Fun little martial arts time-filler, with Bruce Li attempting to bring down a pair of international drug dealing operations by pitting one against the other. Paper-thin plot is just an excuse for endless martial arts fight sequences, most are fairly well choreographed, some go on for such a long time, however, they become tiresome. Well photographed in Bangkok (?, at least, that is where the story is set) with a funny bit with a lubed-up Li fighting gargantuan-sized foe; and a good (if still slightly goofball) climactic battle in a warehouse with Paul Smith.Print quality is surprisingly good also, without noticeable frames missing and awkward jump cuts, nor annoying clicks and pops on the soundtrack.

This is one of the better Angela Mao movie from the late '70s. Since she stopped starring in Golden Harvest's movie, her movies weren't as well made or distributed. She seemed to be more focused on her domestic life, which probably was the right move since pure kung fu action movies were starting to be passe around the time this movie was made. Bruce Li is probably the most type cast actor of all time, but he's a good actor in his own right, holding on screen presence with his handsome good looks, and good martial arts skill.Making this a one of a kind movie is that both stars are starring together in this movie. What's amazing about Taiwan producers and directors is the way they fail to capitalize on the on screen talent of their stars. They'd rather stick to their pat formula for making movies, rather than exploiting the often great talent of their stars. This movie is no exception and it just drags on with boring scenes of the bad guys talking to each other, then more talking, and then more, ......and more. Another thing is that the movie has no atmosphere to it at all. The scene goes from a cheap office to a dirty alley, to a worn down warehouse, and the likes. There's not a single beautiful scene in this entire movie.Anyways, if a movie of this caliber is above average, you can surmise how bad some of the other Taiwan made Angela Mao movies are. Don't expect too much from this movie, as you see little of Bruce Li, and even less of Angela Mao.There are better movies made of Angela Mao from Golden Harvest in the early '70s. They are recommended far more over this one.

Shrewd, suave Chang Wong (a solid and amiable performance by the handsome and charismatic Bruce Li) and his redoubtable female partner (superbly essayed with delicious vigor by the foxy Angela Mao) devise an elaborate scheme to take out a heroin drug ring led by the nefarious Paul (nicely played by the enormous Paul Smith of "Popeye" and "Dune" fame). Moreover, Chang also works for a rival dope-dealing organization in order to further stir things up. Director Jimmy Shaw crams this baby with a handy helping of hugely entertaining good stuff: wall-to-wall fierce and crazy martial arts fights, several groovy nightclub scenes (the funky-chillin' house band is simply amazing!), a couple of brutal garrotings, inspired occasional use of strenuous slow motion, a nonstop speedy pace, a wild free-for-all confrontation between the two criminal factions, and a fantastic rousing climactic showdown between Li and Smith in which Li's graceful physical agility is pitted against Smith's fearsome brute strength. Chou Fu Liang's awesomely gnarly throbbing disco score hits the soulful spot. Chiou Yao-Hwu's reasonably polished cinematography likewise makes the grade. Best of all, the lovely Ms. Mao looks smoking hot in a sparkling silver jumpsuit and beats the living tar out of a teeming volume of guys. What's not to like about this totally fun vintage 70's grindhouse flick?

I'm not a huge fan of martial arts movies, but I'm trying. Sure, I enjoy Bruce Lee and some of the Sonny Chiba films I've seen, but beyond that, I've always thought of martial arts movies (and this is especially true of the movies from the 70s) as a bunch of faceless, nameless people repeating the same moves in endless fight scenes. And while there's some of that in Return of the Tiger, I've decided I may need to rethink my opinion. Overall, I enjoyed Return of the Tiger much more than I thought I would. It's far from perfect and the movie does drag a bit during some of the longer fight sequences, but for the most part, I was entertained throughout. Bruce Li and Angela Mao make an interesting and appealing pair. The bad guys are appropriately bad. Add in a few funny moments, awesome title music, and an ending with plenty of fists and feet and it's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.Unfortunately, the copy of the movie I had available to me seemed to be heavily cut. The plot (at least what I got out of it) centers on Chang Wong (Bruce Li), a man playing both sides of a feud between two criminal bosses. His plan seems to be to force both bosses' hands so he can make his final move. Along the way, he and his female assistant will have to do battle with an army of trained fighters. I'm confident that an uncut copy of Return of the Tiger would improve my opinion and rating.Finally, what impressed me the most in Return of the Tiger was Bruce Li. I admit it – this is the first time I've seen one of his movies. I guess I unfairly thought of him as a Bruce Lee wannabe and dismissed him without giving him or his movies a chance. I realize now that the name and image were part of a producer's marketing ploy to cash in on the fame of Lee and not necessarily Li's doing. He's got a definite screen presence that I found appealing. I'll have to seek out some of his others movies.