Crippled Avengers - Movie Review

Shaw Brothers - 1978

Pick a title, fellas.

Also known as Mortal Combat, Return of the Five Deadly Venoms, and a bunch of non-English names, Crippled Avengers is perhaps one of the only films of its kind to feature characters with disabilities, which immediatly sets it apart from other martial arts films of the time, where the main heroes are usually unstoppable badasses. However, like a lot of films with strange titles from the late 70s, this is not an exploitation film at all, thank God. If you ask me, 98% of exploitation movies aren't worth your time, but I digress. This is a story of revenge. friendship, and overcoming obstacles. But how does the film stack up to others of its kind? Let's go over the plot so you can draw your own conclusions, then I'll throw some number at you, pretending I'm some big-shot film critic.

Also, be warned: Nobody has an English-sounding name, so this may be a bit difficult to follow.

So, there's this guy named Chu Twin. His wife and son are attacked by some jerks. Being a master of "Tiger Kung-Fu", Chu Twin kicks their butts easily. His wife dies from injuries, and his son Chu Cho Chang has his arms cut off at the elbows. He grows up, gets a pair of sweet extendable, dart-shooting iron hands, learns kung-fu, and manages to cripple the sons of the men who had his arms chopped off.

Now, had this been your typical revenge story, it would be over by now. This isn't your typical revenge story. Turns out, Chu Twin and Chu Chang Cho are jerks as well, and they continue to cripple innocent people who look at them funny, bump into them, or talk back at them. It's a little jarring to have victims become villains just like that, but sometimes, that's how revenge happens. An eye for an eye, and sometimes more.

One character is turned into a deaf mute, one is blinded, and one has his legs chopped off. Now Chu Twin and Chu Chang Cho are full-on, irredeemable villains. A wandering kung-fu master tries to avenge them, but he's defeated, and is given perhaps the worst treatment out of all of our heroes: having his head squeezed in a vice until he has permanent brain damage. Don't show this movie to your kids, by the way.

The four crippled heroes go on to train at a kung-fu school, and after three years of training (and a pair of metal legs, crafted by the deaf mute, a blacksmith) the four set on for their revenge against Chu Twin, who has taken over the town. Oh yeah, Chu Twin has a bunch of goons that he uses to bully the town, which gets worse when his birthday comes around.

In the end however, Chu Twin and Chu Chang Cho, as well as all of the cronies, underestimate the four crippled avengers, and although the brain-damaged avenger dies in the penultimate battle against Chu Chang Cho, the remaining three avengers manage to overwhelm Chu Twin and kill him with the iron feet. The three friends walk past the bodies, their job now done.

If you like old martial arts movies, give this one a watch. I can at least say it's not a waste of time. It stands out without exploiting the disabled like some grindhouse movies do.

My Final Verdict: 7/10

Now, if you were expecting a different kind of avenger, don't worry. Everyone's most favorite irradiated, hulking avenger will get a review of his own next week.