Today’s quick review: Kid with the Golden Arm. Yang (Sun Chien) enlists sword master Li Chin Ming (Wei Pai) and government agent Hai Tao (Kuo Chui) to protect a shipment of gold from the Chi Sa Gang. Golden Arm (Lo Mang), the leader of the gang, counters by sending his lieutenants Silver Spear (Lu Feng), Iron Robe (Wang Lung Wei), and Brass Head (Yang Hsiung) to steal the gold by killing the men guarding it.
Kid with the Golden Arm is a martial arts action movie about a gang of killers trying to steal a shipment of gold. Yang must lead his men through poisonous traps, deadly ambushes, and internal dissent to escort the gold to its destination. The wildcard of the film is Hai Tao, a crafty agent who foils Golden Arm’s schemes through his keen mind and drunken style of martial arts.
Kid with the Golden Arm has the makings of a fun movie. The Chi Sa Gang are colorful villains and lay interesting traps for the heroes. Hai Tao makes for a playful protagonist, throwing a wrench in the gang’s carefully laid plans. The fights have a good amount of variety, employing swords, spears, axes, and throwing knives. And while the plot is not especially clever or meaningful, it does set up the action scenes nicely.
However, Kid with the Golden Arm is not as deft with its story as other martial arts movies in the same vein. The movie culls its cast aggressively, causing its world to feel empty by the end. Li Chin Ming is a miss as a character, never accomplishing enough to justify the time spent with him. Finally, the action has the same artificial quality to it as other early martial arts films, but without the flourishes to help compensate.
The result is an enjoyable action flick with some peripheral flaws. Give Kid with the Golden Arm when you are in the mood for classic martial arts action, complete with a large cast of distinct fighters, cleanly choreographed action, and a token plot. The movie does not succeed at everything, but its strengths are enough to carry it. For a martial arts action movie with some of the same cast, try The Five Venoms or Crippled Avengers.
[7.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079372/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for solid action with some weaknesses in terms of character and story.