Cast Member: Stephy Tang

With a welcome big screen appearance by Anita Yuen and an all-star rendition of Sam Hui’s beloved ’Private Eyes’ theme, this celebration of Hong Kong is an unpretentious distraction.

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.

‘Dragon Loaded 2003’ is a typical Hong Kong comedy with a little injection of romance, but never rises above the ordinary.

Having emerged from the debacle that was ‘Kung-Fu Cyborg’, Jeff Lau returns to his beloved sub-genre of the nonsensical and it’s certainly an improvement on his previous effort.

Tackling familiar pressures that face young couples – especially women – in modern Hong Kong, Wong favours an understated, low-fi style that suits the material very well.

‘Table For Six’ blends wit with appealing characters, and the dynamic between the sextet is a real strength for the film.

As a meditation on father/daughter relationships, ‘The Empty Hands’ is lazy and thinks that a slickly delivered camera shot is a good replacement for basic storytelling.

If ‘The Invincible Dragon’ had just embraced its barmier B-movie aspects and run with them, then this could have been a fun throwback to action films of yesteryear.