Leg Fighters, The | aka Invincible Kung Fu Legs (1980) Review

The Leg Fighters | Blu-ray (VCI Entertainment)

AKA: Invincible Kung Fu Legs
Director: Lee Tso Nam
Cast: Ha Kwong-Li, Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, Peng Kang, Wang Yao, Lui Wan-Biu, Chin Lung
Running Time: 95 min.

By Paul Bramhall

After 1978 gave us The Zodiac Fighters and 1979 delivered Five Superfighters, in 1980 it was the turn of The Leg Fighters to kick off the new decade. A Taiwanese indie, at the helm was journeyman director Lee Tso Nam, a name synonymous with Taiwan’s indie scene. In the previous decade Tso Nam’s name was behind many of the kung fu flicks that had come out of Taiwan – The Hot, The Cool and The Vicious, Fatal Needles Vs. Fatal Fists, Phantom Kung Fu, and Shaolin Invincible Sticks to name just a few of them. Tso Nam was rarely out of work, and comes with a filmography which seems to indicate he said yes to anything he was offered, with the 70’s also gifting us with such Bruceploitation fare as Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger, Fist of Fury Part II, and Edge of Fury, all starring Bruce Li. In 1980 alone The Leg Fighters was 1 of 5 movies he’d direct, with a trio of dramas, and another slice of ‘fu with The Woman Avenger. 

When dealing with kung fu flicks Korean born superkicker Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, or Flash Legs as his fans affectionately refer to him, was a frequent collaborator with Tso-Nam. He shared top billing alongside Don Wong Tao (no relation) in 1976’s The Hot, The Cool and The Vicious and 1978’s Challenge of Death, as well as teaming up with Jim Kelly in The Tattoo Connection, also from ’78. Tao-Liang is one of the most recognizable names from the golden era of kung fu flicks, known for his powerful kicks, and also being John Liu’s taekwondo teacher. Much like his student, I’ve been doing my best to get into Tao-Liang’s movies for a long time, but there’s something that gets in the way of me really enjoying them.

Perhaps it’s that he has all the charisma of a plank of wood, or simply that as powerful as his kicks are, it takes more than legwork to be an effective screenfighter. In fairness, the blame for the latter could be placed at the foot (no pun intended) of the choreographers he was working with. While his bootmaster peers like Hwang Jang Lee and Casanova Wong got to work with the likes of Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung in their prime, Tao-Liang stuck mostly to working in Taiwan, and for whatever reason there’s no real standout fight in his filmography that delivers that wow moment. Basically what you’re left with is a plank of wood that can kick, and that’s not enough to carry a movie.

Luckily in The Leg Fighters he doesn’t have to, thanks to a charming turn from Ha Kwong-Li, an Opera Troupe trained actress that was discovered by Tso-Nam. Much like Jade Leung a decade later, Kwong-Li has the looks (and the height) of a model, and combined with a bubbly screen presence, she’s a joy to watch. Her training also means that she has the moves, and her acrobatic gracefulness and ability to kick at angles which don’t seem humanely possibly make her no slouch in the fighting department. It’s a shame Kwong-Li’s filmography is as short as it is, featuring in just 14 movies over a 15 year career, which included headlining the aforementioned The Woman Avenger, as well as featuring in Tsui Hark’s The Butterfly Murders and Zu: Warriors from Magic Mountain.

The plot of The Leg Fighters, as you may have guessed from the title, is as simple as it gets, there only to provide a framework for, well, lots of leg fighting. Proceedings open with a fight to the death pitting Tao-Liang against Peng Kang (Challenge of the Lady Ninja, Wild Panther), which he wins. The plot then switches to Kwong-Li’s enthusiastic kung fu student, and when her master must return to his hometown, he sends Tao-Liang as his replacement. After a lot of comedic shenanigans, eventually Peng Kang’s brother turns up seeking vengeance, also played by Peng Kang, and Tao-Liang teams up with Kwong-Li to take him on in (another) fight to the death. The end.

Such details as to why they’re fighting in the first place are limited to the usual tropes. Peng Kang’s character in the opening is also a bootmaster, and he feels that there can only be room for 1 master leg fighter, hence they have to fight. Really, I guess he should have told his brother what he was up to before he embarked on such a misadventure, but considering he plays both, maybe that was tricky. Either way, with such a simplistic plot, the question of what you fill 95 minutes with is one worth asking, and unfortunately the answer isn’t a pretty one.

I challenge anyone to find any post on the net discussing The Leg Fighters which doesn’t mention the presence of Chin Lung (Incredible Kung Fu Mission, Struggle Through Death). A decent screenfighter, and even occasional fight choreographer, here as the butler of Kwong-Li’s household he’s on comedy relief duty, and relief is the exact opposite of what you’ll feel whenever he’s on the screen. The problem is, he’s in around 90 of The Leg Fighters’ 95 minute runtime, and is unbearable. Falling squarely into the category of ‘whiney’ comedy, whether you watch the English dub or original language track, Lung’s constant whining and comedic hijinks will make even the most patient viewer question if they’ll make it to the end. 

The comedic train wreck is confounded further by the introduction of the Ding Dong and Dong Dong brothers, a pair of bandits who have an affinity for wearing bells. Yes, you read that correctly. Played by Wang Yao (Dragon Fist) and Lui Wan-Biu (Snuff Bottle Connection), apart from Yao’s native American inspired get-up, anytime they open their mouth you’ll be waiting for them to close it. Thankfully when they do, we actually get some worthwhile tandem style fighting, and the fact that their boss is played by Tsai Hung also earns some good will. Hung is a guy who has a distinctive look, and I’ll always remember him as the flying axe fighter who faces off against Ti Lung’s staff in the finale of Chang Cheh’s Five Shaolin Masters.

The fight choreography itself is handled by a team of 3, including Ding Dong himself Wang Yao. In fact all of them appear in front of the camera, with villain of the piece Peng Kang also contributing, and rounded off with Sun Jung-Chi, who plays the master who must return to his hometown. The choreography is unsurprisingly heavily reliant on leg work, and there’s an abundance of it. While it’s arguably of a high quality, there’s a spark missing from fights, perhaps due to the fact that they’re not particularly varied and rarely have much at stake.

Like any kung fu movie worth its salt though, The Leg Fighters saves its best for last, with the arrival of Peng Kang’s King of Ground Kicks looking to knock the living daylights out of Tao-Liang. Not only does he do just that, but Kang also fights charismatically, making the sight of Tao-Liang awkwardly falling everywhere a joy to watch. Lucky for him Kwong-Li (and, unfortunately, Chin Lung) followed him to the fight, and join the fray to deal with Kang’s onslaught of blows. It’s an entertaining fight to watch, and will satisfy any fan that likes their dose of ‘fu to be kick heavy, all of which results in a killer final freeze frame. 

It’s difficult to call The Leg Fighters anything other than mediocre, and often incredibly irritating, however it’s also far from being the worse kung fu flick out there. If you’re used to Tao-Liang’s wooden performances and clock in purely for his kicks, then there’ll be something to enjoy here, and Kwong-Li is a joy. Frankly, I could watch her performing axe kicks on hapless lackeys all day, so maybe I need to go and dig out The Woman Avenger. For everyone else, be prepared to suffer through almost relentless comedic hijinks that frequently outstay there welcome, with the trade-off of being you’ll eventually get to a worthy end fight. Ding Dong, I’m out.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5.5/10