This is not quite the Bond formula since the hero is an ordinary guy caught up in intrigue against his will rather than a professional spy like Bond.
Paul Cheung is just a very ordinary businessman. He’s also an enthusiastic amateur student of both judo and karate.
On a flight to Bangkok he meets an old friend, Chan Chung Cheung. Paul gets off the plane carrying his friend’s briefcase by mistake. The briefcase contains a small golden Buddha statue.
He then finds his friend dead. Murdered. The little statue is worthless in itself but it is the key to something very very important. Something that the bad guys will kill for, the bad guys being the infamous Skeleton Gang.
Paul was in possession of the statuette in the briefcase. It has been stolen from him but he already knows the secret it conceals.
There are three of these little statuettes. Chan Chung Cheung’s brother Chan Chung Tai has one. His sister Chan Mei-nan has the other.
Paul is determined to solve the mystery of the statuettes because his friend was murdered and it is therefore a matter of honour.
Paul and Mei-nan have the Skeleton Gang after them and the police figure in the story as well.
The plot is not dazzling but it’s perfectly adequate.
Paul Chang Chung makes an effective hero. He doesn’t have the charisma of a Connery but he’s playing an amateur rather than a professional spy and he has that everyman vibe which works.
Of course a film like this needs beautiful women and The Golden Buddha is well supplied on that count. At least one of the women needs to be sexy, bad and dangerous. And the voluptuous Fanny Fan (promoted at the time as the Chinese Bardot) fits the bill admirably.
The chief villain has a whole bevy of bodacious babes to serve him and they’re all as dangerous as they are gorgeous. And this movie has a cute adorable heroine.
Shaw Brothers movies always had high production values and magnificent sets and that’s the case here as well. The secret lair of the Skelton Gang is a triumph of crazy pop art-inspired production design.
There’s plenty of great location shooting in Thailand which adds the necessary touch of the exotic.
The fact that the hero is an expert in judo and karate makes this a martial arts movie as well as a Bond-style movie.
Surprisingly there is some nudity.
The action is non-stop but the violence is not in the least graphic. This is a movie with the emphasis on fast-moving fun and adventure.
It doesn’t have the spectacular action set-pieces of a Bond movie nor does it have the inspired lunacy of the best eurospy movies but it has an engaging distinctive flavour. The Golden Buddha offers fine entertainment and it’s highly recommended.
It’s included in Eureka’s three-movie Shaw Brothers Super Spies and Secret Lies Blu-Ray boxed set. The transfer looks great (the movie was shot in ShawScope and in colour).
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