Leopard Fist Ninja (1982) Review

“Leopard Fist Ninja” Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Return of Twin Dragons
Director: Nam Gi-nam
Cast: Im Ja-Ho, Baek Hwang-Gi, Kim Yoo-Haeng, Jo Choon, Im Hae-Rim, Chia Kai, Kim Ki-Beom, Jo Hak-Ja, Park Jong-Seol, Choe Jong-Sook, Kang Cheol
Running Time: 83 min.

By Paul Bramhall

By the 1980’s the popularity of the taekwon-action genre was starting to wane in its native Korea, a decline brought on by the hugely popular release of Drunken Master, which saw the kung-fu comedy become the order of the day. As with any shift in genre tastes, not every filmmaker was in a hurry to adapt to changes in the current trends, and in Korea one such director was Nam Gi-nam. After spending the 70’s helming movies like Return of Red Tiger and Double Dragon in Last Duel, Gi-nam maintained his poker-faced approach to action movies into the 80’s, of which The Return of Twin Dragons falls squarely into the category of.

While the likes of Jeong Jin-hwa (Elton Chong) and Seo Byeong-heon (Benny Tsui) were attempted to be sold as local equivalents to Jackie Chan, usually cast as high kicking comedic buffoons in a series of Drunken Master inspired outings, another new face on the block named Im Ja-ho wasn’t so lucky. Arguably arriving in the taekwon-action genre a little too late in the game, while Ja-ho had spent the late 70’s playing supporting roles in the likes of the Bobby Kim vehicle The Mark of the Black Dragon and Chang Il-do headliner The Martial Arts of Dharma, it wasn’t until the 80’s that he’d become a leading man. Along with Keum-Kang Martial Arts, it would be The Return of Twin Dragons in 1982 that gave Ja-ho his first starring role, although unfortunately none of the productions he starred in proved to be a hit at the box office.

In fact I’d argue Ja-ho would likely have become lost into the annals of taekwon-action history if it wasn’t for another last-ditch attempt to make him a star of the genre with Kim Si-hyeon’s 1984 production The Uninvited Guest of the Star Ferry. While the title may not be immediately recognizable, it was one of many Korean productions that Hong Kong distributor Godfrey Ho picked up as part of his IFD Films outfit, and found itself subject to Ho’s now legendary cut ‘n’ paste technique of adding gweilo ninja footage featuring Richard Harrison. Re-branded and re-dubbed for the western market as Ninja Terminator, the mix of Garfield phones, talk of the Ninja Empire, and Hwang Jang Lee in a blonde wig saw it become a cult hit, and for many western audiences Ja-ho became known as Jack Lam – the unintended star of the fiasco (which was followed by the Ja-ho featuring Poisonous Rose Stripping the Night becoming Ninja Champion!).

The Return of Twin Dragons was also acquired by Godfrey Ho, which (as with so many taekwon-action movies) sees his name slapped on as the director in the English print (which, also as with so many taekwon-action movies, is the only available way to see it). Re-titled Leopard Fist Ninja, it at least has the dignity of being one of the last productions that Ho got his hands on prior to his obsession with completely changing storylines and incorporating gweilo ninja footage into the mix. With that being said, there are already signs of Ho’s tendency to start chopping up and re-editing productions to fit what he believed would be sellable to a western audience on display in Leopard Fist Ninja. While a similarly acquired production like 1979’s A Man with Seven Faces was left intact, with only the title changed to Blood of Dragon Peril and an English dub added, here scenes are noticeably out of order and frequently nonsensical.

Admittedly not all of the nonsensical elements are down to Ho’s meddling. Opening with a family consisting of a husband and wife, their 2 kids, and a grandfather hiding away from marauding Japanese invaders, the reason they’re being targeted is due to them being in possession of a secret manual. It’s an 80’s martial arts movie, so of course the manual details how to master a deadly martial art technique right? No, actually it’s the secret to Korean pottery. Is this the first movie where the secret manual the villains are after reveals how to make the perfect vase? Perhaps. What’s more unusual is that Ho didn’t decide to change the nature of the manual in the English dub (which initially I thought he may have, changing it to pottery just for laughs, but upon reading the original Korean plot synopsis, I can confirm that it’s a pottery manual in both versions).

That’s not the only oddity though, with one of the kids being played by Seo Jeong-hee (A Woman’s Castle, Milky Way in Blue Sky). When both parents are murdered the grandfather helps the kids narrowly escape and start training in martial arts for revenge, cue the standard scene of showing them practicing their moves, then throw in a cut to 20 years later and Jeong-hee has now become….Im Ja-ho. That’s right, someone who was a girl when they where a kid grows up to be a heavily moustached guy, and there’s zero explanation for it. Let’s just say gender fluidity has been around for a lot longer than the actual expression itself. The other sibling grows up to be played by taekwon-action regular Baek Hwang-hi (Golden Dragon, Silver Snake, Secret Executioners), here given a rare opportunity to not only play a more prominent supporting role over his usual lackey appearances, but also be one of the good guys!

The rest of the plot for the most part consists of Il-ho getting into fights with an assortment of lackeys while seeking out the Japanese general responsible for his parents death, played by the most recognisable bald fella in the taekwon-action genre, Cho Chun (Returned Single-Legged Man, Eagle vs. Silver Fox). Although here he’s adorned with a funky wig, so that may not be a fair statement. Amusingly Chun has enlisted the services of a Japanese swordsman for hire, played by Kim Yu-haeng (Revenge of Drunken Master, Evil Hits Evil), who comes flanked with 4 foreigner fighters that aren’t credited anywhere (although if you go off the pictureless profiles on the least reliable Asian movie resource on the internet – the IMDB – they could be Willie Freeman, James Exshaw, Chuck Horry, and Dicky Hunt). At least moderately proficient in some form of martial arts if definitely not in screen fighting, the foreigner threat feels largely superfluous.

Far better is the introduction of another revenge seeking orphan played by Choe Jong-suk (Martial Arts for Revenge, Fist of the Golden Monkey), who brings a welcome dose of ferocious female footwork to the table. Despite a fleeting filmography of just 7 movie appearances between 1979 and 1985, her flying kicks make her a welcome presence, and when she teams up with Im Ja-ho and Baek Hwang-hi to take on Kim Yu-haeng in a 3-on-1 fight that precedes the finale, Leopard Fist Ninja delivers the intended entertainment value. While it’s impossible to discern who the fight choreographer was based on the available resources, there’s a good chance it was Hwang-hi considering he’d increasingly moved into a choreographer role during the 80’s. The fight scenes also show why director Gi-nam put his faith in Ja-ho as a taekwon-action leading man, since his kicks feel legitimately dangerous, conveying a palpable sense of power and speed.

Indeed for a dose of no frills taekwon-action Leopard Fist Ninja delivers the goods, although in its current form it comes with the significant caveat of needing to tolerate the increasingly out of order fight scenes. In fact one editing choice that Godfrey Ho made inexplicably attempts to blend 2 fight scenes together, which sees the opponent Ja-ho is fighting against bizarrely change mid-way through the fight. Attention to detail clearly wasn’t the order of the day, although looking at it from a positive perspective, it could well be the small quirks that maintain audiences attention between the fight scenes (including one bizarre scene, which I suspect was supposed to be the closing one, where a bare chested Ji-ho and Hwang-hi cheerfully hold hands and stroll off screen after coming out victorious in one of the many fights!). Far from being top tier, Leopard Fist Ninja should satiate anyone looking for a teakwon-action fix, but certainly nothing more.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10