In New York City a serial killer known as “the death dealer” (Bolo Yeung) is killing renowned martial artists with the ancient fighting technique of the Tiger. NYPD detectives Tarek (Jalal Merhi) and Masterson (Cynthia Rothrock) are on the case, kicking their way through the crime world of Chinatown. For anyone familiar with western martial arts movies Tiger Claws (1991) isn’t exactly a bold, new idea.
Director Kelly Makin shoots Tiger Claws primarily in tight two-shots, emphasizing the physicality of martial arts. The edits are often rapid and propel what suspense there is as well as mask the limitations of Merhi’s fighting. This is the real weakness of Tiger Claws. The film casts Rothrock as the novice and Merhi as the expert even though every fight scene indicates that the opposite is indisputably true. Again, Rothrock is forced to play second fiddle because of the systemic sexism of the action movie genre.
On the other hand, Rothrock and Merhi are about equal when it comes to dramatic chops, with each star turning in a hilariously wooden performance. Fortunately the script for Tiger Claws written by J. Stephen Maunder doesn’t demand much from its players in terms of emotional authenticity. Tiger Claws was the first Film One production after all, and establishes all of the low budget hallmarks associated with Merhi’s Canadian company.
As is the case with the majority of martial arts films the primary asset of these pictures is in the fight choreography and the manner in which that choreography is recorded on film. Tiger Claws is heavy enough on the action, but there are only two scenes that are really worth noting. The best two fights in Tiger Claws pit the iconic Cynthia Rothrock against the legendary Bolo Yeung. These two martial arts masters move with a speed and grace absent in all of Merhi’s fights. This has the unwanted effect of diminishing the climactic battle between Merhi and Yeung.
Yet despite the overwhelming mediocrity of Tiger Claws the film spawned two sequels. In each of the subsequent and even lesser films Merhi, Yeung and Rothrock all return to reprise their roles. Tiger Claws, like the Warlock and Nemesis films, was a franchise sustained by the video store rental markets. That being said, there’s a certain nostalgia for Tiger Claws that keeps the films somewhat relevant, though I wouldn’t recommend this film as an entry point into western martial arts movies.
