Bullet Points: Kung Fu Executioner
One of the toughest parts about writing for a site like Bulletproof Action is deciding what to watch. So it is always refreshing when one of the readers of the site offer up a suggestion on what to watch.
Reader Fletch Keilman pointed me in the direction of 1981’s Kung Fu Executioner. What Fletch didn’t tell me before I watched is that I was about to witness the chopsocky version of The Godfather… come to think of it the Francis Ford Coppola classic was severely lacking in nunchaku…
- Legion of Doom: One thing that was apparent from the word go is that Kung Fu Executioner had no shortage of bad guys. A bunch of underworld types are invited by Japanese businessman Gawa Shima (Chiang Tao, The Tattoo Connection) to a meeting where the topic of discussion is opium. Shima’s plan is to form a trading company with his nefarious guests. The trading company will be a front for their new opium business that will run out of the seaport town of Nam Cheong… but there is one major player in Nam Cheong that they are going to need to win over for all of this to work, he’s the man with the political connections and the man who all but controls the docks… he is Kung Fu Executioner’s answer to Don Vito Corleone, he is Li Ysun Nam. But what if Li Ysun Nam doesn’t want to play ball? Then our newly formed crime syndicate will call upon recent prison escapee Hung Chun Fai (Chan Sing, New Fist of Fury) to convince Li Ysun Nam or eliminate him.
- C’Mon Ride the Train: The star of the film, Billy Chong plays Li Kuen Kong, the youngest son of Li Ysun Nam, who is finally making his way home after spending some time in the United States. Li Kuen Kong is the Michael Corleone of the movie… the son his father doesn’t want to get mixed up in the family business. Li Kuen Kong arrives in Nam Cheong by train (ironically the train is also carrying the escaped convict Hung Chun Fai) and receives a hero’s welcome from his family. There’s a feast, a little kung fu and the family bashing that confusing English language Li Kuen Kong was forced to learn. But the happy times for the Li family are about to come to an end…
- The Moment of Truth: Li Ysun Nam and his eldest son Li Kuen Wei (the Sonny Corleone of the movie) meet with Shima and the other members of “the trading company” including Hung Chun Fai. Li Ysun Nam is pitched the opium idea and without hesitation, tells them he wants no part of it. Shima tells him to take a few days to think about it… but Li Ysun Nam says his answer won’t change, he does not want to be in the opium business. Li Ysun Nam has now officially pissed off a bunch of very bad people, so some very bad things start happening to them… for instance the bad guys throw a bunch of snakes threw the windows of the Li family home…. which I guess was Kung Fu Executioner’s version of the horse’s head… When that doesn’t work the crime syndicate hit Li Ysun Nam, while he is picking out oranges with his grandson at fruit stand… Li Ysun Nam is down, oranges are everywhere and there is a celebration at Evil Co. Trading Company, but the celebration is short lived…
- He’s Still Alive: Like the resilient Vito Corleone, Li Ysun Nam survives the hit, but finds himself in bad shape and a sitting duck at the hospital… Hung Chun Fai dispatches his knife wielding buddy to go finish the job… but fortunately for Li Ysun Nam his sons were there to thwart the second attempt on his life. After the incident. the smarter younger brother Li Kuen Kong knows they have to get his father out of the hospital and put him in hiding. Meanwhile the older hot head brother, Li Kuen Wei decides to get a group of guys together and go tear up the crime syndicate’s casino to send them a message. But Li Kuen Wei will soon regret the decision…
- This Means War: To retaliate against the casino incident, the bad guys kill Li Kuen Wei’s wife… this is about the time Li Kuen Kong takes charge. And it is a good thing Li Kuen Kong did, because it isn’t long before his older brother and even his father are dead. This is the point in the movie where Billy Chong really gets to shine as Li Kuen Kong… first we get Li Kuen Kong armed with nunchaku taking on five guys with samurai swords. This is followed by a montage where the Li family takes out a bunch of the crime syndicate montage style not unlike during the baptism scene from The Godfather. From there Li Kuen Kong gets to square off with Shima and last but not least the man who was sitting across from him on the train and the man who killed his father, Hung Chan Fai!
I had seen Billy Chong previously in a supporting role in Black Belt Karate, but I can’t honestly say he left a lasting impression on me in that one… but Kung Fu Executioner will go down as the movie that made me a Billy Chong believer. The guy could go… his fight scenes were top notch and he benefited greatly from a strong story (thanks Mario Puzo) and a rouge’s gallery of villains to vanquish.
Another thing I want to point out was the film’s use of blood. They didn’t overdo it, but there is no denying that the inclusion of blood made the death scenes in Kung Fu Executioner more impactful.
Now it is time to feel the impact of some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Familiar Face: Carl Scott of Soul Brothers of Kung Fu fame played Donny, a friend of the Li family. Donny assists Li Kuen Kong in getting revenge against the crime syndicate and Donny’s fight in the lumber mill was one of the movie’s many highlights.
- No Good Deed: The opening minutes of the movie show a shackled Hung Chun Fai fleeing prison… he ends up at a local blacksmith’s shack and the blacksmith helps remove Hung’s shackles. Once he is free, Hung uses the chains to choke the blacksmith to death. And what a great way to make the audience instantly hate Hung Chun Fai!
- The Bird is the Word: Looking for an excuse to get some kung fu action in before the action packed third act, there is a scene where Li Kuen Kong is out jogging and he accidentally bumps into a guy’s birdcage. The bird owner flips out and demands $5,000 for damages (the bird and the cage were fine). When Li Kuen Kong refuses to pay he finds himself having to deal with two of the bird man’s goons.
