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.
