In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Blistering performances.

When official Bao (who, for some reason, appears to be wearing blackface) beheads the Prince for conduct unbecoming, it irks the prince's followers.They dispatch a squad of assassins, who are cut down by Zhan Zhou. At one point, he rescues a princess by literally walking up the side of a wall. Bao dubs him KING CAT, but Zhan doesn't particularly want the title: he realizes it'll just bring him trouble. He's right and, in short order, three maids are raped and murdered. Bai, one of the Five Mice, is accused and Zhan is dispatched to bring him in. Meanwhile, Hua (Lo Lieh), "the variegated Butterfly" (I kid you not), who is the real culprit, decides to kidnap and rape the Princess. Zhan confronts Bai, realizes that he's innocent (of the rapes and murders, but guilty of stealing a jade stove, which he eventually returns) and KING CAT builds to an all-out action finale. One of the better early kung fu movies.