Eureka Video Blu-ray Synopsis: Before students can leave the Shaolin temple, they must face a series of challenges and defeat the Shaolin Bronzemen, deadly fighters – some weilding weapons, others heavily armoured – who destroy anyone who crosses their path. Carter Wong (Big Trouble In Little China) will challenge them in both 18 Bronzemen and Return Of The 18th Bronzemen.

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MIA UK DVD Synopsis: The original cast from the '18 Bronzemen' return for this spectacular sequel. Carter Wong stars as the ruthless young prince who uses fear and intimidation to rule his kingdom and gain power. But when he is forced to learn the ancient art of Shaolin Kung Fu in a bid to protect his kingdom from the threat of rebellion, he faces the biggest challenge of his life. Before he can reclaim his throne, tradition demands that he challenge and defeat the invincible 18 Bronzemen. Can his training and dedication be enough to save his kingdom and restore his power?

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Views: The great Joseph Kuo follows-up his smash hit film with a sequel that really doesn't continue the story of the original 18 Bronzemen, but instead offers a brand new take on things with a lot of the same cast members and even more kung-fu. This time around, Carter Wong plays the 14th Prince of the Ching Emperor who has his dying fathers last will and testament forged to help make him the next Emperor, instead of his favoured brother – the 4th Prince. As the will is being read, an assassin enters the palace and kills the royal announcer – although not before the 14th Prince is named as the successor, with Wong having instructed the assassin to blame his brother if caught. But even as the most important man in the country, Wong still has fears that the resistance fighters will try to kill him aided by the disciples of Shaolin Temple!

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Return Of The 18 Bronzemen is definitely a different kettle of fish to its predecessor. While the challenge of the titular characters themselves may seem like Kuo is just re-treading old ground, he still manages to make the whole feel of the film very different to before – from character development to the tone of the film and even the design of the golden fighters themselves, with a lot more of them dressed in armour than just slapped with paint. Even the fights seem better (and lengthier) thanks to choreographers Cliff Lok and Chan Siu Pang who were just hot off the set from the first film. Of course, both had worked with Kuo before on films such as The Shaolin Kids and Blazing Temple, as well as Shaolin Death Squads which was also made the same year. Chan would return to work with Joseph soon after on The Old Master – a modern day kung-fu comedy starring Master Yu Jim Yuen, the real teacher of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and many other Hong Kong superstars. 1976 would see Joseph Kuo deliver all 3 movies of his Bronzemen Trilogy, which included the brilliant 8 Masters as well as the aforementioned Blazing Temple, which actually had some of its footage reused in 18 Bronzemen for Japanese audiences while other scenes were removed (from the original Hong Kong version). In fact, both versions have been restored in full HD as part of Eureka Video's release of Joseph Kuo movies in the Cinematic Vengeance box set, alongside this sequel which are all worth the watch. As legend would have it, there has been talk that this sequel (of sorts) was released in Hong Kong cinemas a full two weeks before the original 18 Bronzemen, although I couldn't say if the same thing happened for its Taiwanese release...

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With all that said, Return Of The 18 Bronzemen does result in an anti-climatic closure unfortunately which may leave viewers annoyed to some degree. After Wong's 14th Prince has been expelled from Shaolin Temple – angry that he was never able to complete his training and achievement of beating the Bronzemen – he returns to the palace only to be attacked by a female assassin dressed as a man. They have a fast and fun fight, with the assassin making a run for it and escaping. But before things can move forward, the film just comes to an abrupt end with Wong demanding that his men make an order of a newly designed weapon known as the flying guillotine! Although I was kind of caught-of-guard when the end credits came up, I did think it was an odd coincidence considering that Carter Wong went onto star in The Fatal Flying Guillotines the very following year – a film that would have nothing to do with Joseph Kuo, but saw Chan Siu Pang handle the action once again. I thought it was strange that an accomplished film-maker such as Joseph Kuo would close one of his movies in such a way, and especially one that was a sequel to one of his biggest hits. Did I miss something? Was there a deleted scene?

 

Looking back at Return Of The 18 Bronzemen I do think that the majority of the story was told in flashback. Wong (as the new Emperor) receives intelligence that the Shaolin monks are planning a revolt and although advised by his council to send in the troops, states that he will wait until the next day before he makes any final decisions. This is where the flashback begins – acknowledged by a screen-wipe that reveals a younger Wong and his entourage walking through the village. Here, Wong finds a monk selling small bronze statues of Shaolin disciples in fighting poses, and takes a particular interest in the markings on each of the figures. After learning that all students who graduate from Shaolin gain one of these tattoo's, Wong decides that he's going to go and train at the temple (although undercover as a commoner). Before then though, Carter and his team stop at a teahouse for refreshments where they encounter a boisterous young man (Polly Shang Kwan in disguise) who is kicking the ass of a few small-time thugs. As Wong steps in to have a go at him, the monk from before quickly breaks it up and the young man leaves without showing any fear towards his challenger. Soon after, Wong helps a lady out who finds herself in a spot of trouble – while quickly falling for her in the process. Determined to share his feelings with her, Wong sets out to find the young woman but soon comes up against her beloved (Roc Tien) and cheekily challenges him to a fight. During their battle, Wong realises that Tien has some great moves and notices that the tattoo's on his arms are that of a Shaolin student. This reveal only strengthens Wong's drive to get into the temple, which would be Wong's next stop. The flashback would only come to a close when Wong is expelled from Shaolin and makes his way down the steps of the temple. This not only explains the 14th Prince's hatred towards Shaolin Temple, but makes sense as to why he is so angry at everything else in life.

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Although it doesn't help the blunt ending of the film, I think taking the majority of the story as a flashback helps in making Return Of The 18 Bronzemen a better film. For the most part, it's definitely very well made – even if it was a rushed cash-in on the success of the original. While Roc Tien and Polly Shang Kwan are really only appearing in extended cameos, with Miss Kwan getting two fights such as the teahouse battle and final assassination attempt on Wong, it was still nice to have them appear. But it does mean that this is the Carter Wong show, and he most certainly gets the chance to shine as the anti-hero on a dark path who can bust some pretty serious moves. There's a little comedy throughout which is palatable, and the film is gorgeously filmed by regular Joseph Kuo cinematographer, Chujio Shintaro – with it looking the best it ever has on this Blu-ray release from Eureka Video. As a traditional kung-fu flick, Return Of The 18 Bronzemen gets a thumbs-up from me, and delivers plenty of exciting martial arts and training scenes that should keep old-school fans very happy!

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Overall: A great Carter Wong showcase, Return Of The 18 Bronzemen is a great old-school flick with plenty to love!

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Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and John Charles

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DVD Extras: Trailer

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Watch my unboxing video of this Eureka Video release HERE​