Hot, Cool and Vicious (1977)

"No one can beat me"

Dorian “Flash Legs” Tan and Don Wong teamed up to take on an evil counterfeiter in Hot, Cool, and Vicious. This Taiwanese kung fu flick surpassed my expectations, albeit they were very low to begin with. Not gifted with the budget of a Shaw Brothers production, director Lee Tso Nam and martial arts director Gam Ming made the most of what they had, namely Dorian Tan’s excellent kicks.

Capt. (Northern Leg) Lu takes care of the law and order in a village run by Mayor Yuen. When Yuen’s son commits a murder the two men clash. Southern Fist Pai Yu Ching, a known killer, arrives in town with his buddy Tieh and begins working for Yuen. Newly arrived Miss Lee and her uncle bear a grudge against Lu. Before long everyone seems to be trying to hire Pai to kill Lu.

There were no secret lists or manuals, but there were plenty of hidden identities and subterfuge. The plot led to the fights nicely. Gam Ming’s choreography utilized the cast’s abilities and those with lesser abilities well. Speaking of Gam Ming (aka Tommy Lee), he showed up in the final act as the dangerous golden haired albino fighter. Dorian’s kicks are always a joy to watch and the choreography showed them off splendidly. There was a modicum of wire-fu when characters did some high jumping but it was kept to a minimum. Sun Chia Lin even got in on the fighting. Most of the action was fairly fast though there were some glaring misses. The final fight was worth the price of admission.

Dorian Tan and Don Wong made for a fun dynamic duo as they took on Gam Ming and a host of minions led by Phillip Ko Fei, Li Chiang, and Lung Fong. If you enjoy old kung fu movies, especially the low budget Taiwanese flicks, this is one to try.

10 July 2024

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