If you're familiar with martial arts actors of old days, you can't stay away from this little gem. Action is standard fare and tech values are merely adequates, but story is a little more original than the usual. The main star is Tien Peng, a famous actor in Taiwan back then. He's an undercover cop who returns to his homeland and meet an old time friend, actor Chan Hung Lieh (nicknamed Golden Chan by the industry since he was a really good performer) as the landlord. Actually the cop is going after a train-robbery gang lead by the landlord, but the twos spend some time remembering the days when they were like brothers, so we see them walking together, fishing together or playing at chinese chess. Nothing of all this will help when the moment of truth arrives. The final will be sad for both the cop and the gangster. Tough Duel is low under many aspects but high in giving some relief to the intimate drama. The cast is fullfilled by an army of Kung-Fu movies vets including Miao Tien as the second-in-command of the gang, Lung Fei and Shan Mao as henchmen and a cameo by regular badguy Yee Yuan as the superkiller. All in all an average movie if you see it with a modern eye, but deserving a curious look for the attention it payed to the personal relationship between the Good and the Bad, courtesy by scriptwriter Ni Kuang (Big Boss, Fist of Fury and others credited and uncredited 300 movies). Coreography staged by Yu Tien Lung, a main star himself in trash-cult like The Bamboo brotherhood aka The match of dragon and tiger, and Infernal street. A Kung Fu adventure for the thinking man... or boy.
Review of Ying peng ying
