This freewheeling follow-up to the original, immensely popular The 36th Chamber of Shaolin applies a light touch to the “warrior-in-training” subgenre and ably showcases director Lau Kar-leung's considerable talent for kung fu comedy. Lau Kar-fai reprises his starring role, but rather than a kung fu master he portrays a con man merely impersonating a Shaolin priest. A delightful self-parody and testament to Lau's refusal to facilely recycle the formula of his past success, Return to the 36th Chamber cleverly subverts expectations while fulfilling the narrative and action requirements of the classic revenge plot. Along with the slapstick kung fu films of Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, Return to the 36th Chamber helped usher in the vogue for martial arts comedy in the 1980s Hong Kong cinema.