Dreadnaught (1981)

Police hunt down notorious murderer White Tiger and attempt to arrest him, but he escapes their trap (murderously). His wife is not so lucky, and her loss drives him more than half mad. He hides out in an opera troupe in Wong Fei-Hung's hometown, where a mousy young Yuen Biao catches his attention - not for good reasons, and not good for his future prospects.

DREADNAUGHT surfs the wave of kung fu comedies popularised a few years earlier by Yuen Wo-Ping and Jackie Chan, but underneath the actually funny gags and random hijinks lurks the soul of a horror movie. Yuen Shun-Yi stalks the film like a monster, a source of dread beyond reason or compromise. No evil plans or agendas to foil, just animalistic menace.

For much of the film he just lurks, but when he is forced into the light he derails whatever frivolous activities the other characters are engaged in and plunges them into terror, gradually driving events towards an inevitable showdown.

This is what makes the film stand apart from the pack. For the most part it follows a familiar template, well-executed here (witness one of the few genuinely engaging lion dances in cinema) but doesn't do anything much that hadn't been seen before. When White Tiger surfaces though, the film becomes wholly its own thing.

Kwan Tak-Hing ends on a high note with his last performance as Wong Fei-Hung, showing why the character was so beloved and iconic. Leung Kar-Yan is cocky but kind-hearted as his student Foon, whilst Yuen Biao is adorably if implausibly mousy as... well, Mousy in the original subtitles. Would have liked to see more of Lily Li Li-Li, but that's basically my default state when I wake up each morning.

We are treated to some top-notch Yuen clan choreography, with a series of inventive fights including some classic "fighting without appearing to fight" duels and some creative weapons (particular in the climax). It's not as action-packed as some of its contemporaries, probably because it puts more effort into developing the story.

It's perhaps because there's not enough action that it doesn't quite reach the upper echelon of kung fu comedies with the likes of The Prodigal Son and The Young Master, but it holds its own just a rung below them as a well-rounded, high quality film with a somewhat unique spin on the formula.