Dance of Death
Crash Cinema issued this Angela Mao vehicle in
widescreen format with subtitles that are reasonably easy to read most
of the time.
For the most part the film is played for laughs
and it is a bit goofier than I would have preferred. Another kung fu school
kills a few of Angela’s friends, but she is able to escape. She comes upon
an Abbot & Costello kung fu country bumpkin pair who fight each other
every five years to see who has the best kung fu. Fortunately, they always
fight to a draw, but Angela tricks them into training her so that they
can see who is better by watching her fight her opponents. Her real motive
is of course revenge.
Jackie Chan choreographed the fights, but I found
them fairly slow and uninteresting with again too much comedy mixed
in. At times it felt more like dancing than fighting and it was very clear
that the punches and kicks were coming nowhere close to hitting the other
person.
Nevertheless, it was a pleasure watching the amazing
agility and grace of Angela Mao. This was filmed near the end of her career,
but she still has a wonderful assortment of moves. In the opening credits,
she performs a solo exercise that wonderfully showcases her disciplined
and perfect movement.
