Return to the 36th Chamber

The first follow-up to The 36th Chamber still features Gordon Liu in the lead role, but it’s mostly a parody of the original film. The more films I see with Gordon Liu, the more I realize just how great a screen presence he was. He carries this one with both his fighting skill and ability to play for laughs. In fact, outside of the final showdown, there is very little kung-fu fighting. One of the main characters is wearing massive false teeth for no reason at all. If not for that, this would have been a pretty decent mix of stunts and humor. That one detail really cheapens the whole affair.