The Kid with a Tattoo (1980)
Reviewed by: Frank Lakatos on 2005-11-25
Summary: One of the worst Shaw movies of the 80's
I saw the uncut tv version under the title Claws of the Eagle, which has 1 or 2 fights more and some extended fights than the Kid with a Tattoo prints. This wants to be a Jackie Chan movie, and it's badly written. Tang Chia is one of my favorite choreographers, but there isn't much he can choreograph when the lead Wang Yu is supposed to tumble around and escape attackers instead of fighting. There are a few seconds of hand to hand combat, but Wang Yu does more improvising and escaping than fighting. What's even worse is that the fighting in this movie, which is mostly sword and staff work, is badly choreographed. it seemed as if Tang wanted to go to a realistic approach with the choreography, and it didn't work at all. Tang Chia is no Jackie Chan, and Chia should have never been chosen to choreograph such a movie. Except for Ku Feng's scenes, this movie is a complete mess, with a bad script, and sloppy careless choreography. One of the worst 80's Shaw movies. *1/2/*****