It opens with Lo Lieh demonstrating his fabulous weapons that work like boomerangs. He's a bad guy working for an evil lord and he follows orders. The Lord has a boil on his back. He summons the royal physician and is told he needs an herb and who to get it from. He returns this kindness by ordering Lo to kill him so we see the boomerangs doing a decapitation. These weapons are actually better than and a tad more realistic than the original flying guillotine.

This movie has a curious plot structure in that there is no hint of a good guy for at least the first 20 minutes. Two possible plots then emerge. One is that another character could rise up to be the hero by defeating Lo Lieh. The other is the coming of age plot in which Lo Lieh would come to see the error of his ways and develop into a good guy. Instead, it's more of a group effort to stop Lo Lieh in the final fight.

Shaw Brothers made some big additions to their outdoor standing sets. There is a long and large pink wall. The old bridge is still there just in the background. It remains in a simpler version and this could be the time it appears at all. Other new areas include the cottage below the big bridge, the old temple area, and the diagonal walkway over the pond outside the big house.

Shaw Brothers uses their strengths in movie making - the cast, the action, the sets, and the costumes - to crank out an above average movie for the year and genre.

THE DRAGON MISSILE is one of the slightly less well-known Shaw Brothers movies and it's certainly one I hadn't heard of prior to watching. However, I'm pleased to report that it's a minor gem of a film, packed to the rafters with the kind of gory violence that Shaw Brothers films are noted for, as well as an intriguing and exciting storyline. It was directed by Ho Meng Hua, previously responsible for the demented OILY MANIAC.

The underrated Lo Lieh - one of my favourite Hong Kong actors - gets a chance to play the hero for one of the few times in his career, although the term 'antihero' would be more appropriate. He's tasked with getting hold of a healing root for his dying evil lord, with orders to kill anyone who gets in his way. He does this via a pair of bladed boomerangs with which he cuts off a large number of heads in scenes cleared inspired by the flying guillotine sub-genre of films.

The plot thickens when a group of mercenary fighters are assigned to tail Lieh and get the root themselves by fair means or foul. Meanwhile, various vengeance-seeking characters are also set against him. The plot thickens throughout and twists and turns into unforeseen areas. The climax is inevitable but thoroughly engaging. Lieh isn't one of the greatest screen fighters and is doubled in all of his acrobatic scenes here, but I think he's one of the best actors in the whole of Hong Kong cinema and his presence is second to none. The usual exemplary set designs, effects, and supporting cast help to make this an effortless watch and another winner for Shaw.

I saw this earlier today thanks to the El Rey network, since they have been showing some of the best Shaw Brothers movies for months, but I'd already seen every one they've shown, except for one, The Dragon Missile. The name comes from these 2 dragon-shaped blades that Lo Lieh uses -- when thrown like boomerangs, they easily behead opponents and always come back. The movie felt different from most others in the genre (well, from Shaw) in that Lo Lieh is the main character but also pretty much the main villain. He performs some horrific acts that can't really be forgiven. He shows a little bit of hesitation but ultimately kills anyone his master tells him to because... well, just because it's his job. He never asks forgiveness for doing his job. His master sends out a half dozen other killers to keep an eye on him during a very important mission, and to kill him once he completes it, but ultimately who is the lesser of the evils doesn't matter much since a pair of heroes will enter the story and it becomes about Lo Lieh trying to survive their quest for revenge against him. Revenge which would be quite appropriate.

As much as I've been enjoying revisiting these Shaw Brothers classics on El Rey, I've seen the big ones and they've mainly been showing the big ones. They recently acquired 200+ more to add to the channel and I can't wait. I know there will be more interesting ones like The Dragon Missile out there that I haven't seen yet.