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Premise: The 7 Fists kung fu manual is stolen from Shaolin Temple and the leader of Wu Tang Clan is killed. As the monks struggle to solve this mystery, a student (Jackie Chan) learns the lost 5 Style Fist from the spirits of the original masters and uses it to fight the villains attempting to claim control of Wu Tang.







Review: Jackie mixes it up with red-haired ghosts in this otherwise standard kung fu yarn during his early and generally less than stellar Lo Wei years. This film should not be confused with Lau Kar Leung's Spiritual Boxer which came out three years earlier.



Lo Wei regular James Tin (Fist of Fury) plays an ambitious fighter out to claim his family's place as the rulers of Wu Tang Clan. The actor is an underappreciated fighter who gets to lay out some great moves during the film. He's given a valuable kung fu manual with instruction in the art of the powerful 7 Fists technique which has been stolen from Shaolin Temple. Jackie plays an unruly Shaolin student who stumbles upon another rare kung fu manual while attempting to corral five mischievous ghosts residing in the temple. They just happen to be the spirits of five masters who created the 5 Fist Style, a lost technique capable of matching the 7 Fists. Jackie forces them to train him in the style which combines Snake Fist, Tiger Fist, Crane Fist, Leopard Fist, and Dragon Fist.



Old fashioned camera tricks are used to give the ghosts a more ethereal appearance at times. They look pretty funky with massive red wigs, white face paint, and white leotards. They're unlike any ghosts I've ever seen, but their look is sufficiently otherworldly to get the job done. There could have been more interesting and competent training performed between these creatures and Jackie than what actually occurs. They also take a back seat to the rest of the film until the end when they help Jackie defeat the lead villain. The whole concept is interesting and adds a nice twist to the chopsocky formula, but Lo Wei's conventional directing style limits their place in the film.



Instead of being a film full of supernatural hijinks as it should have been, Lo Wei shifts his attention to a mystery plot of sorts where the manual is stolen by a ninja-like thief and the visiting Wu Tang leader is mysteriously murdered with only a Bloody Palm print left on his chest. The wrongly accused monks are imprisoned, although they escape and just vanish until the end of the film, which seems like a lazy plot gap. Meanwhile, Jackie gets fresh with the attractive Mo Man Sau who plays the Wu Tang leader's daughter. There is a really odd scene where he challenges her to a second fight after initially losing and ends up winning. But instead of insisting on the kiss he had wanted, he paddles her rear before she leaps up in tears, crying all the way to her father who she finds dead. I wouldn't recommend this to guys as a method of impressing the ladies. Jackie vows to aid the Shaolin abbot in finding the killer and the film concludes with Jackie taking on James and then his father, who reveals himself to be the real killer and thief.



For being one of Jackie's early roles, this one is decent but rates below such classics as Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. But it is better than most of his other Lo Wei directed films and features a fair amount of his trademark humor and acrobatic fighting skill. None of the ghost scenes are that great, but highlights do include a spectacular melee where Jackie must fight his way through his fellow Shaolin brothers. Jackie's weapons skills are astounding and his pole and "night stick" mastery gets plenty of screen time. The final bout between Jackie and James Tin is another standout with both performers trading impressive blows, although Jackie is clearly more dexterous.



In closing, there should have been more ghostly exploits done with greater creativity and less of the kung fu style versus style theme that appears in so many films of the genre. Apart from Jackie Chan's presence, the film doesn't carry it's own weight. Nevertheless, Spiritual Kung Fu is enjoyable enough that it should be required viewing for most of his fans.







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