This is a very typical period kung fu flick with a plot that's been done literally hundreds of times. I didn't enjoy it much, mainly due to the low budget and unengaging fight scenes, which are shot with little flourish or skill; it's just a guy kicking, then a guy punching, repeated until ten minutes has passed by. This is particularly true of the climax, which should be a big hero vs. villain showdown, but instead lapses into boredom.
One interesting thing is that there isn't a single main story but rather a few smaller ones joined together. An early sub-plot is about a guy pretending to be a monk who goes around eating meat and chasing women, until he's taught a lesson by the 'real deal'. Then we move onto a rather annoying kid whose father was killed and mother kidnapped by a bad guy. He has a desire to learn kung fu and take revenge. Then there's a nefarious gang holding a town to ransom, causing trouble, beating people up and making money from women and gambling. Finally, the titular monk, apparently based on a real-life character, one of the earlier protagonists of the 'crane' style of fighting. These last three plot strands come together in various ways until the inevitable climax when everybody battles it out to the death in a big field, as with most kung fu flicks.
So what's the deal here? There's bad dubbing all round, especially the annoying brat, and one of those scenes where a woman sticks on a fedora and is instantly mistaken for a man. There are sneering villains, wild-haired villains, and peace-loving monks who always introduce themselves with the phrase 'Buddha be praised'. Actually, I didn't like the monk that much, he's an arrogant so-and-so who garners no sympathy from the viewer. All of the elements are VERY familiar, and one of them are particularly memorable, which makes this another run-of-the-mill outing that I'm sure I will quickly forget.
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