Featuring the talents of action director Stephen Tung (responsible for delivering the goods in many classic films like A Better Tomorrow) both in front of and behind the camera, The Mar's Villa isn't anything extraordinary, but it is a solid old-school kung fu movie. Sure, the story is your usual dopey revenge stuff featured in far too many pictures of this genre, but the copious amounts of fisticuffs presented here should keep fans happy.

John Liu plays the film's hero, a kung fu master named Tien Lang, who becomes the target of the Kang family's (led by Phillip Ko and Stephen Tung) vengeance after Tien kills the Kan's patriarch in a duel. As per usual for this type of movie, Tien is brought down to almost nothing and left on the brink of defeat, until he goes back to train hard so that he can finally defeat the Kang clan.

Perhaps sensing that the script didn't give them much to work with, the film-makers set about to give The Mar's Villa a very epic and sweeping look. Unlike a lot of old-school movies that keep much of the action contained inside of cheaply-made sets, The Mar's Villa uses the Taiwanese countryside and historic buildings to great effect. Combined with some slick cinematography and editing, the production as a whole ends up looking a lot more expensive than it probably was, which really sets it apart from many similar kung fu entries.

Fight-wise, The Mar's Villa doesn't really do anything all that unique or mind-blowing, but the action is good for what it is. John Liu, in particular, looks tough and cool as he gets to show off a lot of fierce-looking kicks. One does get the sense that with the talent involved here, perhaps the film-makers should have tried a bit harder to make something that would end up being truly impressive, but overall, The Mar's Villa is worthy enough to satisfy your old-school jones.