THE NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS is a Shaw Brothers vehicle for martial artist Alexander Fu Sheng, who often plays as part of an ensemble cast but here gets to take centre stage and effectively runs away with the part. Chang Cheh is the ubiquitous director bringing Fu Sheng's ferocious fighting style to the screen, and the result is one of the studio's best outings.

This is a deadly serious story about Fu Sheng's hot-headed youth and the trouble he gets into with some local thugs. It's a little like Jackie's DRUNKEN MASTER II in that respect and follows the same template, albeit without the extra smuggling back story. Fu Sheng goes around fighting various goons and causing trouble in the first half of the story, despite the fact he can't fight particularly well, before he's sent off into the mountains to train with an old master. On his return, all hell breaks loose.

Everything about this film screams professionalism. The fights are top quality and mix fine choreography with starling bloody violence. Fu Sheng is full of charisma and really strong in the fight scenes too. The sets and costumes are expertly crafted and the iron claw weapon is one of the most vicious I've seen in any Shaw Brothers movies. The supporting cast is also exemplary: good old Wang Lung Wei is the top bad guy yet again (and the reason he was so often cast in this role? He's good at it!) and Beardy one of his top henchmen. A number of Venoms also show up on the cusp of stardom: Chiang Sheng, Phillip Kwok, Lu Feng, and Wang Li, some in bigger parts than others. THE NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS remains watchable throughout and becomes more and more gripping as it goes on, right until the hair-raising climax. It's a classic.