THE DAREDEVILS is another exemplary outing from Chang Cheh and the Venoms, who were at the top of their game at Shaw in 1979. Although less well known than fare like CRIPPLED AVENGERS, this is a film which still packs one heck of a punch and fits plenty into its running time. There's vengeful Lo Meng, hunting after the military traitor who led a coup that saw his divisional commander father murdered; alongside him are a team of tricksters and acrobats, whose skill in fighting comes into play during the lavish extended warehouse climax. The physical prowess of the heroes in this film is extraordinary, and what a joy it is to see Lu Feng playing on the side of good for a change! I wasn't sure if Wang Li had the physicality to pull off his master villain role but he certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to the nitty gritty fighting stakes. Plentiful action, expert choreography, great humour and a suspense-fuelled plot make this one of the best of the Venoms adventures.

I was about to write a review of this film saying it's not quite as great as a Venom Mob marital arts film, but when I pulled it up on IMDb, it is a Venom Mob martial arts action flick! I think I was thrown in that while the film had terrific acrobatic fight sequences that were just as impressive as any of the groups best films, it had a more comedic of tone and was also not nearly as violent as most of their other films. Still, the fight sequences are stellar in this familiar story about a of group of heroes plotting an elaborate scheme to avenge their friend's murder.

This is one of the few post "5 Deadly Venoms" to feature all "six" Venoms. Sheng Chiang, while always associated as a venom actually never played one. This film has the "Snake", Pai Wei in a supporting role as an evil bodyguard.

A very uneven film, it bends from light comedy to light seriousness without really delivering either. Some interesting plot elements are not expanded on and that's a shame. There are really only two fight scenes in the whole film, one about half way through and the other at the end for about fifteen minutes. A couple of short training scenes and an ultimately bizarre scene with the bad guys showing off their deadly techniques to a general liven things up a bit. The finale is very good but you have to wade through the very boring second half to get to it. A good portion of the movie is designed to show off the acrobatic abilities of the three actors who originally came from acrobatic troupes in Taiwan. Unfortunately the scenes are not the greatest examples of Chinese acrobatics, if you've ever had the chance to see Mainland acrobats.

Director Chang Cheh and the Venoms have all done better films. Good for Shaw fans. Known as "Shaolin Daredevils", there is nothing associated with Shaolin in this film.