While many stars of classic Kung Fu cinema go practically unnoticed on DVD, the films of John Liu have a healthy presence in the marketplace. A young John Liu struck the big time when he appeared in the Seasonal Films classic, THE SECRET RIVALS (1976), teaming up with Wong Dao against the high-kicking Korean sensation, Hwang Jang Li. Following the international success of that film, Liu had his pick of roles in the burgeoning Taiwanese independent scene. Several of his best movies have turned up on DVD including the classic INVINCIBLE ARMOR (1977), INSTANT KUNG FU MAN (1977), SHAOLIN EX-MONK (1978), and DEATH DUEL OF KUNG FU (1979). Many of Liu’s films from this period continued the screen rivalry he shared with Hwang Jang Li. Xenon Entertainment returned to the genre in a big way in 2001 with the DVD releases of their Wu Tang Classics series. One of the better titles in this series is FIGHTING ACE, a 1979 revenge saga with comic overtones.

John Liu plays Kao Chi, who as an infant had his family wiped out by a callous Kung Fu master. His family’s elder servant, Ah Chung, escaped with the baby and raised him into an upstanding young man. However, Kao Chi has dedicated his life to mastery of the martial arts in hopes that he will one day learn the identity of the killer and bring him to justice. Kao Chi is determined but wonders if he will ever achieve his goal because they barely have enough money to buy food. Meanwhile, a rich man with questionable ethics hires a martial arts instructor, Master Chang (Kwan Yung Moon), to teach his lazy son the ways of Kung Fu. Kao Chi and Ah Chung discover that the respected Master Chang is training at the rich man’s palace, and they go there looking to get jobs as housekeepers. There they meet up with Ha Shan, the scrawny lead housekeeper who dreams of getting even with his wicked employers. Ha Shan is small but smart, and arranges for Kao Chi to meet up with Master Chang, who immediately takes a liking to the hungry young martial artist. Soon, Master Chang’s daughter, Shao La (Doris Lung) arrives at the villa where her father is working. She meets Kao Chi and they are immediately attracted to one another. The hardworking Kao Chi soon earns the respect of everyone, except for the rich man and his servants. When the rich man discovers Master Chang teaching Kao Chi and ignoring his lazy son, he becomes angry. The lead housekeeper punishes Kao Chi by whipping him. Kao Chi wants to keep his job so he willingly absorbs the punishment. Shao La sticks up for Kao Chi, and the rich man sends them all packing, except for Master Chang who is bound by contract to stay. Ha Shan even quits his job so can leave with his new found friends (Ha Shan believes that Kao Chi can teach him Kung Fu).

Kao Chi, Ah Chung, and Ha Shan survive by selling goods in the local village market. There they encounter another martial arts master who agrees to take them on as students. This new master is a sour individual who demands Kao Chi address him as ‘Master’. But Kao Chi considers Teacher Chang his true master and refuses. Instead, he agrees to call his new master, ‘Godfather’. While pushing more goods in the village, Kao Chi and Ha Shan witness a gang of bullies punishing an old man (Wu Ma). They are quick to give him a hand. The old man is overjoyed at their assistance, and he offers to buy them food and drink. When he finds out that his saviors are seeking to learn more Kung Fu, the old man offers to impart his skills upon them. Kao Chi and Ha Shan are skeptical that the old man can deliver on his word, but after sparring with him they believe him. Both Kao Shi and Ha Shan spend their time learning from these two masters, who are unaware of the other. Later on, Shao La meets her friends in the woods, and is disturbed upon hearing that Kao Chi has forsaken her father as his Master (this is after all, a matter of honor). Kao Chi reassures her that he considers her father his true Master, and that he is only using these others to help him achieve his vengeance on those who killed his parents. She is happy with his reaction, and leaves him to practice. As she is walking through the woods, she is assaulted by a gang of thugs who want to defile her. But being the daughter of a Kung Fu master has its rewards, and she promptly puts these men in their place. Kao Chi arrives to help her punish the attackers.

