One of my all time favorites.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING isn't a very remarkable kung fu movie although I guess others found it more so, with this film and its characters particularly inspiring members of the Wu Tang Clan over in the US. It was directed by the prolific Taiwanese director Joseph Kuo, previously of THE BLAZING TEMPLE and THE 18 BRONZEMEN, and like those movies it feels a little cheap and slapdash in places.However, THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING does have some good elements, it's just that overall it turns out to be rather average. The storyline is very typical, about a master killer known as the Ghost Face Killer (his name is more interesting than he is) who goes around killing various martial arts masters in the countryside. As usual, the upstanding son of one of the dead men swears revenge, but first he must train.Training takes up most of this film's plot and it's quite unusual. Firstly the kid, Ah Pao, is kicked out of the kung fu school and must go on the road. The best part of the film is when he teams up with Siu Tin Yuen (aka Simon Yuen, famous for his 'Beggar So' character in DRUNKEN MASTER) for the usual shenanigans involving food and drink. This doesn't last long, and Ah Pao instead ends up at the home of a chess expert who teaches him chess boxing.Sadly, the chess boxing stuff is never as interesting as it sounds, as it only really adds unusual names for the moves rather than providing a new way of fighting. As such, the eventual end fight feels underwhelming despite everything. The cast are okay and there are some fine little training sequences involved here, but THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING isn't a film to particularly remember.

I heard about this movie because of the famous rap group The Wu-Tang Clan. So i checked it out on youtube. And man is it fast!!!! When i say say fast, I mean it is difficult to keep up with a technique that is so complex. There are excellent fight scenes, especially at the ending! The acting isn't so terrific, but since this is real genuine kung-fu that very few practice, it doesn't matter. The storyline is decent, but you don't always need a storyline for old fashioned fun. Funny haircuts, funny English dubbing, intensely good scenes. It would make an excellent remake. Plus, it's not overly violent either. Kids tend to watch kung-fu movies regardless of the violence level. So this would also fall into parental approval.

If you remember anything that made watching kung fu films fun in the late 1970's and early 1980's this film has it. The crazy dubbing, the bizarre behavior of the kung fu fighters, nutty old man wigs and elaborate energetic fighting moves that make no practical sense.I somehow missed this one completely and finally caught up to it. I can see why it remains a cult classic. The lead villain, the Ghost Face Killer, likes to verbally taunt his victims while performing kung fu moves by himself. He intersperses the moves with half a sentence here and there so it takes a while to complete his taunt. The rest of the film would be standard low budget kung fu film fare but the fighting scenes are really, really well done. These actors (well some of them could act) really could move. Not that all the moves make a lot of sense but it's entertaining.The only problem I had is the TV print I saw is very badly transfered which made the film a chore to watch at times. It was missing an entire scene so that the young hero shows up all beaten up and we never see why. Also the cook character played by Simon Yuen is killed off-screen by the villain but it's only mentioned in passing. It seems like that scene is missing also.Good fun.

NINJA CHECKMATE (1979) is better known as THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING, a more appropriate title given the absence of any actual ninjas from the film. Produced and directed by Taiwanese-based master kung fu filmmaker Joseph Kuo, CHECKMATE ranks with the best of his work (BORN INVINCIBLE, 7 GRANDMASTERS) in telling a simple concise story and peopling it with some of the best fighting stars at Kuo's disposal. Lee Yi Min stars along with Kuo regulars Jack Long (aka Lung Sai Gar) and Mark Long (aka Lung Kwan Wu), while the venerable Simon Yuen (DRUNKEN MASTER) makes an appearance as well. Mark Long plays the feared "Ghost-Faced Killer," a name later appropriated by the rap group, Wu Tang Clan, as part of their ongoing homage to classic kung fu films.Lee Yi Min (SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF KUNG FU) plays an eager young student seeking masters who will teach him enough kung fu to enable him to get revenge against the killer of his father. Lee has an amiable quality and ready smile and his character here is willing to withstand humiliation from senior students at the start of his training in order to gain access to the teachers who can help him. In addition to fighting skills, he brings acrobatic and gymnastic skills to the role and his transformation from eager novice to skilled fighter is believably portrayed.Lee's first real teacher is the cook at the school where he apprentices. Played by Simon Yuen, the cook shows how food preparation leads to development of strength and agility. Lee's next teacher is Jack Long, a chess master who insists on teaching Lee the fundamentals of Chinese chess before embarking on actual kung fu training. Lee is slow to catch on to the significance of this strategy but it eventually serves him in good stead in the final battle. Jack Long has a young daughter, played by Jeannie Chang, who helps persuade him to take Lee as his student.Mark Long's Ghost-Faced Killer is an embittered ex-official who travels the Chinese countryside using his Five Elements kung fu to challenge and kill assorted retired kung fu masters who had once opposed him. The film is punctuated with several of these superbly-staged confrontations and tension is built up as the killer sets his sights on the chess master and seeks his whereabouts. The stage is eventually set for a final battle between Ghost-Faced Killer and the chess master and his prize student. The fights are frequent and interspersed with a steady stream of clever and often humorous training sequences. Five Elements Kung Fu is a fascinating concept and involves strategies voiced in such phrases as "earth absorbs water" and "gold cuts wood." The two Longs were both top-notch kung fu performers and are always thrilling to watch, as is the underrated Lee Yi Min.The film is aided considerably by excellent cinematography and use of small, well-appointed sets and outdoor locations in the Taiwanese countryside. In addition, the lovely and evocative original Chinese music score is retained on the English-dubbed soundtrack. This film was very popular among kung fu fans in New York when it played at theaters on 42nd Street during the heyday of the kung fu genre some 20-odd years ago. Its current availability on VHS and DVD ensures its rediscovery by legions of enthusiastic new fans in the years ahead.