Cast Member: Wong Yau-Nam

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.

It’s doubtful whether even non-action audiences will be fully satisfied by this entertaining, but insubstantial production

‘Gallants’ is, for the most part, a refreshing diversion that allows stars of the past to remind modern viewers that they still have much to offer to the future of Hong Kong cinema.

For the most part this is a perfectly enjoyable though undistinguished drama, but things step up a gear near the end.

‘Himalaya Singh’ is a depressing fusion of noise and colour that Hong Kong cinema can ill-afford to keep churning out.

‘Hooked On You’ is neither stars’ best work, nevertheless it is a production with effective humour and a keen eye for the details of the decade it covers.

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.

Amusing (though never crude) and nostalgic (though never overly sentimental), Riley Yip’s gentle ‘coming-of-age’ comedy/drama earns a major recommendation.

After an appalling first half, perhaps we can be grateful that it at least becomes watchable.

It’s a pleasure to see Jordan Chan given a lead role in a major production and his cowardly cook is a delightful antithesis to ‘Chicken’ from the series that made his name.

This leans more towards the quick-cut close ups of more recent Hollywood efforts. Most of the fights are also glossed over as short “highlights” rather than letting us see the full action.