The Film: The opening prologue shows us how the evil Manchus, under the guidance of the Evil Wong Wu Ti , 'The Shaking Eagle Claw' master (which is sort of like eagle claw with epilepsy), have usurped the rebels, particularly the Shaolin Abbot, Wan Hung, who is being pursued by Eagle Claw and his men. After being driven into the mountains, the bloodied and harried monk has to face the deadly Eagle Claw, whom the poor Abbot is no match for. Narrowly escaping, he is saved by two carefree farmers, Shou Tung and Tai Pan, sort of a Dean and Jerry/Abbot and Costello pair of bumbling, young, backwoods bumpkins.

The two are quite proud to have rescued the famous rebel leader, and they go on about their business while the Abbot heals himself in their mountain home. One day while in town, Shou Tung and Tai Pan run afoul of some local thugs, who are pestering the lovely (and secret rebel) Ms. Sheng. Although they prevent the thugs from taking advantage, that is, drugging and raping Ms. Sheng, the two are beat up and return home despondent over their lack of fighting skill. And, in a moment showing the films definite comic leanings, instead of,...oh, I don't know...asking the Shaolin monk they have living with them to teach them?,... they begin to self train themselves in the front yard, awkwardly attacking each other until the monk finally offers to show them the true way of martial arts. A montage of scenes shows how the Manchu's are terrorizing the countryside looking for the Abbot while Shou Tung and Tai Pan are being trained. Frustrated with doing nothing but training, the two agree to sneak off into the town, one at a time, to have some fun. Shou Tung is first, and once again, he arrives in the town only to defend Ms. Sheng, this time with his newly acquired martial skills. The thugs and Manchu soldiers recognize the Abbot's 'Low Hand Fist' style being used by Shou Tung, and instantly expect his being allied with the monk. Knowing this, Eagle Claw draws closer, both Shou Tung and Tai Pan find their skills tested, and there are some rather tragic plot twists before the finale. Since the Low Hand Fist Style is no match, how will the Abbot and Shou Tung be able to defeat the dreaded Shaking Evil Claw style? Lets just say, the borrow a page from the Jimmy Wang Yu -"If you cant beat them with skill, beat them with booby traps"- Handbook, in a great ten minute fight scene finale.

!8 Fatal Strikes (1980) is a really good classic kung fu movie. It has a decent story, villain, lead characters, and is well paced with numerous good fights and nice stuntwork. Stars, Tung Wei (who plays Shou Tung, actor in Incredible Kung Fu Mission & Golden Mask and action director of 18 Fatal Strikes as well as Twin Dragons, Peacock King, and Accidental Spy) and Shia Tein (who plays Tai Pan, a veteran character in tons of films like Drunken Master & Snake in the Eagles Shadow) are a amiable pair of leads, with Tung Wei being the handsome fighter, and Shia Tein the comedic fool... However, what keeps Fatal Strikes being just good instead of great are a few minor flaws. The film is primary comedic for about the first two-thirds, with the usual wacky HK facial grimacing, wordplay, and black humor (like how both Shou Tung and Tai Pan keep excitedly patting the wounded Abbot on the back, making him cough up blood). But, then, the film takes a strange turn and gets unexpectedly dark, violent, and dramatic for the remainder of the movie, which is just a very odd, jarring shift in tone. Also, this is one of those films that have the main guys train for about a day or a week, and suddenly they are kung fu masters. The training scenes are very short, not very elaborate, but in his next fight, Shou Tung is expertly handling double broadswords while taking on a group of spear wielding guards. All this, despite the fact that he had no weapons at the farm where the Abbot was training him. It is the kind of narrative error that makes you realize just how beautiful a film like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is, with its lengthy training sequences establishing the character and skills. And, on one final note, the dubbing on Eagle Claw is ridiculously overdone, with perhaps the worst generic "WOOOO-AHHHH!!!" vocalizations I've ever heard in a kung fu film. Still, despite its flaws, it is an entertaining feature, just not perfect or a classic.

The DVD: The very first Ground Zero-Wu Tang DVD release, far from eye-popping, but acceptable for those who still remember the days of UHF Kung Fu Theater on TV and washed out vhs at the video store. Picture- The fullscreen picture shows your average amount of wear for an old kung fu film, particularly in some annoying horizontal white lines/scratches that pop up throughout most of the film. Overall though, the picture has strong color and sharpness, and at a budget price, should be a nice buy for the chop socky fan. Also, in the 48 min mark, the picture appears to drop-off (and I don't mean layer change drop-off) into black for a few seconds before returning. Sound- 2.0 mono, English dub with some slight distortions, but overall nice, with the reverb heavy fight fx blaring through your speakers. Extras- One of Ground Zero-Wu Tang's more barebones titles, before Ground Zeros Hidden Chambers Collection got rolling. 14 Chapters. Bonus Fight Scene, lasting 3 mins, film unspecified. Wu Tang music video. Rza film intro, and trailers to Gangstresses, Blazin', and a commercial for Ground Zeros Kung Fu Classics.