For the most part, Japanese characters have not been treated very well in Hong Kong and Chinese martial arts films. From classics like Fist of Fury to newer entries like Ip Man, the Japanese are often presented as caricatures that showcase every negative stereotype possible in order to raise up jingoistic feelings in the local audience. So when an entry like 1992's unfortunately titled Deadend of Besiegers comes around that treats the Japanese characters (or at least some of them) as well-rounded individuals, it's at least worth a look.

The well-rounded Japanese character in question here is Wuwechimatao (Yu Rong-Guang), who has traveled to China to learn the Dog Fist technique. The problem is, the ship he takes is full of pirates, and he is mistaken for one of them until he befriends a young girl and her sister, Cui Gu (Cynthia Khan), who just happens to know Dog Fist. After learning the technique and defeating the pirates, Wuwechimatao heads back to his homeland, where he develops karate, and everyone lives happily ever after. Well, until that whole Sino-Japanese war mess. But that's a story for another day.

If you're able to set aside Deadend of Besiegers' plot holes, such as Wuwechimatao not knowing he was on a boat full of pirates or being able to seemingly learn Chinese in a couple of days, and its' liberties with the actual historical development of the style of karate, this is a pretty fun movie. The acting isn't much to note, with surprisingly the best thespianism displayed by the young girl who plays Cui Gu's sister, but the characters end up coming off as likeable enough, at least to the point that the viewer actually gets invested in the story and the characters' fates.

Action-wise, Deadend of Besiegers sets itself apart from the wire-fu and/or violent fare Hong Kong martial arts productions tended to favor at this time in history by showcasing a more ground-based family-friendly style. This is not to say that the fisticuffs are boring at all. Yu Rong-Guang, along with his co-action director Wang Hua, created some exciting kung fu scenes that are simply not dependent on people flying through the air or severed limbs, instead concentrating on the talents of the participants.

RATING: 6.5