KID FROM KWANGTUNG seems to be a slightly obscure late-stage Shaw Brothers movie given that there are no other reviews for it on this site and few ratings. That obscurity is a shame, because this is a rip-roaring action comedy that has the same kind of verve and quality as the studio's best-known outings. The early scenes of the cockerel vs. centipede fight are elaborate and expertly-staged.

The film stars Wong Yue as the usual young, brash, and big-headed student who spends most of his time fighting with his rivals at school. These small-scale skirmishes and schoolboy humour take up the first half of the film before the plot begins for real and involves a rival martial arts school which comes into town and soon becomes laying waste to the good characters. Inevitably Wong Yue himself has to do something about it before long.

KID FROM KWANGTUNG is a mix of the old and the new. The old 'rival martial art school' plot was a mainstay of the early kung fu films starring Jimmy Wang Yu and Bruce Lee while there are nods to more current trends, like an extensive set piece involving the delightful hopping vampires. As a martial artist, Wong Yue never seemed to achieve the huge acclaim that his peers like Alexander Fu Sheng did, but he's certainly more than adequate here.

The action is of the usual variety, with plenty of acrobatics, some weapon play, and a little bloodshed. Director Hsia Hsu was better known for his work as a supporting actor but he ensues there are no slow spots here. Veteran actor Yen Shi-Kwan, he of the instantly recognisable face, is very powerful as the 'good' elder martial artist, but everybody's thunder is stolen when the one and only Hwang Jang Lee turns up for some of the best-shot fight scenes of his career. Inevitably things culminate in an incredible final fight scene that had me crying with laughter, wincing, and cheering at the screen, all of the same time; the perfect end for an above average film.

Okay kung-fu comedy about a wacky kid getting into lots of trouble (and fights) at his martial arts school., but things get a bit more serious when a rival martial arts school comes to town who then start taking down members of the "good" school. This film features almost wall-to-wall fight scenes, which is a plus, but with few exceptions I'm really not a fan of kung-fu comedies, so I think that lessened my overall feelings toward this film. The film was directed by a veteran Shaw Brothers actor who does a fine job and features more of an old school type of fighting style that's more along the lines of Lau Kar Leung than say Cheh Chang. Overall, this one is certainly worth watching, but I would have preferred a more serious of tone, although the opening fight at a dragon festival was pretty funny and clever. Also, this film is one of many Shaw Brothers films that re-used Brian May's score from "Mad Max."