The Silver Fox
The formula for Shaw’s revenge films was pretty simple – take one revenger, usually the child of a wronged martial arts master, and one revengee, an evil martial arts master, and add in a love interest and let the sparks fly.
Silver Fox starts off typically enough when evil Sima Chau (Huang Chung-hsin) kills his own father and cripples Wu (Tien Feng), his foster brother. Wu escapes with his infant daughter setting the stage for bloodthirsty revenge.
But Wu only got hurt because he planned to steal from his foster father and enlisted Chau’s help. He’s far from a blameless victim; for the most part he’s as cruel and unloving as Chau. When Wu’s daughter grows up she takes revenge on Chau not out of a sense of love for her father but out of duty and responsibility.
This is a pretty interesting set up and could lead to interesting new ground as Wu’s daughter, Ching Ching (Lily Ho) and her love interest, Hsu Chun Wu (Chang Yi) try to fulfill their obligations and avenge a wrong where both parties were at fault.
Sadly, the movie never delivers; instead, one man is quickly redeemed for a touching conclusion and the complex struggle between Wu and Chau is dropped for the sake of simplicity. Disappointing.
But if you’re willing to accept the film as a straightforward revenger instead of a failed attempt to break new ground the result is quite satisfying. Lily Ho, who was usually cast in more modern roles, entertains as the petulant, arrogant Ching Ching. And the fights, choreographed by Liu Chia Liang and Tang Chia, live up to the pair’s reputation.
Ian Whitney
Published: 2005-10-01