The Bloody Fight is pretty much your average "old school" kung fu movie. There's nothing greatly wrong with it, but fans of the genre have seen this kind of stuff done dozens of times before. There's nothing remarkable or original about it, right down to the often used "Chinese versus Japanese" plot.

The Japanese in this case are represented by Chen Chang (Pai Ying), a judo master who, along with his henchmen (Chen Kuan-Tai and Eddy Ko Hung) is taking over schools around China's countryside by defeating their masters.

After Chen cripples Master Shi (Goo Man Chung), his students (led by Chi Shi Hau, played by Tang Ching) team up to try and get revenge. Master Shi surmises that if they can fiure out how to get thrown without falling flat on their asses, the team can defeat Chen. Brilliant strategy -- I guess that's why he's the master.

So the plot is pretty much rubbish, and the exposition isn't helped by the wooden acting. Besides Tang Ching, none of the actors seem to be trying all that hard. Thankfully, The Bloody Fight keeps the story-driving scenes to a minimum, and instead focuses on the action.

Unfortunately, the fisticuffs are a mixed bag. There doesn't seem to be a true martial artist in the bunch, and the film-makers try to cover this up with camera angles and painfully obvious stunt doubles. In particular, the female leads (Ingrid Hu and Lau Lan-Ying) look pretty silly trying to look as if they actually know kung fu. But director Ng Tin-Chi manages to pull things together for the final confrontation.

Like many of these old school movies, the last twenty minutes or so are definitely the best part of the picture. The action presented, while solid, isn't good enough to totally forgive the movie's shortcomings. But at least by the time it ends, you won't feel as if you've totally wasted your time with a viewing of The Bloody Fight.

RATING: 5