Blood Brothers

The Shaw Brothers productions cultivated such a particular style that they can appear almost timeless (though they generally look older than their production year). Chang's Blood Brothers is a welcome exception, looking a bit more modern, mostly due to moving out of the studio and doing some actual takes outside.

The story revolves around the camaraderie between Ma, an army man, and two small-time bandits. Ma trains the bandits to become veritable warriors, and together they rid the land of rebels and robbers. When Ma is eventually promoted to general, he feels beyond reprimand and starts an affair with the wife of one of his friends.

Two hours is long for a Cheh Chang film, but I can't say the film felt slow or stretched. The fights scenes are a bit stilted though and the film doesn't try too hard to set itself apart from all the other Chang productions, but fans of the Shaw studio will find a fun and entertaining martial arts romp here. Pretty much what could be expected from a film like this.