In the unsettling world of Jiang Hu, “King Hell”, the boss of the ruthless Lunar Sect is killing off rival swordsmen with poison darts so he can be the sole controller. Meanwhile, Master Lan Tian Lung of the Liang Yi fortress is also poisoned while calling upon the remaining swordsmen to unite and fight against him. However, hidden in the far away Souls valley, there's the mysterious black herb that can cure him. Upon learning this, his daughter Lan Feng (Angela Mao Ying) is willing to risk everything to find this precious medicine and thus begins her quest. To reach the Souls Valley, she has to cross a river which explodes into flames if anything drops on its surface, but she manages to cross it with the help of a rope. Due to her determination, the guardian lets her into the Merciless Cave which is full of floating and screaming heads and she overcomes that as well. After that she falls into another cave where she has to fight a huge and colorful lizard which looks more like a small dinosaur. Interestingly, the guardian shows up again to help her and gives her the black herb but she has to sacrifice her martial arts power in return.
It looks like the long journey home is even more challenging than her finding the herb since Lan Feng is now a weak, vulnerable woman and without any kung fu skill to fight off those bandits and evil swordsmen who're also interested in obtaining the herb and her. However, a monk and a righteous swordsman Leng Yu Han (Kao Yuen) she encounters in a small town are willing to help her getting home safely. Tragically, during her absence, the Lunar Sect returns and kills her entire family. Sadden and eager for revenge, she eats the herb which is meant for her father and immediately gains back her kung fu skill while at the same time becoming even more powerful. With the help of swordsman Leng, they both set out to the hideout of “Hell King” resulting in a bloody and extremely violent showdown.
“The Angry River” is the first movie produced by Golden Harvest under the watchful eyes of Raymond Chow who used to work for Shaw Brothers and featuring Angela Mao Ying in her big screen debut. This combination pays off handsomely and both become hugely successful in the years to come. Angela and director Huang Feng continue to make better movies together like “Hapkido”, “Lady Whirlwind” and “When Taekwondo Strikes”. Furthermore, Golden Harvest soon achieves even more success after recruiting Bruce Lee, the Hui Brothers, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
Although this movie is more or less a copy of most Shaw Brothers wuxia movies, it stars the wonderful and charismatic Angela Mao who's athletic enough to perform convincingly during those fight scenes. It's a delight to watch her doing those kicks and somersaults effortlessly. Unfortunately ,we don't get to see her in action throughout since her character loses her fighting skill in the middle section, although she does comes back with a bang in the final fight.
Kao Yuan, who plays the Tien Shan swordsman Leng Yu Han is adequate in the action department but his role is not that demanding. Pai Ying is spot-on playing the Lunar Sect chief “King Hell” but he mostly shows up at the end, his fight is nonetheless exciting and intense. Elsewhere, Han Ying Chieh cameos as White Demon, the main henchman of the notorious Lunar Sect and he also choreographs the solid and fluid action. While uncredited, Jackie Chan has a brief appearance while Sammo Hung has a meatier cameo as the leader of the Tai Yin Sect spotting white hair and dresses in black.
There's a lot to like in this first outing from Gold Harvest, since the plot moves at a fast pace and the outdoor locations are a bonus. There's room for improvements for sure but it's well made and entertaining just the same.
