“Ten Tigers of Kwangtung” is probably the best way I could have wrapped up this enlightening and enjoyable series on classic kung fu movies.

The Shaw Bros. Studio was a monolith within the world of Hong Kong cinema, but especially within the realm of martial arts films given its massive backlot and stable of actors. The list of classic kung fu films put out by Shaw Bros. is unrivaled, so the thought of doing a sort of “greatest hits” with some of the studio’s most well known actors makes sense, sort of like “The Expendables” of its day.

That all-star lineup is very much a focal point of the film, too. Any time a major character comes on screen, a subtitle pops up to remind you of which big name kung fu actor is entering the story and what character they’re playing. And while I can’t say that I recognized everyone that showed up, it was definitely a lot of fun watching most of the principle cast from “5 Deadly Venoms” reunite.

The story isn’t much to write home about, and in fact, I found myself fairly confused for almost half the movie. It starts out with an act of revenge before transitioning to a flashback that lasts most of the film involving the Ten Tigers as they protect a rebel general (but only after they fight each other, naturally). Things then catch back up to the present day once we find out why the revenge was plotted, but it just feels like a really long tangent for something that doesn’t seem to matter much. It’s like they couldn’t decide what story they wanted to tell so the writers just decided on both. It also didn’t help that half the characters names all sound the same and the production company who dubbed the film seem to have only hired three voice actors for over a dozen characters.

Mostly, though, it’s all a thinly veiled excuse for you to watch your favorite kung fu movie actors fight each other (again, in some cases) and boy, what a showcase. I’ve said it before in this series but it bears repeating. There is absolutely no substitute for a steady camera, long takes and actors who have spent more than a few (albeit rigorous) months training to fight.

Sure, as the genre matured and evolved the punches and kicks look like they hit harder and the choreography becomes more and more elaborate. But there’s a certain panache these guys had that is just so much fun to watch, like how there’s a certain quality to the way Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart would deliver a performance in the days before method acting took over Hollywood. Although I’d still put some of these fights up against almost anything modern, especially once Wang Li’s drops the pretense and finally starts throwing down with his utility belt filled to the brim with hidden weapons.

You could say that the film has some issues in the production department. That classic Shaw Bros. fake blood has never looked more fake. Plus the film looks even more obviously like it was shot on a set (something that’s always been readily apparent but never quite so obtrusive), to the point where you can practically see the seams and brush strokes on the skyline painted for the dock scenes. In a way this sort of adds to the kitschy charm of watching old, poorly dubbed kung fu flicks, but your mileage may vary.

Still, this niggling production and script issues aside this is a seriously fun movie made by a group of actors (and a director) all at the top of their game. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.

And that wraps up this series of catching up on old kung fu movies. It’s been incredibly fun and I’ve decided I absolutely must return to it sooner rather than later. So expect to see another run of films in the near future.

For next time, however, I’m going got start jumping into the films of Ernst Lubitsch with reviews of “Trouble in Paradise,” “Ninotchka,” “The Shop Around the Corner,” “To Be or Not to Be” and “Heaven Can Wait.”

Every week, Entertainment Editor Stewart Smith brings a new entry in “Catching Up On…” an ongoing series attempting to fill in the gaps of his cinematic education.