Crippled Avengers (1978)

It does rather come with the territory on these films, that in order for there to be action, there must be some terrible act to either avenge or on which to get revenge. In this case it is a bit more brutal than normal since the heroes are the ones who are subject to the terrible act. See Tian-du Dao not only saw his wife murdered, but also saw his son Chang Dao lose his arms; this has led to him being brutal and unforgiving himself – and his son, complete with finely draft iron arms and martial art skills, is just as bad. For fun they cripple a group of strangers; leaving one without legs, one without sight; one deaf and mute; and another of his senses, leaving him a fool. The four set out for revenge, joining a martial arts master to learn skills which compensate for their disability and heighten their existing skills.The opening set-up of this film is probably a bit too harsh, because it is hard to relax into a film where the ones we are supposed to care for are having bits chopped off them or being left in some other terrible state. Although this does set-up the villains well, I thought that it was too dark and too quickly, although once the fight back begins, it justifies this narrative device. The group learn to heighten their remaining skills and I quite enjoyed how it worked in the training sections, but also in the fights themselves. There is a bit of a gimmick to the whole thing, but the acrobatics are generally good even if the fight sequences themselves are not quite as good as I would have liked – too often I was more appreciating the movement and the ideas, rather than really getting into the fight.The 5 actors are not quite as good as used in other 5 Venoms films – here they are less characters and more their disability. They still move very well and physically it is hard to fault their acrobatic skills. The sets are overly familiar from those used in other films (particularly the courtyard of the final fight reminded me of the Magnificent Ruffians) but generally it moves well. It is an enjoyable film once it gets over the necessary roughness of the setup, however it is still limited by the gimmicks of the plot and there are stronger films featuring the five.

The righteous Du Tian Dao is away when a trio of "the Tigers of Tian Nan" show up at his mansion; they cut off his wife's legs and his son's hands. Upon arrival, he kills all three of them, but his wife dies from her injuries. Years later, a blacksmith makes a pair of iron hands for the son, Du Chang. These hands are spring-loaded and can extend a foot or so; they can also shoot darts from the fingertips. Chang makes short work of the sons of the three men who maimed him. When blacksmith Meng Lo belittles Chang, he's poisoned and thereby made mute and has his eardrums ruptured, deafening him. Philip Kwok is blinded. When Wu Gui bumps into Chang, he promptly has both legs amputated. Stalwart Wang Yi (Chiang Sheng) vows to avenge all three, but ends up being turned into "an idiot." (This is accomplished by tightening a metal band around his head...) Needless to say, there are some humorous exchanges between the quartet (Sheng literally "flips out" at one point, jumping and rolling and flipping all over the place.). They eventually meet Sheng's Master and are taught Kung Fu. Wu Gui gets a new pair of iron legs, courtesy of blacksmith Meng Lo. Kwok is taught to use his heightened sense of hearing. Meng Lo is taught "signing" of a sort, feeling words as they're traced into his palms by fingertips (none of that lip-reading nonsense, here), but naturally prefers to let his fists and feet do his talking for him. Kwok and Sheng at one point perform an acrobatic ballet together, using a metal ring about a foot and a half in diameter that has to be seen to be appreciated. And thus the stage is set for the Final Showdown(s). One of the very best to Chang Cheh's Shaw Brothers classics.

I don't know why this is entitled, "Return of the Five Deadly Venoms". When I saw it, the title was "Crippled Avengers". I think some idiot mistakenly labeled it "Return..." because 5 of the six actors from "Venoms" is in it. Thing is, of those six characters, one of the guys playing a Venom is not in Crippled Avengers, so it's definitely not a return at all. Here are the "returnees" as I know them by their characters in Venoms: Toad, Scorpion, Lizard, Centipede and the Apprentice that was schooled in all 5 fighting styles.For anyone interested, this same group shows up in another movie I just saw called, "Killer Army". I really enjoyed this movie. The fight choreography I see in most action films today makes me want to hurl--seriously, it's pathetic and disgusting. I've been told the actors in these movies attended the same school Bruce Lee did--a theater school where they learned drama, acrobatics and swordplay.All of the scenes are shot on sound stages (which always gives films an otherworldly feel which I think boosts the audience's sense of fantasy.)It's a little 2-dimensional, but you have to remember the era. Besides, these films were stories about legends and folk heroes, so the lack of the dimension and the scenery lends it a storybook feel.This story is about justice. It's about how even when circumstances look bleakest, you still have the choice to turn your situation into something positive or negative. Watch this and compare the villains to the heroes. This is white-hat/black-hat storytelling at its most romantic.

Any serious fan knows this as either CRIPPLED AVENGERS or MORTAL COMBAT. We need to find some better artwork to associate the image more correctly. It's actually a pretty good film, featuring some amazing action sequences and everybody's favorite 70s visual tropes (zooms, extreme close-ups, etc.). It was recently re released on DVD as part of the Shaw Brothers collection. The plot's a classic with the four heroes all being crippled in one way or another by a Manchu (?) warlord, and the foursome learning to work together despite their handicaps to fight back. Faces and style will be familiar to fans of the 5 Deadly Venoms as it's by the same director and features much of the same cast.