In the world of kung-fu films there were the top budgeted ones (usually from the Shaw studios) with big sets and well rehearsed stars who looked good, could act and do some remarkable fight scenes. Then there were the films from the smaller studios that might have some good martial artists/actors (who sometimes lacked movie star looks) but didn't have the sets and ended up doing a lot of fight scenes in a field somewhere. And the fights were not so well rehearsed. These films sometimes made up for their short comings by having really exaggerated characters and lots of action. Well low and behold, here's one from the Shaw studios! Directed by third tier director Lo Mar and cast with minor actors from the Shaw stable.

A strange black garbed kung fu master wanders around beating up kung fu teachers, "correcting" their bad kung fu. He beats up a master and his three students who he adopted as orphans. The students go their separate ways to find a kung fu teacher who can teach them a style that will defeat the crazy master. Their master hides in an abandoned temple drinking.

That's the plot. The rest of the movie is fight scenes and training scenes. Since that seems to be the bulk of the film that's what I'll comment on. This is another film featuring Tony Leung Siu Hung, here as the beaten master. It's interesting to see him on camera before he became one of the biggest fight choreographers of the past ten years. The fights in this film start out weak but get much better as the film progresses. The choreography is unusual at times but that doesn't mean it always works. Unfortunately, Lo Mar is at the director's helm and that means that the camera angles are not very good. The three students don't come off with any individual personality.

However this is a great example of a classic kung fu film since it has all of the elements of the cheap budgeted film. Fighting in a field, overacted characters, mistimed fight scenes and lots of young men dressed as old men. There's something about this sort of film that is just appealing.

FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS is a serviceable kung fu flick from the Shaw Brothers stable, very much one of their lesser-budgeted productions but nonetheless a film which proves to be reasonably enjoyable. The bare storyline is about a crazy, black-garbed kung fu fighter who travels around the land, 'correcting' the kung fu of people he meets, which typically means he beats them up.

A handful of fighters take exception to the stranger's antics and decide to train for six months using the usual novel methods. Inevitably they then team up for the lively climax. Truth be told, this is very much a Shaw version of Jackie Chan's DRUNKEN MASTER, and there's even a drunken master and a beggar in the film. There are no big stars here, but there's a wealth of action which is certainly acceptable if not quite top tier.

Okay, you don't see a kung fu movie everyday where a man comes to town to correct your broken kung fu. In comes 5 Superfighters, a high-octane kung fu flick from the Shaw bros. with excellent choreography.

A little taste of the movie, again a master comes to town to fix kung fu he feels is not correct. He goes to random schools and kicks the hell out of the supposed masters. Next he comes across 3 individuals of the monkey clan and defeats them and their master. They agree to split up and learn kung fu for 6 months where they would then try and get revenge for the beat down they took earlier.

The action is topnotch nothing short of Shaw Bros. goodness. There are a lot of Shaw bros. films to checkout and this is one of them. If you come across this, enjoy and hold on to it, this movie is a real gem. 9/10