Synopsis: When the Japanese massacre the people of his fishing village, the Chinese hero of this kung fu epic (Jimmy Wang Yu) heads to Japan to seek vengeance. (101 Mins)

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Views: I am proud to say that I am a huge Jimmy Wang Yu fan! While not the most authentic or graceful of fighters, the man has made some incredible kung-fu films in his lifetime – both as an actor and a director. Some are incredible for his performance, some for the sheer violence of his fight scenes, and some because they are downright outrageous. This little gem definitely has a mix of all three and opens with Wang Yu at his utmost racist after arriving in Japan, where we soon learn about the massacre of his family and villagers by a Nipponese gang of martial artists. Thankfully, with Japan being so tiny (joke), the bold fighter arrives exactly in the right town where these bad guys hold-up - led by Wang Yu film regular and all-round awesome bad guy, Lung Fei, who takes no crap from anyone which includes his old master whom he broke off from long ago. It doesn't take a minute for the action to kick-off as Wang Yu displays his skills to some local hoodlums, at the same time catching the eye of a lady called Yoko who steals something from him and runs off. Luckily for Wang Yu, she just happens to be connected to all the right people he needs to meet – which is quite handy – and soon finds himself facing off against Lung Fei in one of the most manic and insane finales of 1970s kung-fu cinema!

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10 Fingers Of Steel has a typical revenge storyline, beefed up by a mad performance by Wang Yu and plenty of crazy characters. The fights are choreographed by Hong Kong movie veteran Wong Fei Lung, and Pan Chuan Ling who bring a hefty dose of fast-moving, violent martial arts to the screen with our hero taking on gangs of men in many battles, as well as some fun one-on-one's that come thick and fast from village throw-downs to fights in the ring with Sumo wrestlers (in a bid to win money for dinner). Anything and everything that moves pretty much gets its ass kicked. Out of the two action directors, Wong has had a lengthier run as both a fight choreographer and actor of Hong Kong cinema, appearing in films such as Wang Yu's classic One-Armed Boxer and its wild sequel, Blazing Temple, 18 Bronzemen and its sequels, 10 Brothers Of Shaolin, and many more of which he also worked on as the choreographer. Between 1978 and 85, Wong would also direct 5 of his own films such as Crazy Guy With Super Kung Fu, Deadly Strike, and Pink Trap to name but a few. His fellow choreographer, Pan Chuan Ling managed to appear in over 30 titles during his 5 years in the industry, many of which included a number of Wang Yu films such as Furious Slaughter, The Gallant, and the awesome Beach Of The War Gods, as well as choreograph a small number of films before his last role in 1975 in Daniel Lau's File Of Heroes alongside Chang Yi and Charles Heung. 10 Fingers Of Steel itself was directed by Chien Lung, who died only a few years later. Having started in the industry as a writer, actor, and director in the late 50s, Chien was the man behind over 70 titles including Mountain Tiger, The Blind Swordswoman, Wandering Knight, Dragon Inn, One-Armed Guest, The Angry Hero, Gold Snatchers, and Wang Yu's fun Shogun Saints. Actress Chang Ching Ching stars as Yoko in one of the final roles of her career. Having starred in around 75 films over a decade, Chang appeared in titles such as Girl From The Mountain, Paid With Blood, One-armed Swordswoman, The Angry Hero, and Magnificent Chivalry with Wang Yu. Other recognisable faces include Kang Kai from films such as Shaolin Temple and The Flying Guillotine 2, as well as later titles such as The Legend Of Zu and Monster Hunt. He plays the son of prolific actor Ma Chi, a familiar face of films from the early 1950s who had worked with Wang Yu on titles such as Furious Slaughter and One-Armed Boxer, as well as Lo Wei's Killer Meteors before working with Jackie Chan after that on To Kill With Intrigue. And popular kung-fu actor Hsueh Han, who starred in almost 200 movies such as A Touch Of Zen, Shaolin Death Squads, The Face Behind The Masks, A Massacre Survivor, and a host of Jimmy Wang Yu titles including Magnificent Chivalry, Furious Slaughter, One-Armed Boxer, Knight Errant, Beach Of The War Gods, The Iron Man, Killer Meteors, and many more - bringing his long career to close alongside his old friend in Requital - a star-studded gangster flick directed by Kevin Chu Yen Ping...

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Generic, yes. Flawed, yes. But what brings this classic up to a four star for me is the incredible and long end fight that takes Jimmy Wang Yu and Fei Lung on a bloody battle from the streets to a fast-moving train, before leaping onto a rickety old bridge and falling into a river - continuing to fight as they fall down slippery boulders (painfully) to end their climatic fight scene in front of a huge waterfall. It's just fucking insane! This is 1972 and I've seen action films today that don't even offer the same amount of excitement in 90 minutes like this finale does. On its initial release in the UK, 10 Fingers Of Steel suffered heavy cuts from the BBFC due to the excessive blood shown during the fights, as well as the strangling of a child and general violence throughout. And while it may not be recognised as one of Wang Yu's best films, I would watch 10 Fingers Of Steel over again and again because of its highly entertaining fight scenes, that just ooze classic Jimmy Wang Yu.

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Overall: Total madness but a lot of fun, 10 Fingers Of Steel is a kung-fu epic that has to be seen to be believed!