The Pirate

Cheh Chang and pirates. Apart from a short introduction and some scenes on the beach, it's not that different from other Shaw Bros productions, and the whole pirate angle adds very little. I'd expected a slightly more unique film, but it's clear that deviating from the norm wasn't as easy as it seemed. This is just basic Shaw Bros fluff.

We're following a capable but fair pirate here. Though he steals at sea, he also protects people who are in need. When his crew has to go on land to repair the ship, they find a little fishing community that's being oppressed by a local gang. Our hero sides with the fishermen and stands up to the gang on their behalf.

There are some decent martial arts scenes, the scenes on locations are pretty cool (no studio-fake sea) and the ending has somewhat of a twist, but it's not enough to give the film a real swashbuckler feel. The whole pirate setup feels a little forced and poorly executed, which is a shame as there was some potential there.