If you were a sleazy shipping magnate, who would you choose to strong-arm a bunch of obstinate dock workers?
If you said Bloodsport behemoth Bolo Yeung, that’d be a great choice, and here – the former Mr. Hong Kong reveals why he wasn’t leading man material but rather, looked the part of a guy who’d lay anybody out for looking at them wrong.
In Chinese Hercules, the opposition is lead by Shen Wei Ta a man who cannot escape his past, but who is very capable of escaping everything else – seriously, what a complete wimp. He’s a super-reluctant pugilist after killing his future brother-in-law years before, with nothing but “hands made of blood,” and who basically just wanted to live the life of a stevedore.
However, the pier boss Chan has other ideas.
Usually, heroes take a Network-style, “mad as hell and not taking it anymore” approach, but Shen Wei Ta is a baby. But in his defence, the dock workers aren’t much of a threat either, as Hercules beats down one by one (not that he’s particularly systematic in his approach, it’s just that the opponents haven’t’ strategized beyond attacking in single-file)
Finally, Shen Wei Ta grows a backbone after his ex-fiancée’s “You may die, but at least you’ll die a man!”
In the end, good (well, to some extent – cowardice and avoidance aside) prevails over evil.
And the dock workers are able return to their lives of quiet desperation loading bags of rice onto container ships.
This is hardly On the Waterfront, and when compared to other 70s action flicks, it’s barely a contend-ah.
**1/2 (out of 5)
Really Awful Movies 