This 1983 martial arts comedy from Shaw Brothers doesn't deliver much in the way of laughs, and takes a long time to get to the serious kung fu, but once the feet and fists really start flying, it proves to be a whole lot of fun. The first hour or so comprises of dreadfully unfunny situation comedy in which the teacher and students of a Hong Kong martial arts school discover that their new boss is the grandmaster's daughter, Chen Mei Ling (Kara Hui), who uses Western marketing techniques to bring in fresh business. When some of their new students, working girls from a local 'gentlemen's club', use their newfound fighting skills to keep the clients' wandering hands at bay, the owner of the establishment declares war on the martial arts school. Best moment within the first hour: a big breasted woman gets hit in the tits.
Fortunately things get much, much better at the 1 hour 6 minute mark, with a great scene in which the good guys use BMX bikes (so '80s) to beat up the baddies, with excellent stunts and creative use of their 2-wheeled vehicles that almost rivals Jackie Chan's bike fu in Project A. There's also a fun set-piece in which cameras flashes are used during a fight in a nightclub, but the best is definitely saved for last with a wonderfully choreographed showdown in a gymnasium, actor/director Liu Chia-liang finally giving kung fu fans something to get excited about, the cast using the exercise equipment (trampoline, rings, weights and balancing beam) in innovative ways to kick ass. Liu Chia-liang performs some great moves, but being a sucker for some monkey style kung fu, I particularly enjoyed Hou Hsiao acrobatic moves (even though he is clearly doubled for some of the work on the parallel bars).
6/10. Not an essential '80s kung fu flick, the first hour neither funny nor exciting, but the last half hour ends things on a high note.
