Reviewed by: Gaijin84
Date: 06/16/2017
Summary: Finale of the Shantung trilogy...
According at least to the release dates in KMDb, Sandong Chinese Restaurant is the final part of the three closely related films directed by Kim Seon-Gyeong. The first being Incredible Shaolin Thunderkick and the second 7-Star Grand Mantis. Of course these are the names given to them by Godfrey Ho when he redistributed them in Hong Kong. Although sometimes confused with 7-Star Grand Mantis because of the almost identical costumes and sets, Sandong Chinese Restaurant is a stand-alone film with no duplicated scenes. The lead for all three movies, Benny Tsui, again comes across the beggar played by Eagle Han and subsequently gets on the bad side of local gangs. This time he is trying to find his fiance who has disappeared and turns out to be held in a oppressive lords compound. He tries to rescue her but gets beaten and robbed as a result. With the help of a woman fighter who is also after the lord, Benny gets taught kung fu by the beggar and takes on the gang when hes able.
Sandong Chinese Restaurant is not the worst of the trilogy (that would be Grand Mantis), but it doesnt reach the level of Incredible Shaolin Thunderkick. There are almost no fight scenes until the final 15 minutes, which, although great, dont make up for the excruciating comedy and annoying characters for the first 1.5 hours. There are also no training scenes, which should have been a given with the plot. Eagle Han is outstanding as usual, and Benny Tsui really shines in that last 15 minutes. Although the actor playing the lord is not as good as he is in Thunderkick, he is still a pleasure to watch, along with the always impressive Kwon Sung-Young. Really only worth watching the final section only.
5/10
Reviewer Score: 5
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