Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Shaolin Mantis Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 1, 2022

David West contributes another of his overviews that have been featured on some of the previous 88 Films Blu-ray releases of various Shaw Brothers outings, and he mentions the fact that the "Shaolin" part of Shaolin Mantis is meaningless within the context of the film, and was probably simply the result of some "marketing genius" and attempts to cash in on the so-called Shaolin Temple craze in kung fu films. West and some of the commentary experts on this disc also mention the perhaps hilarious trivia data point that Shaolin Mantis is arguably better known, at least to some, under one of its alternate titles, The Deadly Mantis, which may provoke a guffaw or two from lovers of certain lo-fi 1950s (American) science fiction fare. Titles aside, Shaolin Mantis offers another tale of political intrigue and a fighter learning from the natural world how to harness his forces in unusual ways. The back cover of this release may stretch things just slightly by suggesting that Shaolin Mantis is "another fast paced fight fest," because this is a martial arts film that takes its time in developing an actual story, rather than stringing together a loose narrative only in order to get to the next action sequence.

Book smart but still athletic Wei Fung (David Chiang) is takes by the Emperor (Hung Wei) to infiltrate a gang of Ming loyalists who may be out to take control. Unfortunately, while Wei Fung has no problem initially making contact with the rebels by posing as a tutor of sorts, he develops romantic feelings for his putative student, the clan leader's granddaughter Tien Chi-Chi (Cecilia Wong, billed as Hsing-Hsiu Huang). Adding to Wei Fung's dilemma is the fact that his own family is being threatened if his mission isn't accomplished successfully, and so some of the emotional import of the story revolves around feelings of loyalty and/or betrayal. As the U.S. Trailer (under the very title of The Deadly Mantis, it might be noted) kind of hilariously points out, "Chinese kung fu" (as it states) was often based on actions and/or behaviors from the natural world, and as this film's title clearly alludes to, it is indeed a praying mantis that offers a little "sparring practice".

Perhaps saliently with regard to the aforementioned "slow burn" of some elements of this film, it may be instructive to note that the actual interaction with the praying mantis occurs relatively late in the story, after a whole series of melodramatic events that sees Wei Fung probably more concerned with figuring out what both his and the supposed "villain" clan's motives are rather than with actual "kung fu fighting". As such, the film probably spends its first two acts more with narrative elements than action, even if there are of course sporadic bursts of fight choreography, but the last act is not just a pretty much nonstop array of fight sequences, it also builds to a rather interesting and provocative turn of events just as the story ostensibly closes.

There's a kind of fascinating tonal evolution at play in Shaolin Menace, with some earlier elements seeming almost comic, as Tien Chi-Chi seeming like the ancient Chinese version of a privileged rich girl, which leads to an almost bantering relationship with Wei Fung. But the story moves into more of an almost tragic ambience as it approaches its really interesting denouement, where Wei Fung may feel he's been a pawn in more ways than one throughout the entire enterprise.

Shaolin Mantis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shaolin Mantis is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Asian Collection, an imprint of 88 Films, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. As with some of the other releases in this series, there's not a ton of technical information, with the back cover offering only a generic "HD remaster from the original 35mm negatives". While this is a passably satisfying looking presentation from 88 Films, I'd rate it just as being noticeably less spectacular looking than some of the others the label has recently released. While color reproduction is often very well suffused, there's a curious downturn toward the end of the film which almost looks like it may have been sourced from some kind of secondary element, where things go noticeably browner and with an overall dowdier appearance (see screenshots 18 and 19). Otherwise, though, colors are on the whole warm and inviting, and some of the blues in particular pop extremely well. Even some of the warmer looking moments can have an at least slightly faded appearance. While grain can be gleaned, especially against brighter skies, this still has a filtered look that can make things look artificially tweaked. This is another Shaw Brothers effort where there are some patently odd anamorphic anomalies that can introduce either squeezing or stretching in various parts of the frame. My score is 3.25.

Shaolin Mantis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shaolin Mantis features LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks in either English or Mandarin. I followed my standard operating procedure of toggling between the tracks as I watched, and found the mixes to be quite similar in terms of music and effects. Dialogue on the English track sounded louder, and in fact maybe even artificially boosted, with a kind of slightly out of phase quality that can sound overly reverberant. While it's patently obvious not all of the Chinese language speakers were speaking Mandarin during the shoot, and there are therefore almost comical mismatches between lip movements and the sounds emanating from them, the Mandarin track struck me as more natural sounding throughout. I noticed no damage of any major import on either track. Optional English subtitles are available.

Shaolin Mantis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Complicated Families (HD; 13:52) features David West offering an interesting analysis of Shaolin Mantis.


• Uncle Tien Chung (HD; 20:35) is an interview with John Cheung. Subtitled in English.


• The Deadly Mantis US Trailer (HD; 3:38)


• Hong Kong Trailer (HD; 3:49)


• Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema


• Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng

Additionally, this is another very handsomely packaged release from 88 Films. The keepcase houses a fold out mini-poster and reproductions of lobby cards. A reversible sleeve features the original Hong Kong poster artwork, and packaging features a slipcover.

Shaolin Mantis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's something just kind of uniquely charming about a fighter taking "boxing tips" from a praying mantis, but aside from that pretty whimsical element, Shaolin Mantis manages to craft an interesting story rife with political intrigue but which also plays into ideas of personal loyalties. This may not be the most action packed kung fu movie of all time, but it has its own definite energy and the performances are all winning. This is one of the outliers in the recent spate of Shaw Brothers releases from a variety of labels (including 88 Films) where the video quality is not quite at the level we've seen in some other releases. Supplements are once again very enjoyable, for those who may considering making a purchase.