Following several classic genre efforts in a row, director Liu Chia-liang decided to go for a more escapist genre effort after attempting to explore the discipline and training tactics employed in several of his previous films. Taking his hand at the standard ‘avenging-the-fallen-master' stereotype storyline while mixing together slapstick comedy, romance, and a few training montage cues from his previous films, he offers up a fun and enjoyable moviet in “Executioners from Shaolin” which is now available as part of the Shawscope Vol. 1 boxset available from Arrow Video.
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Challenging the old guard, martial arts master Pai Mei (Lo Lieh) and his disciples attack the Shaolin temple, wreaking havoc with his undefeatable techniques and sending the students scattering in humiliation. When Hung Hsi-kuan (Chen Kaun-tai) stumbles upon a traveling performer troupe, he decides to hide out there, eventually meeting and falling in love with Fang Yung-chun (Lily Li), another performer in the troupe. As the years go by and then have Hung Wen-ting (Wong Yue), they decide to meld their own martial arts styles together to defeat the evil Pai Mei when he returns to settle the score against the interlopers.
There's a lot to like and dislike with “Executioners.” One of the stronger aspects here is the fine storytelling that brings together a slew of elements into a singular whole. The early setup involving the attack on the temple and its members is a fine enough setup to let the fighting have some urgency, while there's a nice amount of comedy to rise between Hsi-kuan and Yung-chen while hiding out in the performing troupe. When the son Wen-ting enters the picture and we get the usual revenge trope, the connection made here concerning how Wen-ting is used to finish the work of Hsi-kuan to stop the evil master by forcing him to learn to combine their martial arts styles makes for a well-rounded circular storyline. Keeping these changes to the storyline with each of these seemingly disparate elements flowing together with enough fighting mixed in for action, allows for a generally fun time overall.
As mentioned, the fighting is fun and generally fast-paced enough to be quite exciting. With Pai Mei launching the attack at the very beginning, showing off his unbeatable skillset but also introducing the concept of his ability to switch his weak point around his body at will, he is suitably formidable and imposing. The rest of the attack on the various students is also quite enjoyable with the brutality and bloodshed unleashed giving a demonstration of their deviant nature to round off the need for revenge years later against viable villains. The fighting montages and battles that follow aren't bad for what they ar,e since they've been included in numerous genre films overall but serve their purpose adequately until the final showdown. The frantic energy and dynamic choreography is enough to send them off on a high note, giving “Executioners” quite a lot to like.
There are some drawbacks to be had here. The main disappointing feature in “Executioners” is the pacing that comes from this scattershot series of influences that are brought together in the main storyline from writer Kuang Ni. Zipping around between the various plot points, including the destruction and scattering of the temple and its members, the group hiding out in the performing troupe eventually leading to a romance between Hsi-kuan and Yung-chen which is then interrupted by the birth of Wen-ting, all make the middle of the film somewhat of a slough to get through. Requiring him to be aged up enough so that he's enough of a challenge to the villain Pai Mei means the structure skips around as well, making Hsi-kuan far older than he was before so his fights are designed to get the son involved as the one to finally unseat their foe. It's all quite slipshod and scattered around to the point where that is becomes quite underwhelming on occasion
As well, there are several other slight factors that bring this down. With the stubbornness and utterly pig-headed view of his son learning only one style of martial arts and failing to see why knowing multiple tactics would be beneficial, Hsi-kuan is a rather unlikeable and irritating lead to follow and side with. That's especially true when it announces that combining both to defeat him is done with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The sight of Pai Mei dragging around his opponent by the leg with their foot stuck in his crotch due to a devious tactic he's mastered is more comical than frightening. Lastly, the ending is quite simply the most abrupt and quick-cut-to-credits ever in the genre where it's a shock to realize it actually happened with barely any time to recognize what's going on.
Featuring some solid martial arts action but somewhat stumbling when it comes to some other aspects, “Executioners” provides a genuinely fun time if falling just below the level of the studio's classics from the same time. Fans of the studio's output or the genre as a whole will have a lot to like here.
