I nearly injured myself trying to figure out what was going on in the first moments of this movie - it opens with a couple guys facing off to throw down Old School-style, then goes into a credits sequence that actually contains no credits other than the title (which is Shaolin Tiger's Claw here). The movie then leaps into Kung Fu action - but not the fight we were watching before, although one of the two guys from that one is involved. Then I realized that his clothes were changing from shot to shot - as were his opponents. Montage, I finally realized. I know this makes it sound like I'm a little slow on the uptake (which may be the case), but trust me - sometimes these flicks take you by surprise.

Once things settle down, we learn that our hero is Kung Fu badass Chen Yi Hu (Cliff Lok), and he's engaged in the time-honored tradition of trying to kick the asses of everyone he can in an attempt to prove his Martial Arts skills. His cutiepie schoolmate does her best to talk him out of the path he's chosen, but he refuses to listen, telling her "I want to challenge everyone - only then will I find out whether I'm any good or not." Yi Hu beats the crap out of a local master, then overhears the man's students talking about "The Tiger," a guy who's supposed to be the biggest Kung Fu badass around. Yi Hu asks the students where he can find the Tiger, only to learn that he's in prison. Driven to kick much ass, Yi Hu pretends to rape his schoolmate, allowing the cops to catch him and toss him in the clink.

It isn't long before Yi Hu tracks down the Tiger (Shih Kien, "Han" from Enter the Dragon) - but the Tiger has no interest in fighting him. While the prison gang is out on work detail, Yi Hu waits until the Tiger is taking a leak, then pulls off a daring escape: he complains of stomach trouble and asks to "be excused." Sneaking up on him, Yi Hu sucker-punches the Tiger, knocking him out and dragging him away. The Tiger is righteously pissed off when he regains consciousness, but he still refuses to fight Yi Hu. Determined to mix it up, Yi Hu follows the Tiger around as he uncovers the pieces of his shattered life. Intrigue rears its head in the form of an old pal of the Tiger's who is hiding an ugly secret. Needless to say, this leads to plenty of brawling, and Yi Hu is quick to leap into the fray to make sure his chosen opponent survives to fight him.

Eventually, Yi Hu and the Tiger decide to rumble, but Yi Hu's schoolmate begs the Tiger not to hurt her sweetie. During the fight, she uses her Shrieking Girlfriend-style Kung Fu to distract the Tiger, who winds up throwing the fight. However, after hearing some shocking news, the Tiger realizes he needs to beat Yi Hu's cocky ass once and for all to teach him a valuable lesson, and when the brutal combat has ended, I think it's safe to say we've all become better for the experience.

Pagoda Films' DVD looks pretty damned terrific, especially when you consider how a lot of older Martial Arts flicks fare upon video release. The widescreen transfer is much-appreciated, and while it's a little roughed-up in places (mostly at the beginning and end of each reel), overall it's crisp and delivers sharp color - really nice to look at. The audio isn't gonna knock anybody dead, but the trademark Kung Fu-movie sound effects and dubbing won't let you down. Extras include three trailers (Shaolin Tiger Claw and two others), a "photo gallery" that seems to consist of framegrabs from the film, production notes, bios on Cliff Lok and Shih Kien, and "extra fight scenes," which are clips from other films.

While not the most memorable Martial Arts movie I've ever seen, Shaolin Tiger Claw dishes up solid Old-School action, and I'm always happy to see Shih Kien display his skills.

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