In 1979, director Joe Cheung and martial arts actor Tung Wei struck gold at the Hong Kong box office with THE INCREDIBLE KUNG FU MASTER. A contributing factor to the success of that Kung Fu comedy was the casting of veterans Sammo Hung and Phil Ko in primary roles. Joe Cheung specialized in mixing comedy with traditional Kung Fu, something that was quite popular during the 1979-1982 period (mainly because audiences were enthralled with the Jackie Chan’s DRUNKEN MASTER antics). Tung Wei is a notable fight choreographer and actor who had leading roles in such features as MAR’S VILLA, GOLDEN MASK, and SHAOLIN DEVIL AND SHAOLIN ANGEL. Joe Cheung and Tung Wei attempted to recapture the chemistry of their previous hit with the flawed 18 FATAL STRIKES. But this film lacked the starpower of THE INCREDIBLE KUNG FU MASTER, and the movie quickly got lost amidst the crowded Kung Fu comedies of the time. There were no name stars like Sammo Hung to carry the the film, though Joe Cheung recruited the genuinely funny Shih Tien to star alongside Tung Wei. Shih Tien starred in many classics of the Golden Age of Kung Fu Cinema, including DRUNKEN MASTER, DIRTY KUNG FU, and SNAKE IN EAGLE’S SHADOW. Both Tung Wei and Shih Tien are still active in the Hong Kong film industry. Kung Fu video label Ground Zero chose 18 FATAL STRIKES as the debut release in their Wu Tang Clan Collection. Ground Zero joins forces with the Grammy-winning Rap group, the Wu Tang Clan. The group professes to a life-long love of old-school Kung Fu, which can clearly be interpreted in their name and lyrics.

The evil Wong Wu Ti is a master of the Shaking Eagle’s Claw, and an enforcer for the Ching Army. He and his soldiers seek to crush the underground rebels who refuse to bow to the Manchurians. Wong Wu Ti determines that Abbot Wang is involved with the rebel faction and seeks to eradicate the monk. The Ching soldiers chase Abbot Wang into the hills where Wong Wu Ti awaits. The two masters of the martial arts begin their duel, which turns out to be even sided--until Wong Wu Ti uses his Shaking Eagle Fist technique, that is. Abbot Wang is badly beaten, and wisely decides to escape and fight another day. The soldiers follow to finish him off. Two bumbling young men, Shou Tung (Tung Wei) and Tai Pei (Shih Tien) discover the injured Abbot Wang, and Tai Pei switches clothes with the monk to draw the soldiers away. Then, Shou Tung drags the half-dead monk to safety. When the soldiers catch up with Tai Pei, the kid cons his way out of a massive beating.

Wong Wu Ti’s soldiers show up at a local tavern looking for trouble. Tai Pei enters the tavern to get food, and sees the soldiers harassing a harmless old man. Tai Pei is not tough, but he’s scrappy and has a big mouth which he can’t keep shut. Soon the soldiers turn their attentions to Tai Pei, and begin to batter him unmercifully. Suddenly, the old man’s sexy daughter appears and begins to kick ass on the soldiers beating Tai Pei. After chasing away the soldiers, she thanks him for sticking up for her father and says her name is Ms. Sheng. The soldiers are not through with Ms. Sheng though, as Shou Tung overhears their plot to poison her. He tips her off, and the plan backfires causing the soldiers to imbibe the poison! The other soldiers retaliate and attempt to kill Ms. Sheng, until Shou Tung and Tai Pei lend a hand. In the struggle, they are beaten pretty bad and are led to believe that Ms. Sheng is captured. They return to their home in a devastated mental state, and find that the monk has fully recovered from his injuries, and is practicing Kung Fu. Abbot Wang senses that things are amiss, and offers to train them in the ways of Shaolin Kung Fu. Time passes and both men become fairly skilled fighters.

Meanwhile, Wong Wu Ti lays a trap for the rebel underground. A group of revolutionaries led by Ms. Sheng falls right into the trap. Wong Wu Ti’s soldiers slaughter the revolutionaries and only Ms. Sheng survives the assault because of her martial arts prowess. Shou Tung and Tai Pei arrive to fight the soldiers and allow her to escape. They are stunned to learn that the mysterious Ms. Sheng is a leader of the revolution. Then Wong Wu Ti himself steps forth and uses his Shaking Eagle Claw style to make fools of the duo. After they take an Eagle Claw-style thrashing, Shou Tung returns to home for more training from Abbot Wang while Tai Pei visits the tavern, hoping to catch up with Ms. Sheng. Abbot Wang teaches Shou Tung the Lohan Fist style, which is only form of the martial arts that can over come the Shaking Eagle’s Claw. At the tavern, Tai Pei walks into a trap. Wong Wu Ti toys with Tai Pei while his lead soldier rapes and then stabs Ms. Sheng. After Wong Wu Ti again leaves Tai Pei laying beaten and bruised, he stumbles out of the tavern and drags Ms. Sheng’s body back to his home. Upon their return, Shou Tung vows to seek revenge for the many deaths at the hands of Wong Wu Ti and his soldiers. He trespasses into the imperial palace and challenges a confident Wong Wu Ti. The two men square off, not only for their personal hatred for one another, but for the freedom of the oppressed people of China.

Once again we have a revenge saga, wrapped up in the political intricacies of the Mings versus the Chings. However, much of the dramatic potential is lost due to the constant humor. Granted, some of the humor is funny, but it definitely impacts the momentum of a film that could have been so much more. Joe Cheung is well-suited to handle the comedic tones of 18 FATAL STRIKES, but he is not capable of keeping the drama and fight choreography up to the same level as the humor. This is by no means an affront to the martial arts choreography of Tung Wei, which is well above average, but the fights lack tension and that fight-for-survival feeling. The villain Wong Wu Ti has a bad habit of beating his opponents and leaving them for dead—but none of them are ever seriously hurt, and they always return to plague him again later. The fight choreography really kicks into gear in the last 15 minutes, but the scenes before then are either one-sided or one-dimensional. 18 FATAL STRIKES is also affected by it’s low budget and weak production values. Scenes of the rebels battling the Manchus looks like stock footage from another film, as none of the cast members appear in these shots.

The strong point of 18 FATAL STRIKES is the humor and the characters. The light tone endears the viewer to the righteous characters, namely Shou Tung, Tai Pei, Abbot Wang, and Ms. Sheng. At the beginning of the film, Joe Cheung depicts Shou Tung and Tai Pei as two bumbling con artists whose hearts and mouths are bigger than their biceps. Later as they become embroiled in the Revolution, they endure tremendous beatings at the hands of Wong Wu Ti and his disciples. This demonstrates that these guys are durable and have much potential as martial artists and revolutionaries. They quickly train hard and come up to speed at the prodding of the wise Abbot Wang, another likable character. Much of the humor consists of bodily fluids, such as when an injured Abbot Wang spits up blood into the faces of Shou Tung and Tai Pei for comedic effect. But that is probably the funniest bit in 18 FATAL STRIKES. The film has a strong central antagonist in the form of Wong Wu Ti (who is played by an actor who looks oddly Caucasian). He telegraphs his deadly Eagle Claw strike by puffing out his facial features and shaking like a bird! The confrontation at the finale between Shou Tung and Wong Wu Ti is the highlight of the film, as they battle away with swords and spears.