Joseph Kuo's "The Mystery of Chess Boxing" stars two of the best kung fu actors in Jack Long and Mark Lung and lets them dazzle in their well-choreographed scenes. Li Yi-Min plays Pao, a somewhat bumbling wanderer who is looking to enroll in a local kung fu school after his father was murdered. He is unaware that the culprit is Wan Chun Shan, aka the Ghost Faced Killer, who is seeking revenge on his former students for what he believes was a plot to have him killed. Pao has trouble at the school, constantly being bullied by the head student, but eventually befriends the school's cook (Simon Yuen in his ubiquitous role as a heavy-drinking master) who teaches him a few kung fu lessons. Pao eventually is kicked out after the master grows concerned about a metal plate in Pao's possession, one that always appears with the victim after a kill by the Ghost Face Killer. Following the cook's advice, he goes to the home of Chi Siu Tien (Jack Long) and his granddaughter, and asks to continue his kung fu lessons with him. After some convincing, Tien takes Pao in and begins to teach him styles based on chess and the five elements. Eventually Ghost Faced Killer shows up and vows to kill Tien, he being the final intended victim of his revenge tour.

Mystery of Chess Boxing is always put in a list of the top kung fu films of all time, probably helped by constant references to it by the Wu Tang Clan in their songs. It is very good, but not to the level of some of the all-time classics. Li Yi-Min is a decent lead, but he cannot match the skills of either Jack Long or Mark Lung. When those two are featured, the action is great, but the rest of the fight scenes can't quite keep up. The story itself and the styles used are probably what keeps the movie in high regard. The use of the five elements as a kung fu base and the comparison to chess strategy is a fresh and well-thought out feature. Interestingly enough, there is now an actual sport where people box and then play chess in the ring between rounds. This may be the greatest tribute to a kung fu film to date!