Synopsis: The mantis boxing family many branches, including the deadliest of them all: 7 Star Grand Mantis. See the ripping, locking, grabbing, and tearing techniques of this rarely seen style in brutal action. Our hero is matched in skill by the dreaded Silver Fox Master, who has his own lethal arsenal of death in his fists. Don't blink when these two titans of terror clash for the oldest reason in the jungle: survival! (95 Mins)

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Views: While 7 Star Grand Mantis is a very colourful, and often entertaining kung-fu flick from South Korea, it still lacks a little something that stops it from being hailed as a classic. With involvement from Godfrey Ho and Tomas Tang on the Hong Kong side, you could be forgiven for expecting the worst but ultimately, this film is a corny South Korean kung-fu-comedy that reminds its viewers of the late 70's and early 80's Hong Kong classics such as Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu, Dirty Tiger & Crazy Frog, and others...

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Starring Benny Tsui (who looks surprisingly like Elton Chong) as the leading man, 7 Star Grand Mantis is as clichéd as it gets with a silly student and long-haired-master, a plot of revenge, an evil ass-kicking bad-guy, and a female friend with some great moves. It's nothing new and certainly doesn't highlight much of the titles kung-fu style, but the film has a wacky charm about it, is actually pretty well made and has a huge amount of decently choreographed fight scenes performed with some great moves. After a brief intro over some fight action, we soon meet our hero (Tsui) who is taking part in a pig-catching event at a local village fair. A silver-haired-old-man, who claims to be Tsui's coach, gives him some tips on how to win which seems to work. Unfortunately for them, this results in lots of hilarity and beatings when the opposition proves to be a bad-loser, as well as a member of a feared gang from the village. From here, the film basically focuses on the constant clashes between the same parties – albeit in a very confusing way. Still, this allows for many fun fight scenes, an abundance of goofy humour (which definitely won't appeal to everyone), and some pointless training scenes. It all leads to an action-packed and fantastic 20-minute showdown against the evil villain and his gang which includes a bonkers, fire-hose gag that involves using their mouths. It's incredibly insane and actually quite funny. But my favourite moment has to be when the heroes of the story spoof the famous bronzemen – painted gold and pretending to be an art exhibition in order to attack the enemy (with no logical reason).

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Although most people will only see Godfrey Ho's name here as director, the real man behind this 1983 production is South Korean director Kim Seon-Gyeong. As well as being assistant director on Shaw Brothers classic Killer Constable, Kim was the man behind some interesting titles such as Blood Of The Dragon Peril, Wonderman From Shaolin, and Four Masters, with the latter 2 starring Korean super-kicker Casanova Wong! The fights are handled by South Korean choreographer Kim Yeong Gil, who provides some pretty fun fight scenes – although this is perhaps his only-ever role behind the camera. As well as a bit-part role in the film, he also starred in a few others such as Invincible Obsessed Fighter, 10 Shaolin Disciples, and Deadly Shaolin Longfist.

South Korean actor and martial artist Eagle Han plays the crazy silver-haired-master with a sense of humour and some great kicks. Han has always proved to be a great mover and actor, with many films under his belt such as Jackie Chan's brilliant Dragon Fist and fantastic Fearless Hyena, as well as a host of other South Korean and Hong Kong collaborations. It was nice to see him play both a good guy and such a comedic role in 7 Star Grand Mantis. Actress and co-star Song Jeong-A impresses with her moves, but it's Eagle Han who steals the show with some incredible kicks and kung-fu – although only really getting to let-loose on the one hour mark. Of course, Benny Tsui saves the best of what he has, for the final 20 minutes – but it is worth the wait!

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The soundtrack for 7 Grand Star Mantis is nicked from any number of HK kung-fu classics (including Aces Go Places) and often tricks you into thinking you're watching something better – although it's not that bad to be honest. If you can handle zany slapstick and cartoon humour, you'll enjoy it. And on that note, one of the films alternate titles (which portrays a different film altogether) is Gay Woman From Shantung; no doubt due to the scenes of Tsui dressing up in drag in the final 15 minutes. It doesn't last too long, and involves him eating the bread-roll boobs in his bra, while on the run. It's just crazy, but you can understand why they changed the title...

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Overall: Far from disappointing, 7 Star Grand Mantis is a fast-paced, crazy kung-fu comedy that entertains!