Synopsis: Two kung-fu brothers meet up with an old drunken boxer, who takes a liking to them. It's revealed that he is the famous Tai Chi Shadow master, a rare and deadly form of kung fu. He teaches the two and together they become Robin Hood's, fighting the rich and helping the needy. This doesn't sit well with the local warlord, who kills the Tai Chi master. Now it's time to avenge their master's murder. (91 Mins)

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Views: The great Jacky Chen Shao Lung and Hsiang Yun Peng star as a couple of kung-fu idiots who are lucky to be trained up by an old drunken master in the art of tai chi shadow boxing. There's really no reason for any of it, but the old man seems happy to have students and his daughter seems keen to have the guys around. It takes half the movie for us to understand why the old master wants to have some well-trained students around him and soon, the fighters reach a level that will help them take down and destroy their masters old enemy!

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Actor and choreographer Jacky Chen returns for another kung-fu comedy inspired by the success of Jackie Chan's Snake In The Eagles Shadow, Drunken Master, and even some of his funnier Lo Wei efforts. With characters similar to the likes of the great Simon Yuen and Dean Shek in the aforementioned titles, Chen does his utmost best to give kung-fu fans the same amount of excitement and entertainment as Chan the man had done before him – even to the point of using sausages as nunchucks like Chan had done previously with a wig in Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu. But while Jacky Chen's martial arts ability and comedic acting are pretty damn impressive, the film itself just doesn't have the same kind of energy as a Jackie Chan title. Personally, I preferred the previous years Jacky Chen project, Of Cooks & Kung Fu, which was a lot more fun. Regardless, you can't deny the skills of Chen as a kung-fu actor and choreographer, having starred in over 50 films since his début in King Hu's classic, A Touch Of Zen in 1971. From there, Chen went on to star or appear in a host of classics including a number of titles for the Shaw Brothers studio such as Spiritual Boxer, Clan Of Amazons, and The Vengeful Beauty, along with Lau Kaw Wing's He Has Nothing But Kung Fu and a brief appearance in Enter The Dragon. Chen's time in the film industry came to a close after two decades with a cameo and action director credit in China Dolls starring Amy Yip and as the action director of Moon Lee's awesome Angel Terminators 2. In Tai Chi Shadow Boxing, his partner in crime is played by Hsiang Yun Peng – a recognisable actor who starred in kung-fu movies such as 36 Super Kids, Brave Commando, and The Dynamite Trio that would see him work alongside Jacky Chen once again – with the latter choreographing the fight action. While he isn't as gifted a mover as his co-star, Hsiang makes the most of his role and gets to throw some cool shapes while under the watchful eye of Chen.

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Popular actor Yu Sung Chao stars as the old master – although not as old as Simon Yuen's most famous characters nor quite as appealing, but he does a grand job throughout. Yu started his film career in the 1964 Shaw Brothers rom-com Black Forest and went onto star in almost 120 films including some classics such as One-Armed Swordswoman (which he also choreographed), One-Armed Swordsmen, Four Real Friends, One-Armed Boxer Vs The Flying Guillotine, Dance Of Death, Shanghai 13, and even Island Of Fire with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. The great Kam Kong, star and fan-favourite bad guy of over 60 films, returns once again for another villainous role as a bad monk. I've always been a huge fan of Kong's having watched him for years in many of the Jackie Chan 'Lo Wei' films, as well as others such as 18 Bronzegirls Of Shaolin, The Silver Spear, Shaolin Invincible Sticks, Iron Monkey, and more. A number of years before Tai Chi Shadow Boxing, Kong would have worked alongside Yu Sung Chao in Jimmy Wang Yu's aforementioned One-Armed Boxer Vs The Flying Guillotine and Four Real Friends, so it was a nice touch to have them back on screen here once again. A few more regular faces of 70s kung-fu cinema help fill out the cast such as Yung Shun Hing, Chang Chung Kui, and Cheng Sai Gang, along with actresses Chou Jui Fang and Wang Quen – from Jackie Chan films Snake & Crane Arts Of Shaolin and Magnificent Bodyguards – who appears for a fun fight scene against the guys...

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The film was directed by Yu Han Hsiang and although he had helmed over 60 features in his lifetime, I have to say it's not a name I would recognise from the kung-fu cinema world – or a director I'd be looking out for. Apart from Tai Chi Shadow Boxing, the only other title I would have seen of his would be Burning Of The Red Lotus Monastery starring Pearl Cheung and Meng Fei – also known as Red Lotus Temple On Fire. If Jacky Chen's choreography wasn't here to liven things up, I'd say Tai Chi Shadow Boxing would have been a pretty boring film to be honest, with things only really heating up in the second half. As expected, all the fun is saved for the grand finale which sees Jacky Chen, Hsiang Yun Peng, and their master go up against Kam Kong and his crony in an impressive showdown with some great moves!

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Overall: Not amazing and hardly fresh on ideas, Tai Chi Shadow Boxing passes the time and has some fun fight scenes that save it from being a complete waste!