of the fighting, I cannot recall much that really stuck out as exceptional or incredibly notable, other than the way of defeating the villain which is the old Invincible Armour way of overcoming an iron body style. And, in some weird bit of plotting, they even provide the main villain with a long sad sequence after his son is killed, effectively giving the bad guy some sympathy, so by the time the final fight comes between him, Chi Yuenng, and two Shaolin brothers we barely know, you aren't really routing to hard for the guy to be defeated.