The Heroes (1980)

"Even the sun sets at the end of the day"

The Heroes starred Ti Lung, Michael Chan, and Dorian “Flashlegs” Tan. The Shaolin Temple had once again been burned to the ground with Marshal Gao rounding up the kung fu practicing monks and throwing them in prison. All seemed lost yet everything was not as it seemed.

Marshal Gao under the orders of the emperor and Governor Pei Le arrests his former Shaolin brothers and burns the temple. He convinces Pei to let him “torture” the monks so that he can turn them to working for the Qing army. Pei’s henchmen don’t trust him and are always looking for ways to test him.

Ti Lung played the conflicted Gao who worked tirelessly to protect his former brothers and strengthen their training by “torturing” them. The only problem for him was that the Shaolin monks didn’t know what he was up to and loathed him. Ti did a good job of showing Gao's pain at hurting the people he cared about when he wasn’t gloating in public at their humiliation. This was definitely his movie and he carried it well. Michael Chan was always a good foil for Ti. Their fight was the highlight of the film. Despite often being chained, Dorian Tan was able to show off his fancy kicks in several fights. Director Wu Ma played the emotionally volatile Shaolin cook, Wu Shun. Tsai Hung had one of the bigger roles I’ve seen him in as the frequent target among the captured disciples. Shih Szu had a few nice scenes with Ti, as the person who saw through his bravado to the pain beneath. The Heroes had more story to it and emotional depth than the standard low budget Taiwanese flick which was a pleasant surprise.

The fights varied in quality. Robert Tai’s choreography bordered on kung fu posing, but was upgraded to kung fu dancing for the most part. Dorian flashed his kicks when given the opportunity. This time his handsome face was covered in dirt and straggling hair. Ti Lung and Michael Chan always had an entertaining fight chemistry, even when it wasn’t lightning fast.

Though filmed in Taiwan, The Heroes looked like it had a higher budget than usual. Many Taiwanese kung fu flicks were filmed in the woods and on other low budget sets. This film had proper sets though not of the Shaw Brothers quality. The story was a familiar retread of the fate of the Shaolin monks from the temple and the rebels during this time period. The film veered off from the familiar though by focusing on the imprisoned monks and Gao’s secret heroic acts. The question frequently asked was, “What is a hero?” Sometimes the only one who knew was the last person people would think it was. Though deeper than other martial arts films from this era, it would still only be for fans of the genre. Rated on a curve as usual.

4 March 2025

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