Well Deserved Praise

Sadly Over-hyped

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Entertaining kung fu comedy/drama, typical of its kind and evocative of a period in which the Jackie Chan film DRUNKEN MASTER and others led to a wave of then new-style Hong Kong flicks all following the same premise. Fans should know the routine by now: a young, accident-prone young man decides to learn martial arts after being beaten by one or more bad guys. The teacher refuses to let him learn but eventually the young man's skill and enthusiasm lead the teacher to accept the offer of a new pupil. The young man uses his new-found skills to beat up those who had previously fought him, and the bad guys fight back by attacking the school. Eventually, outside help is called in, people die, the story takes a dramatic turn, and things play out in one long battle to the death at the film's finale.Where SNAKE IN THE MONKEY'S SHADOW excels is in the quality of the action offered. The various martial artists are very very good indeed and their fights and training kept interesting through the three different styles involved: the bumbling, idiotic "drunken" style; the agile, flexible "monkey" style; the quick and deadly "snake" style. Add in plenty of fight sequences involving the various styles battling against each other, a whole new style being developed in the process ("drunken monkey") and an almost profound fight scene between a real-life snake and monkey and you have an evening's worth of entertainment for the average kung fu fan. Ignore the lack of budget and familiarity of the plot and instead sit back and witness some great kung fu fighting which doesn't let up. There are no slow spots or weak areas in the film, instead it offers action-packed entertainment from start to finish.John Cheung is no Jackie Chan but performs well in the title role, making an effective transition from clueless newbie to new-fangled martial arts master. The supporting cast is highly effective and blessed with some very skilled performers who make complex moves look simple and easy to perform. The fight choreography is outstanding. The comedy value is high, especially at the beginning of the movie, and the typical dubbing job plays out the comedic aspects of the storyline by giving the one of the villains a stereotypically homosexual-sounding voice. As such the film stands head and shoulders above similar fare from the period – even over praised classics.

Before CGI, wire-fu and bullet-time could make anyone a Kung Fu fighter, and before Jet Li and Jackie headed west to find fame and fortune in Hollywood, martial arts movies were a different kettle of fish.The heroes were always poor, the baddies always had evil laughs, the master had grey hair (preferably long and paired with impressive eyebrows), someone nearly always inexplicably had a red nose or a hairy mole, and every move had a terrific sound effect.Snake in the Monkey's Shadow is the daddy of old school kung-fu and, although missing a red-nosed or hairy moled character, it pretty much has all you would want from a film of this nature.The film opens with a great scene where we are introduced to Khoo, a master of monkey style, and the evil Shao, a snake style fighter. The two fight in a forest and Shao is defeated, but swears revenge. The action here is great, with Khoo leaping from tree to tree and Shao's moves accompanied by snake hisses.Three years later, Khoo is befriended by a young man, Liang, who is learning drunken style from his master, Ho (who has grey hair, but average sized eyebrows). Liang beats two bullies in a fight, so their father hires two experts in snake style kung fu (yup, nasty Shao and his equally nasty friend) to attack Ho's school. Ho is killed and Liang is injured.Liang goes to Khoo, who teaches him monkey style kung fu. Soon enough Shao and his buddy turn up to fight Khoo, and despite Liang helping, Khoo is killed. Liang swears revenge.Liang witnesses Khoo's monkey fighting a snake, and develops his own unique style - drunken monkey kung fu! He is now ready for a final deadly showdown.All of the action is great - some really acrobatic stuff from all involved - and it makes you realise how crap wire-fu really is. This is pure martial arts, unaided by modern technology.And, although I usually prefer my foreign films subtitled, the dubbing on this one only makes it better! Movie purists should be aware that many modern prints of this film are missing one vital scene - the monkey killing the snake is cut (I understand why, but it does ruin a pivotal moment in the film).This film is perfect for a night in with a few mates and some beers. Don't miss it!

I loved this film from the moment it started, The opening credits alone are worth viewing. The Kung fu on display during the movie is top notch and the story is well above par for a Hong Kong flick of it's era. The dubbing is a bit suspect in places, but it adds to the whole 'chop-suey' atmosphere. There are funny moments (usualy to do with the dubbing), there are sad moments and of course the down right excellent action scenes in between. The music is amazing, The same as that from Jackie Chan's Drunken Master, and it fits perfectly.There is one tiny downside; the DVD version is ever-so-slightly cut. Only one scene, but an important one. It is the scene in which our young hero studies a monkey killing a snake and adapts it's movements to combat the evil snake style killers. In the VHS version of the film which was released years ago, we witness the whole 'fight' and act of a real monkey killing a real snake. Due to animal cruelty laws (I would imagine) this scene is not in the DVD; instead we see a monkey and a snake, followed by the lead's face as he watches and then back to the monkey holding the now dead snake. We are left to figure what happened in between (not a difficult feat, but I preferred the original with its more graphic fore-shadowing.) That aside, this film leaves me with fond memories of watching it while I was growing up. Watch it as well and create some of your own fantastic memories.

This is a pretty decent flick. Classic Kung Fu at its best (or worst, depends on how you look at it). The great Mobus would approve.