The Flag of Iron (1980)

Good concept, poorly executed.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Flag Of Iron is another impressive effort from the winning team of director Chang Cheh and The Venom Mob(of which 3 of the 5 Venoms appear here). This is an excellent kung fu film with great camera-work, costumes, sets and weapons. There are themes of honor, loyalty and righteousness that set our heroes into action. There is a skirmish between two kung fu clans that leave our main man Kou Chui(aka Philip Kwok) that has our homie leave town for a year for the heat to calm down. This is a planned betrayal for villain Lu Feng to become leader of the clan and unite both clans and take over the previous clan's nefarious gambling and prostitution racket. He even sends 10 killer's to take out our hero Kuo Chui, who mops the floor with all comers. He is joined by fellow Venom Chiang Sheng and spearman(The Rambler), a killer with a code of honor that lives in the local brothel. The three unite to confront evil clan leader (Venom Lu Feng) in an ultimate battle of kung fu carnage. There is betrayal, double crossing and some excellent, fast paced kung fu fighting with an impressive arsenal of weapons. The fight choreography is swift and precise with acrobatics, fists and feet with a variety of weapons that often ends up with a good amount of blood shed. Flag Of Iron is solid, action packed martial arts entertainment from the very reliable director Chang Cheh and Shaw Brothers Studio.

The Venoms films are well regarded amongst Shaw Brothers fans as some of the best of the studio's output. THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS and RETURN OF THE DEADLY VENOMS (aka CRIPPLED AVENGERS) are two of their classic films which most fans will have seen, but they also made loads of other movies along the way, pretty much all of them stand alone titles, and THE FLAG OF IRON is such a film.And the good news is that this is an exceptional bit of entertainment and one of Chang Cheh's very best movies. It's a vibrant and colourful film with a complex yet easily understandable storyline full of intrigue, betrayal, and double crossing. There's mystery and suspense in spades, and of course the narrative is bolstered by a series of madly exciting fight scenes which help to tell and develop the storyline instead of just being added in for the sake of having some action.Nearly all of the Venoms are present in this one, and they're at the top of their game. Phillip Kwok is the best I've seen him, playing the loyal warrior who ends up being exiled and working undercover as a waiter. The segment of the film in which he's attacked by a series of outlandish assassins is my favourite and great, imaginative stuff. Watch out for the guy with the killer abacus, of all things! Chiang Sheng lends solid support as Kwok's buddy while Lu Feng takes a typical role and yet adds layers to it.Lung Tien Hsiang is a little weak as the white robed rambler, a non-Venom added to the story, but he's certainly adequate enough all things considered. As usual, Chang Cheh is the real star of the show, bringing to life the gorgeous sets and costumes in a special way and shooting the action with his usual verve and dynamism. Yes, there is some 'flag fu' in this film, particularly towards the end of the picture, although it's not overdone. There is plenty of violence and bloodshed in the best Shaw tradition, however. Having loved every minute of FLAG OF IRON, I can only describe this as a masterpiece.

When the Iron Flag Clan are ambushed by the Eagle Clan, and their leader is assassinated by a paid killer called the Spearman or Rambler or Yan Xiu (depending on who you ask). The eldest brother Chao Feng (Iron Tiger) steps up to be the head of the clan, however the two new leaders of the Eagle clan (Gao and Chen) go to the police about the death of their leader – forcing the police to at least appear to take action. To save the clan, brother Lo Xin (The Iron Panther) takes the fall and agrees to go into exile, during which time the clan will send him money until he is free to return. However, no money comes to Luo – instead only hired killers. Saved by the intervention of the Rambler, Lo learns that Chao Feng may not be the leader he claims to be, since he is now working with the Eagles and allowing all their amoral actions to continue. Along with loyal brother Iron Money, Rambler and Lo head back to the town to get to the bottom of it all.Although there are quite a lot of characters in this film, and it runs to almost 2 hours, it is pretty easy to follow and has a solid narrative throughout. Each plot twist and turn seems to be accompanied by a good fight sequence and these and the narrative work well to keep the film moving and interesting. I wasn't sure about the practicality of the flags as weapons, nor of the interest in the spear that fires a little bit of spear, but while the latter remained a bit 'meh' as a tool in the fights, the flags are very well used and make for some very impressive acrobatics. I also enjoyed the ten assassins coming in the middle of the film, bringing different characters and styles.Although we only have some of the venom mob here, they are some good ones and well used. In particular I like the presence of Kuo Chui (Kwok) in the lead, and the comedic support of Sheng Chiang. Feng Lu makes for a good villain as the piece goes on, but I was not so sure of Tien Hsiang Lung's Spearman – either as a character or as a performance; he didn't have the charisma or presence of many of the others. The fight sequences are well choreographed and very energetically delivered – okay death sequences are a bit hammy and the blood excessively red and gushing, but such things come with the territory.Overall, some reservations aside, a very enjoyable film with impressive choreography delivering engaging action sequences supporting a pretty good narrative.

FLAG OF IRON (1980, aka SPEARMAN OF DEATH) is a historical kung fu adventure starring three of the five actors-martial artists collectively known as the Five Venoms. The most versatile of the Venoms, Kuo Chui (aka Philip Kwok), plays a clan member who volunteers to go into exile to take the heat off his group after a fight with a rival gang. When he returns he finds that his old boss (played by Lu Feng, another Venom), for whom he took the rap, has merged with the rival gang and sent a group of ten killers after Kuo, who outfights all of them, sometimes with the help of another Venom, Chiang Sheng. He also finds an ally in the notorious Spearman, who had originally been hired by the corrupt gang boss. Eventually the three heroes take on their old boss in an extended battle involving flag-draped spears which the combatants twirl about in virtuoso displays of skill.The plot is basically a variation on the old gangster plot about a gangster sent into hiding or to prison as a scapegoat for his gang who finds, upon returning, that things have either fallen apart or his old boss has turned on him. In kung fu films, we saw this before in DUEL OF THE SHAOLIN FIST (1971, aka DUEL OF THE IRON FIST), an excellent early kung fu work by director Chang Cheh, who also directed FLAG OF IRON and all the Venoms films.FLAG OF IRON is a well-mounted production with lots of exciting fighting action shot amidst sprawling Shaw Bros. studio sets. It's not as intricate as other Venoms films and suffers from the absence of one key Venom, Lo Meng, but it's a worthy entry nonetheless. Beware the 85-minute cut version currently in distribution. The original running time is 113 minutes.