CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER is a real hotch-potch of the film, an international collaboration with so many ingredients thrown into the brew that it looks fit to burst. At its heart, this is a typical Bruce Le movie, seeing the rip-off star battling his way through various thug gangs in his quest to destroy a criminal mastermind. Le directs as well as stars, and the subsequent kung fu scenes are as energetic as you could hope for. Yet there's more. One of the producers, Dick Randall – who also appears in an amusing cameo as a corrupt and greasy businessman – was notorious for making sex films, so CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER becomes one of the few kung fu sex film in existence! A second lead is written into the proceedings, one time Italian gladiator star Richard Harrison, who seems to be having outrageous fun as the hammy second-rate Roger Moore wannabe who adds comedy to the proceedings.
The plot is wafer thin but nevertheless there are many, many entertaining moments packed in this film. The action ranges all over the world and one of the highlights is a fight in Spain between Bruce and a bull; it's as cheesily-edited and hilarious as you'd imagine and a real high. The action bits are quite good, well-filmed unlike the rest of the film. Bruce has plenty of notables to fight again including two hulking muscle men. One of them is Joe Laufer, whose poor acting and eventual beat-down is brilliance in itself; the second is none other than Brad Harris, a fellow Italian gladiator actor reduced to acting as a hulking heavy who never takes off his sunglasses. Harris' muscles probably have more screen time than anything else in the movie! Also popping up in a minor part is Bolo Yeung, who gets to run about in the dark before being taken out by the film's chief baddie, high-kicker Hwang Jang Lee. Lee is, as always, very good as the villain of the piece and shows off his skills in some well choreographed bouts. Former Shaw Brothers actor Chiang Tao also gets plenty of screen time as a tricky henchman.
Many of the funny scenes are those that incorporate Richard Harrison's character. Harrison is cast in the James Bond mould, always looking to have some fun with the ladies. He's introduced in a series of sequences that have gone down in bad film history; these see him playing tennis with a string of topless women, all captured in loving slow motion. I can't express how funny these bits are; the outrageous music adds to the experience. Although he's hopeless as a fighter here – unlike in many of his other films – and doesn't get to take part in much of the kung fu bits, Harrison's nevertheless hilarious. For some reason he seems to be wearing eyeliner. We get to watch as he beds a series of mostly naked women, including the single-monikered German sex actress, Nadiuska. With all the sex and fighting going on, there's never a dull moment and the awful dubbing by British voice actors only adds to the cheesiness of the experience. This is a real so-bad-it's-good cult classic and one I'll never forget!
The plot is wafer thin but nevertheless there are many, many entertaining moments packed in this film. The action ranges all over the world and one of the highlights is a fight in Spain between Bruce and a bull; it's as cheesily-edited and hilarious as you'd imagine and a real high. The action bits are quite good, well-filmed unlike the rest of the film. Bruce has plenty of notables to fight again including two hulking muscle men. One of them is Joe Laufer, whose poor acting and eventual beat-down is brilliance in itself; the second is none other than Brad Harris, a fellow Italian gladiator actor reduced to acting as a hulking heavy who never takes off his sunglasses. Harris' muscles probably have more screen time than anything else in the movie! Also popping up in a minor part is Bolo Yeung, who gets to run about in the dark before being taken out by the film's chief baddie, high-kicker Hwang Jang Lee. Lee is, as always, very good as the villain of the piece and shows off his skills in some well choreographed bouts. Former Shaw Brothers actor Chiang Tao also gets plenty of screen time as a tricky henchman.
Many of the funny scenes are those that incorporate Richard Harrison's character. Harrison is cast in the James Bond mould, always looking to have some fun with the ladies. He's introduced in a series of sequences that have gone down in bad film history; these see him playing tennis with a string of topless women, all captured in loving slow motion. I can't express how funny these bits are; the outrageous music adds to the experience. Although he's hopeless as a fighter here – unlike in many of his other films – and doesn't get to take part in much of the kung fu bits, Harrison's nevertheless hilarious. For some reason he seems to be wearing eyeliner. We get to watch as he beds a series of mostly naked women, including the single-monikered German sex actress, Nadiuska. With all the sex and fighting going on, there's never a dull moment and the awful dubbing by British voice actors only adds to the cheesiness of the experience. This is a real so-bad-it's-good cult classic and one I'll never forget!