These gang members return to their Boss (with their tails between their legs), who happens to be the same man responsible for the death of Kao Chi’s parents. He now sits atop not only his own crime gang, but also teaches martial arts from his palace. The villain orders his men to go to the village and dispose of Kao Chi and his friends. The gang members return to the town in full force, where they seek to destroy their fierce opponent. However, Kao Chi has now studied at the feet of several masters and is more than up to the task of thrashing these jackals. Suddenly, their Boss shows up and breaks up the epic battle. He informs Kao Chi that he is a respected martial arts instructor who is impressed with his skills, and offers up his services. Kao Chi, always looking for free martial arts lessons, accompanies the Boss back to the school and begins learning from him, unaware that this is the man he is sworn to kill. The cunning Boss slowly gains the respect of Kao Chi and then takes advantage of him. He convinces Kao Chi to go after rival Kung Fu masters by informing him that they are evil. Luckily, Shao La (who is friends with these rival instructors) enlightens him that he is being used. That’s when Ah Chung finally recognizes the Boss as the man who murdered Kao Chi’s parents. Likewise, the Boss discovers that his student is the offspring of the folks he killed. The Boss assigns him on a mission in the forest, and orders his men to finish him off without witnesses. While Kao Chi is detained, the Boss himself tracks down and challenges Shao La, Ah Chung, and Ha Shan. Even with her skills, Shao La cannot defeat her superior enemy. Kao Chi is outnumbered, and must must find a way to defeat his opponents in order to save his friends from the evil Boss...

FIGHTING ACE is another revenge-driven film tale with light moments along the lines of DRAGONS CLAW (1979), BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR (1979), or THE BUDDHIST FIST (1980). Most of these Hong Kong or Taiwanese martial arts movies have at the core a young fighter who seeks to learn from some wise old master (or some drunken bum). FIGHTING ACE breaks this mold with it’s depiction of the teacher-student relationship. John Liu wants to advance his skills (and quickly) so bad, that he takes on not one master, but four! This subplot (and the training scenes that go with it) take up much of the 77 minute running time. It becomes something of a running joke with Liu willing to comply with anyone who claims to be a martial arts expert. These masters demand to be treated as such, but Liu has the nerve to refuse their requests, so that he may stay true to his first instructor, Master Chang. John Liu and Doris Chung are clearly lusting for one another in this flick, but their relationship is never played out or consummated (and the script is not by I Kuang!). Another major flaw to the film is the establishment of the lead villain. He is glimpsed in the opening minute, and then does not show up again until the last act. His presence in the film has the feeling of no forethought or planning. To make matters worse, the main villain is not identified throughout the entire picture (so we refer to him as the Boss in our synopsis).

FIGHTING ACE benefits from a capable cast and some well-staged martial arts sequences. Doris Lung is the rarest of all Hong Kong actresses—she’s beautiful and tough. Lung can be seen on such DVDs as THE MAGNIFICENT (1979), SHAOLIN INVINCIBLES (1979), and MOONLIGHT SWORD AND JADE LION (1979). Here she plays the pride-filled daughter of John Liu’s true Kung Fu master. Kwan Yung Moon portrays Master Chang. Moon previously kicked ass in such films as DUEL TO THE DEATH (1983), MASTER WITH CRACKED FINGERS (1974), and RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER (1980). The cast is also rounded out the appearances from Wong Chi Sang (KILLERS FROM ABOVE (1977), SHAOLIN VS. LAMA (1983), and MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING (1979) and actor/director Wu Ma. The martial arts choreography is very natural and not overly flashy or sped up. It’s all in real time with Liu not relying on his high kicking ability much like his earlier efforts. We see more of a full balanced attack from this man than ever before. Liu and his friends fight against multiple opponents and use their fists and kicks to overpower their attackers who wield various weapons. Also impressive is Liu’s training scenes with Korean boot-man Kwan Yung Moon.

The colorful Main Menu reflects the front cover artwork, and adds some tinny Chinese stock music. The only extras on the disc are the bonus fight scenes from the other movies in the Wu Tang Classics collection:

• JACKIE AND THE 36 CRAZY FISTS 
• WU TANG CHAMP AGAINST CHAMP 
• BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR 
• EAGLE VS. SILVER FOX 
• INVINCIBLE OBSESSED FIGHTER