9th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Return of The 18 Bronzemen Review

This will be one of many reviews during the 9th Annual Old School Kung Fu Fest by the Museum of the Moving Image and Subway Cinema featuring the works of Director Joseph Kuo, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

In what is quite a large departure from its predecessor released earlier in the same year, Return of the 18 Bronzemen is much darker in tone while still containing many central elements of what made the first in the series so unique. Director Joseph Kuo tells a more divisive story that focuses on the antagonist’s rise to knowledge and power of the Shaolin Kung-Fu arts and leaves the viewer in a place of uncertainty right up until the very last frame.

Return of the 18 Bronzemen is the sequel in the Shaolin series of films by Kuo focusing on battles against the Qing empire. Instead of following a protagonist who undergoes a transformation, the audience is forced to embark on a journey with the antagonist emperor of the Qing dynasty, Yong Zhen (Wong). Zhen has claimed most of the territories for his family throughout China with the exception of several provinces and the Shaolin Temple who have not yet organized. In an attempt to dismantle any resistance from within, Zhen decides to infiltrate the Shaolin Temple as a student in order to master their arts of Kung-Fu and beat them before they have the chance to fully resist.

Zhen is never a truly likable character despite his true motivations taking a backseat as he is exposed to rigorous training at the hands of the Shaolin monks. Even more interesting, is the film’s ability to have its audience forget this fact and slowly begin to root for Zhen to complete his training. This tension continues to build until the emperor is finally allowed to begin the trials of the 18 Bronzemen, a welcomed return of the unique metallic characters from the preceding film, who offer similar obstacles that the student must overcome.

As mentioned earlier, what is the standout departure from Return of the 18 Bronzemen is the film’s overall tone which continually plays with the audiences’ emotions and ultimately lands on a more somber and enigmatic ending that is devoid of resolution. However, in true classic Kung-Fu fashion, Kuo ensures that there is some justice served to the antagonist by way of the trials never fully being completed which leaves a glimmer of hope for someone else to complete them and thus has potential to defeat the emperor.

In the end, Return of the 18 Bronzemen pales in comparison to The 18 Bronzemen, however, it succeeds in setting up a longer form narrative centralized around a nation’s journey to overthrow their evil emperor. Essentially, it is the middle film in a series whose sole purpose is to mirror the protagonist’s journey from the first film in order to set the stage for a much grander final entry.

still courtesy of Hong Hwa International Films

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