Perhaps due to the time it came out, which was towards the end of the line for the traditional kung fu movie, Sammo Hung's 1980 entry The Victim seems to be one of the lesser-known entries in his filmography. That's unfortunate, because even though the plot and acting aren't going to win any awards, the martial arts action featured here is top-notch.

Sammo (who also directed the movie) stars as Chan Wing, a wandering fighter looking to train with the best kung fu masters. He sees Chung Yau (Leung Kar-Yan) save a blind man from being run over, and decides to ask him to become his teacher. Chung refuses, since he is on the run with his wife (Fanny Wang) to get away from his villainous big brother, Jo Wing (Chang Yi). As most of these sorts of films go, eventually Chung does take Chan under his wing so that they can get revenge.

Lau Tin-Chi's script doesn't deviate too far (if any) from the norms of the old-school kung fu picture, unfortunately including some oddly-placed comedy which takes away the emphasis from the grittier themes of the story. The acting also doesn't break any sort of new ground, with most of the sort of stock characters and performances one would expect from a movie of the type popping up. It's nothing bad per se, but if you're watching The Victim to experience anything deep or meaningful, you're probably going to wind up being disappointed.

One area where the viewer will definitely not be disappointed, though, are the fight scenes. Again, there's nothing extraordinary or mind-blowing presented here, but Sammo (along with his fellow action directors Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, and Billy Chan) stack the deck with oodles of different martial arts techniques and weapon styles that fans of classic fisticuffs will dig. It's on the strength of the fight scenes that The Victim transcends the realm of the average to become a recommended picture.

RATING: 7.5