The Boxer from Shantung: CHANG Cheh and PAO Hsueh-li’s crime epic follows a manual labourer from the country who rises in the criminal underworld due to his exceptional physical prowess. The storyline is solid and can stand on its own, even without the brutal, visceral fight sequences. The protagonist, played effectively by CHEN Kuan-tai, is ambitious, proud, but loyal and comparably benevolent; Chen is also naturally quite an able fighter. CHENG Kang-yeh plays his loyal friend with a hit of comic relief. CHING Li plays his love interest in a role that could have used more time to be developed, but she is demure and appealing, justifying his interest. The jazzy musical score, by composer CHEN Yung-yu, is quite good. The maximalist cinematography, by KUNG Mu-to and YUEN Teng-bong, can be effective for the action, but the constantly moving and zooming camera is tiresome during the quieter scenes.