Jackie (or Jacky) has far more spark in this film than in most of his Lo Wei productions. No, he's not completely unleashed into the full fledged Jackie yet, but you can definitely tell that he gave this 110%.
It's just a perfect little Shaolin Temple revenge story with a simple enough plot that anyone should be able to get behind. Unfortunately it appears the reviews here don't reflect this. I'm sure Jackie's later successes altering audience expectations have much to do with this. But if that's the case then you'd be approaching it all wrong.
In any case, this should be seen in the proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio (like every Kung fu film from this era) in order to appreciate it for what it truly is... a minor early masterpiece of the worlds most recognized film star.
It's just a perfect little Shaolin Temple revenge story with a simple enough plot that anyone should be able to get behind. Unfortunately it appears the reviews here don't reflect this. I'm sure Jackie's later successes altering audience expectations have much to do with this. But if that's the case then you'd be approaching it all wrong.
In any case, this should be seen in the proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio (like every Kung fu film from this era) in order to appreciate it for what it truly is... a minor early masterpiece of the worlds most recognized film star.