Masked Avengers

Rating:
Summary: Masked killers and tridents
Review: I have to say this Venoms flick ranks near the top on my favorites list. The story is great, with a band of martial artists tracking down a group of masked killers, with twists and turns and plenty of kung fu action. It only has 3 of the 5 Venoms, but still delivers the goods. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that the picture quality was not all that great, it looks like it was dubbed from an old vhs copy, and the sound is garbled in some spots. Regardless I am still happy that I purchased it for I hadn't seen it for quite some time, and would recommed it to all Venoms fans.

Rating:
Summary: More Venoms is always better
Review: I have to tell you all, I am just a Venoms Fanatic ! Kuo Chui, now Phil Kwok, is so "Dirty Harry" like in many of his roles. He is a quiet, soft spoken hero with a hidden identity. While I would rank Kid with the Golden Arm above Five Deadly Venoms, this one fits in nicely to my collection. The music to start you off makes me feel like we are in a 1970's theatre in Hawaii about to see a great thriller. This one does not dissapoint ! The pagan trident bad guys are pretty scary, which adds a new dimension to the Venoms, its like they have to solve a mystery thriller. The old temple is akin to a haunted house and its many traps at the end of the film make it great ! Why does Won Far(I forget the characters real name from 5.D.V.) always get killed off ? He lives at the end of 2 champions of Death, but gets a nice kill scene at the end of this one. Sound could be better, but characters are still there. For the True Venoms fans, novices might not be able to follow our boys in their regular roles. If I ever met Phil Kwok in person, I would fall to my knee's and put my left fist in the palm of my right hand and exclaim, "Master, please teach me !"

Rating:
Summary: Another Poor Print of A Kung Fu Classic
Review: Masked Avengers may be my favourite Shaw Brothers film... certainly it rates highly. I've bought, copied and stayed up late to tape it more times than bear mention. Naturally I was thrilled to see it on DVD... in digital format at last!!

But the product is mediocre at best. It is mastered from a very old video copy with plenty of artifacts, and very clearly not from film. It's not letterboxed, making much of the dialogue literally one-sided (since you can only see half of the screen), and as with other films released by NS and Ground Zero, there are gaps in the sound. To put it bluntly, there are plenty of better copies out there in private collections. Even the uncompleted synopsis on the box ("...a stunning climax at the Mask Gang's"-- what? The Masked Gang's what?!) indicates the level of carelessness that went into this "Limited Collector's Edition."

Still, this is likely to be the one and only digital print of a Chang Cheh milestone, and it's no worse than a 3am broadcast of Black Belt Theatre. Unfortunately, it's no better. Admittedly it's nice to see these old workhorses finally being immortalised and made available for sale. It would be nicer, however, if it could be done professionally, and with a bit of the affection that makes diehard fans buy them

Rating:
Summary: Another Poor Print of A Kung Fu Classic
Review: Masked Avengers may be my favourite Shaw Brothers film... certainly it rates highly. I've bought, copied and stayed up late to tape it more times than bear mention. Naturally I was thrilled to see it on DVD... in digital format at last!!

But the product is mediocre at best. It is mastered from a very old video copy with plenty of artifacts, and very clearly not from film. It's not letterboxed, making much of the dialogue literally one-sided (since you can only see half of the screen), and as with other films released by NS and Ground Zero, there are gaps in the sound. To put it bluntly, there are plenty of better copies out there in private collections. Even the uncompleted synopsis on the box ("...a stunning climax at the Mask Gang's"-- what? The Masked Gang's what?!) indicates the level of carelessness that went into this "Limited Collector's Edition."

Still, this is likely to be the one and only digital print of a Chang Cheh milestone, and it's no worse than a 3am broadcast of Black Belt Theatre. Unfortunately, it's no better. Admittedly it's nice to see these old workhorses finally being immortalised and made available for sale. It would be nicer, however, if it could be done professionally, and with a bit of the affection that makes diehard fans buy them

Rating:
Summary: Venoms Baby!!!
Review: Masked Avengers What a great movie! Though I really like the Venoms stuff in general, this is one of the best! Most people have at least heard of the 5 Deadly Venoms, but I've never thought it was the best 'Venoms' movie (movies w/ the same five guys), though it is very good (I think Ten Tigers, Kid w/ the Golden Arm are at least as good if not better). This story involves a gang of masked assassins-for-hire, whose bloodlust only increases with each kill. [Heading the gang is Venom Lu Feng, who often plays a 'badie']. Opposing the gang are several martial arts families who have united, since various members of their families and friends have been ambushed and killed by the gang. Chiang Shing plays the (surprisingly!) mature leader of the united families/ schools, and Kwok Choi plays an understated cook (initially)with a mysterious ties to the gang. The only flaw in the movie is that Lo Meng, Venoms strong man, is not featured (neither is Sun Chien, despite the credits erroneously listed on the box. Unfortunately, this sloppy tendency is not that uncommon). Only three of the five venoms actually appear. Nonetheless, this movie is chock full of the 'weird', including subtle hints of ritual black magic, strange machines of torture and tantric buddhism! Quite uncommon, but visually arresting. The gang members dance around in bacchanalian fashion, using tridents (their main weapon) to break huge jugs of wine (when they are not thrusting them through others). There are, at times, very dream-like scenes which add a delightful sense of spooky otherworldliness. I feel that director Chang Cheh is at his best when lending this dark and mysterious quality to his work, making for great late-night viewing. A definitive Venoms flick one should not miss! Needs to get cleaned up and slapped onto DVD, ASAP!

