Prepare to feel the sting of the 'Scorpion King'.

Plot: Yushu is a daydreaming adolescent who spends his free-time drawing comics, when he should be paying attention in class and when his fantasizing gets him in trouble with his teacher, Yushu is expelled from school. He has dreams of becoming a crime-fighter who uses martial arts to protect the small and the meek from the rich and corrupt and pretty soon Yushu gets his opportunity to be a champion of justice when he and his grumpy father rescue a slave-girl named Jade from the lustful advances of the wealthy and sleazy Mr. Wang. After hiding out at the restaurant of pacifist noodle chef Master Yee, Yushu decides to take a stand against corruption and to learn martial arts to help the greater good. Seeing potential in Yushu, Master Yee takes him on as his student and after much arduous training, the duo is finally ready to take the fight back to the enemy. Yushu himself will need every skill he has at his disposal when he must face off against Sonny Wang, Mr. Wang’s only son and bodyguard who is a master of the notorious ‘Scorpion Technique’ of kung fu. Will Yushu and Master Yee prevail in their battle to end slavery and corruption in their village? Or will they too fall victim to the awesome kicking power of the dreaded Scorpion King?

Chin Kar Lok and Kim Won Jin prepare for a showdown.

Thoughts on the Movie: This is yet another movie that fell into my list of collectibles after hearing recommendations from stuntman Eric Jacobus (from the Stuntpeople action team). He gave this movie such high praise from his reviews and I decided to purchase a copy based on what he described on his website. Needless to say, Eric knows his martial arts films because The Scorpion King (a.k.a. Operation Scorpio) was a treat to behold. The story was so-so and it gave interesting themes about standing up for what’s right and how one person can make a difference given the proper training and wisdom from their peers. Scorpion King has a lot going for it and the fight choreography definitely moves the story along and I found myself rooting for the good guys in this film from start to finish (although I rooted for the main villain of the story a little bit too because he had some outrageous fighting skills in this flick).

Yushu: Champion of Justice, Defender of the innocent.

Was it Funny?: Operation Scorpio does have some light-humored moments in it, but the movie borders more along the lines of adventure-drama than comedy.

How was the Action?: The action was splendid. Although, there were moments in the movie where wire-fu was used but the good thing is that the choreographer and stunt coordinators didn’t rely solely on wires alone. They allowed the martial artists to showcase what they knew on their own without wires and that alone made the movie all the more enjoyable to watch. Some of the fights in this movie have to be seen to believe as words alone can’t describe just how good some of the stage combat was in this movie. There’s also a moment in the movie where Chin Kar Lok and Liu Chia Liang’s characters are cooking noodles together and the writers of the story show that martial arts exist in everything we do whether it’s cooking, cleaning or getting ready to go to work or getting ready for bed. Kung Fu is everywhere…we just have to look hard enough to see it.

Master Yee and Yushu prepare for training.

Standout Performance: I’m guessing Hong Kong stuntman Chin Kar Lok wanted a breakout role to be in as he usually gets the part of stunt coordinatior or fight choreographer for some films. Here though, he gets top billing playing Yushu, the good-natured artist who spends more time drawing and daydreaming than he does focusing in class. I don’t really think this role fit him too well and Chin Kar doesn’t really get to fight much until later in the movie, instead bonding with his costar May Lo who plays slave-girl Jade. Chin Kar’s portrayal of Yushu was very heartwarming and he really put a lot of effort into playing the character, but there were times that his character came off rather bland. None the less, he gave it his all and he definitely deserves an ‘A’ for effort but gets a ‘C+’ for execution.

Stuntman Chin Kar Lok as Yushu

The late Liu Chia-Liang gets to showcase some of his Hung Gar skills in this movie playing pacifist noodle chef Master Yee. Liu’s portrayal of Master Yee was interesting as his character is a pacifist who despises violence but at the same time can’t stand to see innocents suffer. When the bad guys push their luck too far though, Liu’s character steps up to the plate and prepares to strike back with his apprentice Yushu and Yushu himself learns a secret about who his master really is and why the enemy shouldn’t press their luck with him. Liu’s character is a wise man with a willingness to help anybody who gets into trouble and the way he and Chin Kar Lok bond in this movie is magical.

The Late Liu Chia Liang as Master Yee prepares for combat.

But truth be told, the real standout performance in Operation Scorpio is Korean taekwondo stylist and wushu practitioner Kim Won Jin with his portrayal of Sonny Wang. Honest to God, Kim does things in this movie that will make your jaw drop to the floor. His acrobatics are astonishing and coupled with his kicking ability, the casting directors made a great choice in putting him in the role of Sonny the Scorpion King. Sonny is a nasty character when someone messes with his disabled father and he’ll kick the head off of anyone who harms his dear old dad. At times, I found it hard not to root for Sonny because he was a villain but the way he fights in this film is truly phenomenal! Kim was like…one part Yuen Biao and one part Hwang Jang Lee in this picture. Many people like myself all said that Kim should have had the part of Yushu more than Chin Kar Lok because when you see the way Kim fights in this story, you start to wonder why he didn’t get the part of the protagonist. It’s really a shame that Kim didn’t become a major star after his performance in Operation Scorpio but to this day, his portrayal of Sonny Wang is the most talked about character when brought up for discussion.

Sonny 'the Scorpion' Wang, played with ruthless perfection by Kim Won Jin!

Reasons to buy or pass 

 1.  Buy if you’re a fan of Chin Kar Lok or Liu Chia Liang.

 2.  Buy if you’re a fan of the great Kim Won Jin.

 3.  Buy if you like a kung fu story about fighting to end injustice.

 4.   Pass if you don’t like a story with sappy drama (some people may not like the times when the movie

  gets dramatic).

 5. Pass if you think Chin Kar Lok does better doing stunts than playing the lead.

 6. Pass if period martial arts pieces aren’t your thing.

Notes and Final Thoughts: The Scorpion King was a fun adventure-drama and the producers really pushed their creativity to the limits in this one. Kim Won Jin is probably the only real reason to buy this movie or rent it, but I think everyone else did a decent job also. Though the film has its cons, it’s still enjoyable if you focus more on the pros and try not to take it too seriously. If you like Kim Won Jin though, this movie is worthy of keeping in your collection.

Adrenaline rating for this flick: 4.5

Beware the wrath...of the Scorpion King!