Cast Member: Corey Yuen Kwai

It’s a pity that ‘The Seven Grandmasters’ is nearly a classic, but not quite. The reason it falls short and the reason why many of Kuo’s features stumble in the same way is the ending.

‘The Bodyguard From Beijing’ had the potential to be remembered as a classic action film, but Corey Yuen has failed miserably compared to his other wonderful classics.

Any production that brings together a cast of this nature is worth watching, but the fact of the matter is that this isn’t as good as it should have been.

In what could be described as a mixture of Indiana Jones and well-known Hong Kong film traits, ‘The Raid’ is a very entertaining 100 minutes of action/comedy.

This sequel doesn’t match the original, but there are enough fresh ideas to make it watchable.

‘The Top Bet’ is that very parochial fusion of gambling and ‘nonsense comedy’ (mo lei tau) that many of us are still baffled by after all of these years.

If like me, you have already come to terms with how often Jackie does use doubles, compared to how much we are led to believe, then the film is worth four stars due to the quality car and fight action.

This is an above par HK action comedy and would please all fans of the genre – especially fans of Sammo like myself.

While those unfamiliar with its history may find fault with the now-dated effects, it remains a credit to everyone involved that ‘Zu’ still looks fresh almost 20 years after it was first conceived.