GOLDEN MASK is one of the below par kung fu films that Chi Kuan-Chun made after parting ways with Shaw Brothers. These films are far below the quality of his work done with that studio although fans of the genre may find elements of enjoyment here or there. This one has a particularly ridiculous set-up. Kuan-Chun is met by a weirdo in a gold mask who pays him to carry out an assassin. All well and good, until Kuan-Chun discovers that he's just murdered his own brother (how stupid can you get?). The rest of the film charts his progress as he hunts for the mask wearer, looking for revenge.

There's plentiful action here and all of it is low rent and unremarkable. Kuan-Chun did some excellent work at Shaw but the director of this film fails to capitalise on his lead's strengths and as a result he feels unremarkable. The action scenes are certainly brisk but routine, and the whole thing is hampered by the low budget and poor dubbing. The most inventive part of it is the climax, in which Kuan-Chun's opponent has some impressive tricks up his sleeve including spinning guillotine-style weapons and numerous body doubles.

Someone is stabbed and Chi Kuan-Chun seems to know him. He comes across more dead bodies. A stranger tells him they were all poisoned. He seems to be hallucinating. He goes to a temple, fights a monk, and gets orders to meet another man at a tea house. He goes there and sits among many strange characters. The stranger, Wong Goon-Hung, tells him about all these characters. A man in a golden mask kills the monk from the previous scene. Chi Kuan-Chun maintains his silence even when confronted by Doris Lung Chun-Erh. Finally he meets with a group and explains that golden mask hired him to kill a man and he did so not knowing it was his brother. That explains the opening scene but adds no sense to this story. The good part is that there is never a dull moment. Chi Kuan-Chun was one of the many martial arts actors from the Shaw Studios who struck out on his own. During 1977-1979 it seems a martial arts movie was made every day. This was his second or third movie outside of Shaw Brothers and he certainly delivers all the requirements of the leading man. I can only rate the movie as average. The over complicated story cancels out the good action sequences and that leaves just average.