Bullet Points: Fatal Needles Fatal Fist

There is really no explanation for it, but I have found myself on a real Don Wong kick as of late. I have watched numerous Don Wong movies over the past month, but the one that stood out the most to me was 1978’s Fatal Needles Fatal Fist…

• Super Cops: The problem with being police officers with super cop reputations like Captain Chow Lung (Lo Lieh, The Lady Hermit) and his partner Meng Hu (Don Wong, The Hot, The Cool and The Vicious) is you become a target for trouble. Any criminals that want to engage in nefarious activities know they are going to have to eliminate the famed “Bandit Catchers” if they want to be successful in their underworld ventures… and in Fatal Needles Fatal Fist little time is wasted in eliminating Captain Chow from this mortal coil. Meng Hu is a mess after this, blaming himself for not being able to save his partner… he turns to alcohol and forsakes his law enforcement duties and eventually even his own identity.

• Best Little Whorehouse: Meng Hu wakes up drunk and penniless at the local brothel, the madam confronts him and starts making threats about what they do to patrons who can’t pay. But Meng Hu doesn’t care, he tells her to break his legs, break his arms, strangle him and throw him in the river… he doesn’t want to live, he doesn’t even want to tell her his name. So the madam names him Chin Chai and gives him a chance to work off his debt at the brothel… but his brothel job doesn’t last long after he intervenes when one of the working girls is being abused by one of the customers… a fight breaks, out Chin Chai ends up wounded during it and instead of seeking medical attention, he ends up out on the street.
• The Local Magistrate: The wounded Chin Chai ends up at the home of Magistrate Chen, after Chen’s daughter Yun finds the bloody Chin Chai on the street. Once he is well enough, Chin Chai is given a job working at the Chen estate, working alongside Siao Fu, who ends up becoming the friend that Chin Chai needs. Chin Chai proves to be a good addition to the staff until trouble comes to the Chen house in the form of Chin Pao and two henchmen, who work for the crime boss Chung Tung. Chin Pao wants Magistrate Chen to turn the blind eye when Chung Tung’s narcotics shipments roll through town… Magistrate Chen will never comply to that, so things end up getting physical with Yun, her brother Kang and even Siao Fu get in on the action… all while Chin Chai refuses to fight.

• The Coward: Chin Chai labels himself a coward and after his non-action when Magistrate Chen needed him most, nobody is arguing that fact. Magistrate Chen respects the fact that Chin Chai had the courage to admit he was a coward and that may be why he wasn’t thrown out on his ass and continues to be employed at the Chen estate. But it is after being sent out on an errand to pick up some wine, that Chen Chai accepts who he really is… taking on both of Chin Pao’s henchmen and coming to the aid of his friend Siao Fu. Meng Hu is back baby!!
• I Was Told There Were Needles In This Movie: With the movie’s hero now back at full power, it is time to give him a dragon to slay and that is where Chung Tung really steps up the evil and his fatal needles come into play… and they also go into the body of Magistrate Chen! The only way to safely remove the needles is if Meng Hu can convince Yun and Kang to go against their father’s wishes and allow Chung Tung to traffic his narcotics without interference. But ol’ Magistrate Chen has a surprise up his sleeve (in addition to fatal needles in his body) which really throws a monkey wrench into everything and paves the way for the Meng Hu vs. Chung Tung final showdown.

Fatal Needles Fatal Fist does a tremendous job of building the story. Meng Hu starts off on top of the world as one half of the famed “Bandit Catchers”, drops to the lowest of lows as a drunk who wants to die and when it is all said and done, he is whole again. Making you give a damn about the Meng Hu character the entire time, is Don Wong and his strong performance.

And props to the rogues gallery that oppose Wong’s Meng Hu/Chin Chai, who make it easy to want to see the miserable Meng Hu get his shit together and kick the shit out of the bad guys.

Now, let me get a few Bonus Bullet Points together…

• AKA: Fatal Needles Fatal Fist is also known as Fatal Needles vs. Fatal Fists.
• Directed By: Fatal Needles Fatal Fist was directed by Lee Tso-Nam, who also directed such films as Edge of Fury and The Tattoo Connection.
• Words of Wisdom: “Everyone is different from everyone else” – Chin Chai