Author: Andrew Skeates

ordon Chan can certainly do entertaining fantasy action but the various elements of ‘The Four’ just don’t gel meaning there are moments of fun but on the whole it’s all just a little dreary and long winded.

Very 1980s in its tone, a factor which adds to a lot of the fun, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’, is flashy and harmless and shows the two Hong Kong stars still have charisma to burn.

‘For Love’s Sake’ has sporadic moments of brilliance but falls short of being the fast, fun and feisty musical action teen romance it could have been.

Those less critical may get more out of ‘Flying Swords’ as there is still a lot of high flying action on offer, despite it being stuffed with CGI, and the film certainly has a rich visual style.

Sure everything in-between the violent clashes on the court is a little amateur but the point of the film is to showcase an original, if unlikely, martial arts sport and on those terms ‘Fireball’ delivers.

While the narrative and tone get a little muddled and the pace dips here and there, ‘Fire of Conscience’ is still a good tough-as-nails cop thriller with some brutal action.

It may feel a little dated in some respects and that one is watching a heightened version of a serious time in a country’s history but ‘Fighting Elegy’ is still exhilarating cinema.

More believable than your average martial arts coming of age film and less pretentious than a lot of other serious, urban set dramas.

‘Fatal Move’ is most certainly flawed and could have been a lot tighter and less meandering. Yet it still manages to be an entertaining slice of gangster action that entertains if never really ignites.

While it’s not always cohesive in tone and execution, ‘Extreme Crisis’ is nevertheless a solid action film and ideal for those looking for some simple action thrills.

‘Exiled’ is a riveting portrayal of a group of friends sticking by one another as their once chosen profession threatens to kill them all.

‘Escape from Brothel’ may sound like it would a wild trashy romp but is in fact a grimy and often depressive trip through Hong Kong sleaze.