Country: Hong Kong

Jimmy Wang Yu, Angelo Mao, a very young Bolo Yeung, and one-time Bond, George Lazenby teamed up for this Golden Harvest-produced attempt at cracking the international market.

The pace flags slightly near the end with a final section that is needlessly padded out, but there’s much to absorb in Tony Au’s work.

‘A Simple Life’ is the perfect marriage of arthouse style and heart-rending substance.

‘A Taste Of Killing And Romance’ may do enough to pass the time if you’re a fan of any of the actors involved but it’s certainly far from anyone’s finest work.

Bathing various scenes with the visual potency that alludes to Tsui Hark and with a rousing soundtrack at his disposal, Ching Siu Tung unleashes a minor epic that is highly recommended.

‘A Wicked Ghost’ is a vaguely interesting premise, let down by some rather pedestrian direction and generally wooden performances by its largely unknown cast.

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

Weaving a tangled web, ‘Accident’ is actually elegant in its simplicity but by the film’s conclusion, whatever your thoughts are on the movie itself you are likely to be more cautious of crossing the road or getting out of a car.

Unlike much of today’s canto-comedy, the humour in ‘Aces.’ translates very well and certainly doesn’t seem to have dated after nearly twenty-years.

The formula that made the original so successful has naturally remained untampered, but the scope of effects and stunts clearly expanded.

Alongside this familiar narrative is the constantly disarming duo of Samuel Hui and Karl Maka and they of course continue to show great comic timing and interplay in the familiar roles of Sam and Kodijack.

Unlike ‘Aces. III’ which failed to integrate the eastern and the western elements of the film, ‘Aces. IV’ succeeds in creating a globe-hopping adventure without losing its main Asian audience.