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Marco Polo (Richard Harrison), that famous travelling Italian, is
welcomed as the guest of honour at Kublai Khan's court ... but soon enough
he witnesses 2 attempts made at the Khan's life. & since the Khan
doesn't trust any of his subjects, he makes Marco Polo a Royal Inspector
and asks him to investigate in that matter ...
Soon enough, Marco Polo picks up a lead to Tiandao village, & its
leader Wang, who opposes the Mongolian rule, but Marco Polo just can't
find any concrete evidence against Wang ...
Of course, Marco Polo's hunch was right, since in Tiandao, the four
friends (Alexander Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan Chun, Philip Kwok, Billy Tang) of
the 2 assassins are plotting revenge. However, since they are just no
match against Khan's guards, they undergo painful training sessions (which
involve kicking stones, chopping trees, grinding beans and jumping in and
out of mudholes) to improve their skills, even if these sessions put them
at the edge of desperation more than once ...
Three months have passed. Marco Polo has investigated further, and his
suspicions against Master Wang have all but diminished, but he still lacks
evidence, so he orders the Khan's army to attack Tiandao in the morning
... but first he wants to enter the city on his own, to finally find proof
against Wang ... and when he sees the four friends training, and Wang's
daughter killing herself because one of Khan's assassins was her husband,
he begins to see the other side of the story, & he eventually tells
them about the plans of the Khan's army to attack Tiandao ... plans that
he himself made up in the first place.
In the end, the four heroes manage to defend Tiandao against the
Mongolians on their own (even if two of them have to die), and give ample
proof of their skills and the Mongolian weaknesses. The saved citizens
celebrate their heroes, but turn their back on Marco Polo (which, come to
think of it, is the nicest thing they could have done anyway, under the
circumstances) ...
The usual great action as well as a story that is more elaborate than
usually make this one of Chang Cheh's best films. Here, Chang Cheh doesn't
dwell upon honour & friendship endlessly, like in especially his
earlier films, but shows the characters develop (through training, the
Four Assassins evolve from carefree young man into valiant heroes, and
Marco Polo, at first a fierce enforcer of the Khan, even turns from a
villain into a good guy in the end) ... but that doesn't mean that the
film can't be full of martial arts action - as we come to expect from
Chang Cheh.
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Flix.com
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find Marco Polo at adultvideouniverse.com
