'Come Drink With Me (1966)' follows Golden Swallow, a young warrior who sets out to rescue her brother from the gang of outlaws keeping him captive, and Drunken Cat, a seemingly incompetent beggar who might just have more to him than meets the eye. It's an influential early Wuxia/ Kung fu flick that clearly had a massive impact on the genre. Although it doesn't feature as much fighting as some of its peers and it generally isn't as fast-paced as you may expect, it includes plenty of exciting and well-choreographed set-pieces that are surprisingly brutal in places (a small boy has his eye punctured with a dart and is then murdered just below frame). There are a lot of measured one-on-many fights that feature our hero standing in the centre of several opponents who are all seemingly afraid to make their move because they know she can typically deflect their attacks with ease. The action has this specific pacing to it that isn't so much relentless battle as it is a push-pull of tension and release, with suspense mounting as our hero observes her attackers and catharsis exploding when one of them makes an ill-advised move against her. It's perhaps not what you'd expect but it works well, and the flick excels during the moments in which its choreography is allowed to come a little faster and a little more dangerous. The pacing of the overall film isn't as purposeful as that of the set-pieces, though, as it's often a little baggy in places. Add that to a somewhat unfocused narrative (it kind of decides to follow Drunken Cat more than Golden Swallow after a certain point) and you get an experience that isn't as consistently compelling as you'd hope. It's still entertaining and delightfully genre-specific, though. It's a solid effort.
Review of Come Drink with Me
