This is the tale of Beggar So, I think, who pioneered the "Drunken Style" of kung fu fighting; here, however, with Chow in the lead role, it's the tale of a good-hearted layabout who, despite his illiteracy, attempts to win the heart of Cheung Man (a sort of beggar princess) by becoming the top Scholar of Martial Arts. When, despite his prowess, he is cheated out of the title and sentenced to be a beggar all of his life, the movie becomes almost cloyingly melodramatic. He and his father, capably played by Ng Man Tat, are sentenced to the streets, where they are forced to cadge steamed buns just to survive; Chow despairs and spends most of his time sleeping, until he is told in his dreams of a new reason to live--and a new style of kung fu to fight for that reason. It's..."Sleeping Fist Kung Fu"! A terrific ending, with hordes of beggars fighting evil rebel soldiers and Chow going toe-to-toe with a dastardly kung-fu necromancer, makes for a fulfilling two hours well spent.

(3.5/5)