Cast Member: Damian Lau

It has numerous nods to the Shaw Brothers classics and harks back to those swordplay flicks of yesteryear, making you smile, cry, jump for joy and shout like a banshee, like any good martial arts film should.

‘Duel To The Death’ is ostentatious proof director Ching Siu Tung is not someone merely told where to put the camera.

‘First Option’ is definitely a high scorer on the cheese scale, but luckily it’s also loaded with some original action scenes that make it worth your while.

By no means a classic action comedy, ‘Inspector Pink Dragon’ nonetheless succeeds in providing a entertaining 90-odd minutes.

‘My Father Is A Hero’ provides some adrenalin pumping set-pieces, notably a classic scene where Li takes on a dozen of the villain’s lackies with a pair of tonfa.

Added to the humour is the furious action orchestrated by Ching Siu-Tung that makes this much more than the average comedy film.

Part two is lavish and colourful, but simply not as absorbing as it needed to be. A steadier hand at the helm may have rectified this.

What could have been a classic is rendered merely enjoyable by the prominence of some very weak comedy.

‘Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon’ is a mixture of well shot conflict, stirring heroism and flawed drama.

‘What Price Survival’ is nice to look at on the surface but is ultimately very tedious and the action sequences make for insufficient compensation. All in all, dull and boring.

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.