Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

It's ironic that the film which established Jackie Chan as Bruce Lee's heir apparent defined his persona in opposition to that of Lee and was made by the young star whilst contracted out on load after his regular employer decided he was box office poison following a string of flops.

Essaying for the first time the underdog role that was to become his stock-in-trade, Chan here plays a none-too-bright orphan, Chien Fu, taken in by the good-hearted master of a martial arts school, Teacher Li. But, with Li away on business, he's being treated as a punching bag by the school's second-in-command, a cowardly bully.

One day Chien Fu happens on an old man, Pai Cheng-Cheh, (Siu Tien Yuen) being attacked by the students from a rival school. He goes to Pai's aid, little realising that the apparently harmless old man is actually a Grandmaster of the Snake's Fist style.

In time Pai takes on Chien Fu as his pupil and teaches him the Snake's Fist. Mindful that the practitioners of the rival Eagle's Claw style have dedicated himself to wiping out all followers of the technique, he also counsels Chien Fu not to use the style lightly.

Chien Fu tries to heed the Grandmaster's advice but when his old master, now returned, suffers a beating at the hands of a mercenary martial artist brought in by the rival school, he is forced to show his hand. This of course attracting the attentions of the Eagle's Claw sect, who have been hunting the elusive old man for a while.

The evil Lord Sheng Kuan (Jang Lee), an Eagle's Claw master who has devoted his life to mastering the techniques of the Snake's Fist so he can exterminate its practioners, fools Chien Fu into revealing the whereabouts of Pai Cheng-Cheh and, for good measure, gives the young man a solid beating.

Can Chien Fu develop a new style to counter Eagles Claw and reach Pai before Lord Sheng does… Like, duh, yeah.

Haven't we seen this one before? No, that was Drunken Master, a remake-cum-sequel with a 99.94% identical story and the same personnel in the obvious hope of lighting striking twice.

The problem Snake in the Eagles Shadow faces a quarter century on is in being of more than "of historical interest", with both Chan and director Yuen Woo Ping having gone on to much greater things. So, while the film offers a good showcase for Chan the martial artist, this is at the expense of not featuring any of his crazy death-defying stunts. And while Ping always keeps things moving at a fast pace, his direction lacks the inventiveness and assuredness of an Iron Monkey, with little to offer other than a breathless array of fights.

Elsewhere, it's pretty much the usual story: moments of comedy that don't always work; cheesy/inappopriate music (is that Jean Michelle Jarre we hear?); ALL CAPS sneering villains like Jang Lee and Roy Horan, and all those other things we love Hong Kong cinema for…

But, all told, a reasonable opening salvo from the Chan/Ping/Siu Tien Yuen combo.