Bullet Points: 18 Fatal Strikes

There is a lot I owe to my time at Bulletproof Action… the hidden action gems I have discovered while trying to figure out what the hell I was going to write about, the friendships that I have forged with fellow action fanatics around the globe and the rekindling of my love of classic Kung Fu cinema.

Every month I look forward to sitting down and reviewing a movie straight out of the old Kung Fu Theater days, this month it is 1978’s 18 Fatal Strikes…

• An Offer He CAN Refuse: The movie takes place after the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Qing Dynasty. In the opening scene, the evil master of the “Shaking Eagle” style Wong Wu Ti (representing the Qing) makes an offer to Abbot Wen Hung formerly of the Shaolin Temple to join the Qing instead of the rebel forces. Wen Hung refuses the offer and moments later he is throwing down with Wong Wu Ti. But the fight doesn’t end well for Wen Hung, who is severely injured thanks to Wong Wu Ti’s lethal “eagle claws” with the worse for wear Wen Hung heading for the hills…
• Brotherly Love: Wong Wu Ti sends a group of men after Wen Hung, but Wen Hung ends up getting some help from two brothers, the overly confident Hsiao Tung (Wei Tung, The Fatal Flying Guillotines) and the comedic sidekick Tai Pan (Dean Shek, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow). Tung’s quick thinking and a good old fashioned switcheroo, allow the brothers to get the Abbot to safety where he can recuperate from his injuries and evade his pursuers.
• Kung Fu Cosplay: Tung and Tai Pan obviously have good hearts and aren’t afraid to oppose the Qing, but their fighting skills leave a lot to be desired… fortunately they now have a Shaolin Monk living under the roof and when he is well enough, he begins training the brothers how to really fight and not do the “play fighting” they had been doing.

• Not Quite a Damsel in Distress: Abbot Wen Hung may have escaped Wong Wu Ti, but that doesn’t mean the search has been called off. The montage of Wen Hung training Tung and Tai Pan is juxtaposed with a montage of Ma Tu Lung, Wong Wu Ti’s right hand man, and some henchmen shaking down locals in an attempt to track down the Abbot on the run. We then get a scene of Ma Tu Lung confronting Cheng Chang, a young lady who proved she could handle herself when she is being harassed at her father’s restaurant in an earlier scene… she again proves to be a strong fighter, but the odds are against her here. That is until Tung happens by on his way to town and even with his limited training manages to take out a bunch of the henchmen and Ma Tu Lung recognizes the style as the fist of Wen Hung!
• Burn Baby Burn: Eventually after both brothers get the better of the Qing force, the baddies find Tung and Tai Pan’s home and the henchmen set fire to Hsiao Tung and set fire to it with the intent of killing all inside, ESPECIALLY Abbot Wen Hung. All with Wong Wu Ti looking on with delight. Tung and Wen Hung manage to survive as they make it to the well where they are safe… but Tai Pan does not fare as well and ends up a casualty of the fire, which ignites the flames of revenge inside Hsiao Tung who now wants to take out Wong Wu Ti and his “Shaking Eagle” style to avenge the death of his brother, even if he dies in the process!

18 Fatal Strikes is all over the place in regards of tone, something I picked up on quite early when I saw that the movie was listed as an action comedy, yet it started with a violent and serious history lesson. A glass half empty person could complain that the movie needed to “pick a lane”, a glass half full person could easily counter by saying it had a little something for everyone. I enjoyed the movie so I guess I fall in the latter group.

Here’s something you can all enjoy, some Bonus Bullet Points…

• Shang-Chi Has Nothing On Him: After the death of Tai Pan, Hsiao Tung does some intense training with Abbot Wen Hung, including wearing way more than 10 rings on his forearms.
• AKA: 18 Fatal Strikes is also known as the similarly titled 18 Deadly Strikes.
• Favorite Scene: The scene where Tai Pan gets to show off his newly acquired fighting skills while delivering a package to Cheng Chang on behalf of his brother only to end up running into Ma Tu Lung and the rest of the henchmen, features some of the best action in the film (including ziplining). This gave Dean Shek a chance to shine and his character Tai Pan got to make other people look like the laughing stocks for once and almost makes up for the less than .