Though considered in the West as the permanent mark left on martial arts cinema by the late Alexander Fu Sheng "Chinatown Kid" really amounts to nothing more than a middling entry in the subgenre.

Choppy editing and a patchwork narrative hamper most of the potential; the film's psychology and sociology lessons are from first hour; and the morality play presented in the final quarter comes off like an anti-drug TV spot.

While the gung fu sequences are above average "Chinatown Kid" largely feels incomplete with a sickly runtime of 86 minutes.

Consistent with the era, the print used for the film's stateside distribution ran nearly thirty minutes longer with more gung fu, necessary substance, and an alternate ending far more nihilistic than its Hong Kong counterpart.