Wonderful character development!

Too much of everything

A Disappointing Continuation

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The complex plot, such as it is, was already covered by other reviewers. I'll try to add some unique points...There seem to be many titles for this film. I've already come across Clans of Intrigue 2', 'Legend of the Bat' (which is how this is broadcast on El Rey Network), 'Bat Island Adventure', and 'Bat Island Adventures'. The first Clans of Intrigue, which I have not yet seen, is also listed as Legend of the Bat on IMDb. All very confusing.If you enjoy over-the-top martial arts and/or fantasy, this is worth a look. I jacked up my rating since it deserves higher than the current 6.6. But I do recommend it, goofy and confusing plot aside. If you liked Full Moon Scimitar or especially The Delightful Forest, give it a try.A little film history perspective, completely my own theory. There is a classic 'old dark house' film from 1930, The Bat Whispers, which falls into a genre I'd call Fantomas, basically about a mysterious (masked) psychopathic 'emperor of criminals', a legend within his own world, and the attempts to stop and unmask him. There are some distinct similarities between these two movies, including the title and title character, which makes me think that the filmmakers of Legend of the Bat were aware of The Bat Whispers, or of one of the remakes.As far as I know the earliest of the genre was the silent serial Fantomas (a French classic) by Louis Feuillade from about 1913, based on popular novels. I believe his Judex was a similar story, and was remade in 1963 by Georges Franju (Eyes Without a Face). Franju made at least one more film in this genre, Nuits Rouges (1974).

Night on Bat Island, and there's an auction being held. All the lights are put out before the auction begins. A mysterious bidder wants the head of Chu (Ti Lung, reprising his role from CLANS OF INTRIGUE). Before long, everybody's trying to collect the reward for Chu's head. At one point, trapped on a boat full of likely suspects, Chu meets up with Yi, his ronin buddy from CLANS OF INTRIGUE. Storywise, there are more twists and turns than you can count. The ship Chu is on is sunk and he and the survivors float to safety (another ship passing by) in coffins with their lids removed. This new ship is headed for Bat Island, where things get even hairier for Chu and his friends. I'm not going to give away anything here, but there are some ingenious developments during The Big Finale. It's too bad that American, English, or Canadian filmmakers lack the storytelling sensibilities of a director like Chu Yuan: with all the comic book superheroes flooding screens big and small in this country, very few are even worth the time it takes to sit through them (when it comes to adapting comic books, most filmmakers are blind as a bat, if you will). LEGEND OF THE BAT should be used as a How-to guide for filmmakers.

Outlandish sets, garish lighting, a chartreuse pool of acid and the evil Mr. Bat, with his minions in red jumpsuits, capes and cute little bat ears. Oh, and the only kung-fu movie you'll ever see featuring an auction.There are decent fight scenes, though too much time between them. This is not Ti Lung's finest hour, but it's a great example of Shaw Brothers excess. That said, I did enjoy it, but if you're after some good Ti Lung chopsocky, try The Magic Blade or Blood Brothers, both available in the Shaw reissue series by Celestial Pictures.

Legend of the Bat involves a hero played by Ti Lung trying to find the mysterious Bat Island in order to help friends and solve mysteries, and solve the riddle of the masked Mr. Bat.This is a fairly entertaining sequel to Chu Yuan's Clans of Intrigue, but is not as engaging as the original. There is some really beautiful, Suspiria-esque use of lighting, and some great sets. Most of the leads do a solid job, and Ti Lung is good as always. However the movie drags in too many irrelevant characters (even by Chu Yuan standards), and Ti Lung's character, the only important hold-over from the first movie is largely eclipsed by other characters. It's solid stuff, but no Magic Blade.