Notable Cast: Cheng Pei-Pei, Jimmy Wang Yu, Lo Lieh, Wu Ma, Ku Feng, Lau Kar Leung, Cliff Lok, Lau Kar Wing, Yuen Woo Ping, David Chiang
Despite being a film that had a duel lead character focus, Come
Drink with Me saw a massive boost from the success of the character Golden
Swallow. Which, of course, deemed her worthy for a sequel…and one with the
character name as the title. Thusly we are treated to Golden Swallow,
the continued adventures of our deadly female enforcer from Come Drink with
Me. Don’t be fooled by the title though as, once again, Golden Swallow
essentially plays second fiddle to not only one protagonist, but also shares
most of her screen time with her side kick. The execution of the film is solid
enough and showcases some unique elements for director Chang Cheh, but overall
it’s hard not to be a little disappointed with the direction it took.
When Golden Swallow (Chang Pei-Pei) is poisoned in a battle,
she is saved by an unlikely friend in Iron Whip (Lo Lieh). They quickly become
friends and allies as she recovers only to find out that a mysterious vigilante
Silver Roc (Jimmy Wang Yu) has been using her name to raise hell with various
villainous factions. So they set out to uncover the mysterious swordsman’s
secret and find out why he is setting her up.
Visually, there are some great angles in the film. |
For Golden Swallow, Chang Cheh feels relatively
reserved in his usual style and rather unique. The opening fight sequence is
shot with shaped ‘bars’ to focus the viewers attention on small details
(awesome!), but there is one moment where Jimmy Wang Yu’s vigilant character delivers
a monologue on a white stage in front of massive Chinese characters of his
letter (WTF!). This in turn makes some of the structure and narrative feel a
bit forced. A romantic love triangle feels a bit loose at the hinges and
splitting the narrative inbetween three lead characters undermines a lot of the
more impactful emotional punch the film could have had. Keeping Jimmy Wang Yu’s
Silver Roc more mysterious for longer would have intensified some of the drama
and tension, but the film plays out in a lot of obvious manners. Not to
mention, once again, Cheng Pei-Pei feels like an inferior character to her
co-stars in many aspects – and the film seems to really pull away from the
characters status as an established killer and focuses more on her more feminine
and romantic attributes.
However, Golden Swallow does do a decent enough job at playing its rather obvious plot elements and undercooked concept in some entertaining ways. While the film might have benefited from keeping Jimmy Wang Yu more mysterious for the plot (I would be tempted to retitle this film as his character’s name instead of Golden Swallow), his torn psyche and penchant for badassness makes up for a lot of plot’s issues in building his character. A massive “raid” on a clan’s fortress by him results in some serious body counts in the second act (and perhaps one of the first uses of ‘shaky cam’ that I can think of to create that chaotic effect of having him battle an entire army) and the finale features a classic wuxia sword fight between him and Lo Lieh, where we get to see both characters really deepen their rather by-the-numbers roles in their actions. Golden Swallow most certainly ends on a big high note, despite a rocky ride getting there.
Leaving a trail of bodies...or a heap. |
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