Cast Member: Gordon Lam

This is a lustrous production that flatters to deceive, aiming for the intellect, but eventually preferring to show empty spectacle and supposed depth.

There are moments of entertainment here, but the flat denouement sums up the lack of real polish that the preceding 100 minutes had provided.

It has to be admitted that there are some decent moments within the film and it certainly brings more smiles to the face than many a Chinese New Year comedy of the past.

Everything is so over-the-top and forced while desperately trying to drag all of those ensemble hits of yesteryear kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The result is a bizarre mix.

‘Cold War’ is consistently entertaining and its massive success at the Hong Kong box-office shows that it clearly struck a chord with local audiences.

‘Dance Of A Dream’ is an enjoyable, yet forgettable romantic comedy that is an amble display of the good and the bad of Andrew Lau as director.

Johnnie To charges out the gate with ‘Drug War’: a blitz of tension, style and almost unrelenting momentum.

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

The film has one of the best stories I’ve seen in quite a while and the cast and crew all produce some of their finest work to date.

If you’re an action fan you won’t be disappointed and for me, this is Donnie Yen’s best film to date from an acting perspective.

Clocking in at around the 80 minute mark, ‘Jiang Hu’ is short and snappy, delving into a a specific moment in the characters lives making it neither overly complex or lacking in substance.

If you like your cop thrillers but want something just a little different then ‘Mad Detective’ has got both bases covered.