Director Joseph Kung Hong conceived SUPER KUNG FU KID as a sequel to his 1973 independent hit, KUNG FU’S HERO. The director reunited the original cast including Nick Cheung (LAND OF THE BRAVE, FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINES, TEN MAGNIFICENT KILLERS), Bolo Yeung (AMSTERDAM CONNECTION, CHINESE HERCULES, BOLO), San Kuai (THE BUDDHIST FIST, MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS, CRACK SHADOW BOXERS), and Tong Tin Hei (DUEL FOR GOLD, GOLGO 13:OPERATION KOWLOON, THE CHAMPIONS). Then Joseph Kung Hong brought in Mars (RETURN OF THE DEADLY BLADE, LEGENDARY STRIKE, HE HAS NOTHING BUT KUNG FU), Gung Fan (THE HEROIC ONES, KING BOXER, LADY WITH A SWORD) and Fong Yeh (BROKEN OATH, THOUSAND MILE ESCORT, BLOODY FISTS) to round out the cast. Nick Cheung (aka Cheung Lik) is the star of the film and reprises his role of Man Lung, the kid of the title. THE SUPER KUNG FU KID and its prequel were picked up for video distribution by Ocean Shores, who obtained the release rights to nearly all independent Chinese and Taiwanese martial arts movies of the era. Tai Seng struck a distribution deal with Ocean Shores to release over a hundred of OC’s finest titles on Region 1 DVD, and present both THE SUPER KUNG FU KID and KUNG FU’S HERO through their Martial Arts Theater line.

THE SUPER KUNG FU KID takes place during the Japanese occupation of China during World War 2. Tiger (Bolo Yeung with a fake wig and mustache) is the leader of a crime syndicate in Macao, a region free from Japanese influence. Enter Man Lung (Nick Cheung), a young martial artist with a high moral code like his deceased father. Tiger’s lackeys make the mistake of challenging Man Lung when they cross paths on the backwoods of Taiwan. Man Lung responds by quickly thrashing the thugs, sending them licking their wounds so bad that word gets back to Tiger of the fighting prowess of this potential threat to his criminal empire. Man Lung doesn’t screw around when he fights the gang members, and thinks nothing of snuffing the life from them. The thugs are saved only by the appearance of Man Lung’s mother, who insists that her son stop beating up his aggressors. Due to the peril of the Japanese takeover, Man Lung fears for his mothers safety and they travel to Macao where the threat of Japanese occupation is considerably lessened. Meanwhile, Tiger orders his top enforcer, a martial arts instructor named Teacher Man (Gung Fan), to assassinate Man Lung. Teacher Man bursts into the bungalow where Man Lung and his mother reside and engage him in combat. The mother breaks up the fight because she recognizes Man Lung as her son. Man Lung and Teacher Man are brothers!

Teacher Man is happy to be reunited with his family. He takes Man Lung and his mother back to Tiger’s place where the evil gang boss shrewdly attempts to recruit the young fighter to his side. Man Lung refuses and Teacher Man insists he’s going to keep working for Tiger. Man Lung soon finds work with a group of fishermen who have ties to the Revolution. Tiger sends Teacher Man to extort money from the fishermen and the situation turns deadly when Teacher Man and his henchmen attack them. Man Lung arrives in time to fight off the thugs, which ultimately leads to the two brothers fighting against each other. The respected-though-misguided Teacher Man is no match for his younger brother, and disowns Man Lung. When Tiger hears that his top man has been bested, he calls for his two psychotic friends, Fung Hong (Fong Yeh) and Lau Bu (San Kuei) to lead up the mission to assault the fishermen and dispose of Man Lung. Tiger’s friends attack the fishermen’s camp and several of Man Lung’s friends get killed. Man Lung shows up and begins to beat the tar out of Fung Hong and Lau Bu. In the huge brawl that follows, Man Lung is hit by a bullet and seriously wounded. Next, the treacherous duo of Fung Hong and Lau Bu kidnap Man Lung’s mother to force him to submit to Tiger’s will. Man Lung flips out and rushes to save his mother, but his friends hold him back because of the serious nature of his wound. Teacher Man eventually finds out that his boss has kidnapped his mother. Teacher Man must reluctantly team up with his younger sibling against Tiger and his forces if they are to rescue their beloved mother!

Though Joseph Kung Hong made his name directing low-budget Bruceploitation flicks like BRUCE’S DEADLY FINGERS, BRUCE LI IN NEW GUINEA, and BRUCE AND SHAOLIN KUNG FU, his filmmaking skills peaked with his early efforts such as TIGER FORCE, KUNG FU’S HERO, and SUPER KUNG FU KID. Considering the budget and the year of production (1974, when most independents sucked), Joseph Kung Long delivers martial arts action and thrills. An interesting cast (Bolo, Nick, Kuei, Mars, Fong Yeh, etc.) some original plotlines (the brother versus brother angle), and a brutal tone (enormously large body count) contribute to the effectiveness of THE SUPER KUNG FU KID. As a protagonist, Nick Cheung’s acting range is limited. But he delivers some great roundhouse kicks and uses his trademark nunchuks to take down his opponents. It appears Cheung studied Bruce Lee’s approach fairly well as his actions are reminiscent of Bruce’s. Only Cheung’s fights last a lot longer than Bruce’s, who would quickly end fights with a flurry of blows. Bolo Yeung does a great job here as the resourceful lead villain, Tiger. San Kuei gets an honorable mention as another vile cut throat. THE SUPER KUNG FU KID also features exploitative elements like bloody violence, female nudity, and a sadistic attitude which may turn some viewers off. Joseph Kung Hong maintains an uncompromising tone and mood by not including any humor into the film.

Since THE SUPER KUNG FU KID lacks any kind of opening (or closing) credits, the fight choreographers are unlisted, which is a shame because they can’t take credit for their overall great work. The fights dominate the film, never slowing down in their length or intensity. The action is pleasingly edited and authentically presented with no over-choreography or speeding up of the film. If anything, the fighting is almost too over-the-top with Nick Cheung literally battling an army of extras (consisting of the talents of Yuen Biao, Ching Siu Tung, Corey Yuen, and Alan Chiu). The violence is grim and realistically displayed with blood spurting everywhere on occasion. You’ll see sprawling gang fights with swords, staffs, nunchuks, daggers, and other tools of mayhem. At times there is too much action to make it believable, like when Cheung battles Bolo Yeung’s black-clad gangsters who appear out of the woodwork during the picture. The climatic fight between Cheung and his allies and Tiger and his gang begins in the woods, spills over onto a beach, and then finally ends up on a boat in the harbor. The fighting quality of the entire cast is to be commended, with the exception of the villainous Fong Yeh, who makes it to the final minutes simply by flailing his arms around like a mad man. Fong Yeh is a great character actor, but a lousy martial artist. But even his lack of skills can’t stop the pandemonium and madness that is THE SUPER KUNG FU KID.

The only extras are English language trailers for these upcoming Tai Seng special edition DVDs (all trailers are widescreen with Dolby Digital Mono sound):

• RUNNING OUT OF TIME
• DRAGON INN
• ARMAGEDDON
• THE DUEL
• FIST POWER
• BODY WEAPON
• DEADFUL MELODY
• THE ASSASSIN
• FISTS OF FURY (TV)

There is also the requisite 30-second Martial Arts Theatre compilation trailer.