Rating:
Summary: Collector's Item
Review: Since Chang Cheh's recent passing, his films are more valuable now. This is definately a classic Chang Cheh film full of intrigue in a period setting. The strange and at times frightening masks together with the corruption and mystery depicted in the film present an atmosphere similar to his earlier "Five Deadly Venoms". The violence is more extreme than previous efforts due to their uniqueness. For example, one poor soul is tied to a spinning wheel while tridents are impaled on him. At times, it seems more like a horror film than a martial arts film. The DVD picture and sound aren't bad but its in full screen without a widescreen option.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another pig for the butcher's knife
Review: There are a lot of consistencies through the Venom movies. Lizard, he's the hero. In "The Kid with the Golden Arms," he plays the Hero to perfection. In this movie it takes a while to grasp the villain and hero. I found that a delight in this movie. Usually, in a Venoms flick, it is quit obvious who the good guy and bad guy is. However, in Masked Avengers, much like 5 Deadly Venoms, there are two guys that you think you know, but your not quit sure. A well-done story, plot, and action, which is to be expected.

In terms of comparing this to the other Venoms flicks.... it is always hard to compare. This is a top five Venom movie, but closer to five. I would say Crippled Avengers (Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms), The Kid with the Golden Arms, and 5 Deadly Venoms were all better then this Venom flick. That does not take anything away from Masked Avengers, it just so happens the Venoms make so many good movies your splitting hairs when you try to rank them.

If you are collecting old martial arts films, or Venom films, this movie needs to be in your collection. I would recommend the three Venom flicks I mentioned above first, as well as a few others before Masked Avengers. Nevertheless, it is still a very good movie to have in your collection.

Grade: B

Rating:
Summary: One of the best VENOMS films created!
Review: This is another film which consists of a group of deadly martial arts experts who conceal their identities. This time, it is a group of masked mercenaries who use tridents as their weapons of choice, and hide out in an old temple that has been booby trapped to keep intruders away. The gang has three chiefs, who also wear masks and don't know each other's identities. The gang kills for money, and celebrate afterwards with Paganistic rituals involving wild dancing and howling, fireworks, and drinking the blood of their victims mixed with wine. One of their victims is a young girl from the Lung family, who, while being escorted by her three brothers, is abducted by the gang and taken to the temple. One of her brothers is captured along with her, and the girl is forced to watch him brutally murdered before the gang takes turns repeatedly having their way with her. Afterwards, they keep her captive in the temple, where she eventually loses her mind.The two remaining brothers, Lung Chung Yu and Lung Chung Chan, are part of a police force. After they escape, their team of officers, led by Chi San Yun (Chiang Sheng) goes on an all out mission to find the gang that accosted them. The clues they gather eventually bring them to the small town of Ching Yang.The officers quickly locate their two main suspects, rich men named Lin Yung Chi (Lu Feng) and Fong Su Kwong (Wang Li). They proceed to try and discover whether or not these two men are indeed involved with the gang. While the officers go about investigating, their men are being killed one by one in various ways by the masked gang. Officer Liang Yung (Chu Ker) is suspicious of the strange cook at the local inn, played by Kuo Chui. Liang says he believes the cook, named Kao Fao, is involved with the gang in some way. But officer Cheng Chung (Chien Hsiao Hao) befriends the cook, and believes that he is innocent, causing friction between the two men. In the end, after lots of surprise twists and unexpected turns in the plot, the chiefs of the gang are revealed, and the remaining officers, with Chi San Yun at their head, storm the temple and take on the gang in what is definitely one of the most high-voltage fight sequences in Venoms history- complete chaos, with masked men and tridents flying everywhere, booby trapped doors, walls and statues slicing men in half. crushing them and shooting poison at them. Bodies are falling left and right and blood is spraying everywhere until finally there are only three men left fighting- the Venoms themselves! And you know what to expect from a fight between Opera trained Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng and Kuo Chui - utter insanity! I was initially disappointed when I learned that Lo Meng and Sun Chien weren't in this film (even though their names are listed on the box). But my disappointment soon turned to fascination. Oddly, the film had two characters very much like the ones I would have expected Lo Meng and Sun Chien to play had they been in this film. Chien Hsiao Hao's role as Cheng Chung was very reminiscent of Lo Meng's staple character- strong, loveable, and headstrong, and much like seeing Lo Meng killed in various films, it is shocking and upsetting when Cheng Chung meets his end.Chu Ker not only played a villain similar to many roles Sun Chien has had in the past, they also look so much alike that for a few seconds, I almost believed it really was Sun Chien in the role!While I'll always prefer Lo Meng and Sun Chien, I can't deny that Chien Hsiao Hao and Chu Ker added something very special to this film. Chien displayed excellent acting skills, good fighting, and he was extremely entertaining and fun to watch. Chu Ker may not have the deadly kicks of the Scorpion, but he sure as hell knows how to use a trident! Watch him spin it, twist it, flip it (and kill with it) in some really incredible maneuvers. Also a student of the Opera Arts, he's an all around better fighter than Sun Chien, though he lacks the size and overall electricity of Sun Chien on-screen. Check out the fight scene between Chien Hsiao Hao, Wang Li, Lu Feng and Chu Ker during the film, it is VERY impressive to say the least, beaten only by the final fight sequence at the close of the film. "Masked Avengers" is another of my top five favorite Venoms films- great fighting, old friends, new faces, and on top of it all, REALLY SCARY MASKS!

Rating:
Summary: This movie is ok....
Review: Well, I think that this movie is slow. It's has good fight scenes, and the movie has a great story, but it's slow!!!!!!!!
Overall, this movie is ok, it's one of the worst Shaw Brothers movie I've seen thus far.