One of a handful of movies directed by prolific Taiwan-based producer Wong Cheuk-hon, "The Young Avengers" is average at best. What makes it worthwhile for hardcore fans of Asian martial arts cinema is that it's a very purely Chinese wuxia (literally "martial heroes" or "martial chivalry") film, completely devoid of Western influence. That means lots of stagey-looking swordplay, elaborate sets and costumes, etc. Wong seems to have realized that the choreography was this film's weak point, so he spices up the heavier fights near the end with some bloodletting--including one particularly effective scene in which a villain is raised clean off his feet and pinned to a wall by his heroic opponent's sword. The minimally informative subtitles (burned onto the print) fail to address many of the nuances of the story, but what we have here is a standard revenge tale with stereotypical characters. A milquetoast scholar (An Ping) and a fierce swordswoman (Ting Ying) discover that they have a common enemy: a corrupt general (veteran character actor Ma Chi, Taiwan's answer to Ku Feng) who has imprisoned the scholar's father and murdered the swordswoman's. They join forces to lure the whip-wielding general into a trap.
No thrills or surprises here, but "The Young Avengers" is an interesting artifact of its time. There are far superior examples of late '60s Taiwanese swordplay films made on a modest budget (like Joseph Kuo's "King of Kings"), but few that are more authentic.
No thrills or surprises here, but "The Young Avengers" is an interesting artifact of its time. There are far superior examples of late '60s Taiwanese swordplay films made on a modest budget (like Joseph Kuo's "King of Kings"), but few that are more authentic.