After finishing “Challenge of the Masters” and “Executioners from Shaolin”, Chen Kuan Tai left Shaw Brothers, but upon his return in 1978, he starred in “Crippled Avengers”. Better known as “The Return of the Five Venoms” in America, this action packed revenge tale also features four actors from “The Five Deadly Venoms”. However, the Chinese title which loosely translates as “Incomplete” is probably more appropriate.
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Du Tien Tao (Chen Kuan Tai) is a master of the Black Tiger style of kung fu. While he's away; his enemies, the Tian Nan Three Tigers, storm his mansion and because they don't believe in killing women and children, they chop off his wife's legs but she dies anyway. Seconds after they cut off his son's arms, Master Du returns and kills all three intruders with his deadly three Black Tiger styles, one for each enemy nonetheless. However, since his son survives the ordeal, Master Du decides to fit him with metal arms and teach him kung fu.
Fast forward a few years, the son Du Chang (Lu Feng) has grown into a skilled fighter who's now fortified with his seventh pair of metal arms which can extend in length as needed and shoot out darts at the same time. Conversely, both father and son have turned into a ruthless pair who terrorizes the town and take pleasure in crippling anyone who offends them.
Their unfortunate victims include a travelling salesman Chen Chuen (Philip Kwok) who's made blind, then Wei Ta Tieh (Lo Meng), a local blacksmith is rendered deaf and mute. Furthermore, a young man, Ah Kui (Sun Chien) has his legs cut off just because he bumps into Du Chang. A young warrior, Wang Yi (Chiang Sheng) who pities and stands up to them has his head squeezed so hard that he becomes a retard. The four vitcimg soon develop a bond and upon learning that Wang Yi comes from a nearby kung fu school, they decide to take him back to his teacher. This is where we get to see the training sequences in different skills for each one, according to their disability. Meanwhile, Ah Kui is now learning the kicking skill after he's fitted with a pair of iron legs. A few years later, the well-trained crippled protagonists are ready for revenge; they return to town and storm the Du mansion for a big showdown.
In “Crippled Avengers” Chang Cheh has given the viewers an outrageous but entertaining revenge action story with a twist; the four heroes here are cripples who use their disabilities and fight as a team. However, the fight routines are spectacular and brilliantly choreographed by Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng and Tai Chi Hsien. One such stand out moment involves Chiang Sheng fighting with iron hoops of different sizes. On top of that, Philip Kwok, Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng truly shine while displaying their acrobatic skills.
Although some sequences look very much like kung fu performances rather than actual fighting, it's a delight to see these masters at work, spinning, somersaulting on screen. Sun Chien as usual, shows his skill in kicking while Lo Meng is a good all-rounder. By using long shots, Chang Cheh is able to focus on the action his actors are displaying and the overhead shots are also a treat.
After a short break away from Shaw Brothers, Chan Kuan Tai is indeed a welcome sight and full of charisma and has a great presence as Black Tiger Du, the good guy who turns evil. Wang Lung Wei, who's always great as a villain, is equally wonderful playing Du's mansion keeper Wan and he shines in many of his fight scenes. The street and restaurant scenes are all full of males, there is hardly any female character in this production except the woman who plays Master Du's wife in the beginning, but she gets killed off within minutes.
Overall, this is a classic Shaw Brothers movie where the emphasis is on the action rather than the story which in fact loses focus at times. It's rather puzzling that the remaining surviving heroes don't even pick up their fallen companions as they leave the mansion after the final showdown. Viewers are here solely for the incredible action and it certainly delivers, while the colorful characters are a plus too.
