I’m surprised that it took me so long to see The Spiritual Boxer mainly because it's Lau Kar Leung’s directorial debut. I usually enjoy watching someone’s directorial debut because it’s often interesting to see how they’ve grown as a filmmaker over time. And though this movie might not be as polished visually as Lau Kar Leung’s later films, I was still pleasantly surprised by this movie for many reasons. The Spiritual Boxer stars Wong Yu as Hsiao Chien, a young man who pretends to be a spiritual boxer to perform for others and to earn a living. He meets a woman named Jin Lian (Lin Chen-Chi) who eventually becomes his assistant. They start to use their fake magic to better other people and end up teaching the town how to fight to defend themselves from a gang of bandits.
There are a few issues that I had with this movie, especially involving the ending. The opening features two characters who are actual spiritual boxers played by Chen Kuan Tai and Ti Lung and led by Wilson Tong. But sadly, you never see them ever again in this movie. I was hoping that they would become the main villains and Wong Yu would have to use his fake magic to get the best of them. But alas, the ending that we do get is admittedly a bit anti-climactic. There are also some pacing issues at times because of the lack of a story.
But even with these flaws, I still thought this movie was fantastic. I was actually really surprised by how funny and how romantic this movie turned out being. Some of the humor is dated, but I was surprised that a lot of comedy was genuinely funny and clever. I thought that the fake magic that Wong Yu performs is pretty hilarious. Maybe Lau Kar Leung was the true inventor of the kung fu comedy. The romance between Wong Yu and Lin Chen-Chi is actually kinda sweet. I really liked how Wong Yu’s character, though a total fraud, actually uses his abilities to help the poor and is really likable. Wong Yu gives a great performance as his character. Even though I felt the ending was a bit anti-climactic, the fight choreography is still fun to watch. And the resolution afterward was very satisfying.
There are a few issues that I had with this movie, especially involving the ending. The opening features two characters who are actual spiritual boxers played by Chen Kuan Tai and Ti Lung and led by Wilson Tong. But sadly, you never see them ever again in this movie. I was hoping that they would become the main villains and Wong Yu would have to use his fake magic to get the best of them. But alas, the ending that we do get is admittedly a bit anti-climactic. There are also some pacing issues at times because of the lack of a story.
But even with these flaws, I still thought this movie was fantastic. I was actually really surprised by how funny and how romantic this movie turned out being. Some of the humor is dated, but I was surprised that a lot of comedy was genuinely funny and clever. I thought that the fake magic that Wong Yu performs is pretty hilarious. Maybe Lau Kar Leung was the true inventor of the kung fu comedy. The romance between Wong Yu and Lin Chen-Chi is actually kinda sweet. I really liked how Wong Yu’s character, though a total fraud, actually uses his abilities to help the poor and is really likable. Wong Yu gives a great performance as his character. Even though I felt the ending was a bit anti-climactic, the fight choreography is still fun to watch. And the resolution afterward was very satisfying.
The Spiritual Boxer is not a perfect movie. The climax isn’t as great as it could’ve and there’s not much of a narrative at all, but still, I really enjoyed this movie for its exceptional characters and for the genuinely funny moments mixed with some decent romance. It almost seems that Lau Kar Leung was trying to do the opposite of Chang Cheh’s style: There’s less story, it’s less violent, it’s much more light-hearted, and the female lead is actually an interesting character. There are a few scenes where knowing a bit about Chinese culture would make the movie much more accessible, but other than that, I thought the refreshingly unique aspects outshined the flaws in spades. The Spiritual Boxer might be one of my all time favorite Shaw Brothers movies.
Images from HK Cinemagic
Images from HK Cinemagic