Rating: 3.5

‘The Pye-Dog’ is guided through moments where the pace slackens needlessly by distracting the critical amongst us with a triumvirate of stars who gel together exceptionally.

This sequel doesn’t match the original, but there are enough fresh ideas to make it watchable.

‘The Shadow Boxer’ is a fairly standard affair as offered by the Shaw Brother’s studio and is unable to elevate itself to compete with the likes of the classic ‘Boxer from Shantung’ and the exceptional ‘The Water Margin’.

Although nobody could say ‘The Silent War’ has a vice-like grip on the viewer, it features a few moments of genuine excitement and gathers quite a momentum by the final third.

‘The South Shaolin Master Part II’ is a nice little film that most MA fans will surely enjoy. Perhaps not quite as good as the original but a worthy follow-up nonetheless.

While it may not be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it is still a fast-paced and action-packed thriller that is guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping.

It’s a languid, leisurely swordplay film that advances at a glacial pace and is defiant in doing so. Yet that is, along with the crisp cinematography, its greatest strength.

Much more than a trashy quickie horror sequel than many might be expecting, ‘The Tag-Along 2’ is an entertaining ghostly romp that when on form, expertly blends drama and frights.

While it hasn’t aged well in comparison to ‘Come Drink With Me’ and even some of Chang Cheh’s early work, it still proves to be a mildly diverting Shaw Brothers’ swordplay film.

A four-star movie that, due to its heavy-handed closing shots, loses half a star; the same idea was used with much more sophistication at the end of ‘Anonymous Heroes’.

‘The Twin Swords’ isn’t the type of Shaw Brothers production that will appeal to everyone, mainly due to its fairly dated style that lacks the superior fight choreography.

Lam certainly throws a lot in and the tone does vary but thanks to the confident staging and the unrelenting momentum it all works for the most part.