Genre: Martial Arts

More believable than your average martial arts coming of age film and less pretentious than a lot of other serious, urban set dramas.

The description for ‘Fighting Ace’ doesn’t exactly make it jump off the page, but it proves to be a better than average effort.

The lack of a real plot combined with some extremely theatrical action often makes the film feel more like a set of fighter’s showreels rather than a proper movie.

‘Fighting Spirit’ has some energy and a surfeit of almost non-stop fights but is just a little too cheap, hokey, and grimy to recommend as silly fun.

Taking a popular narrative and adding a unique sense of charm to it, Yuen Woo-Ping creates a strangely captivating atmosphere with a familiar cast.

Sure everything in-between the violent clashes on the court is a little amateur but the point of the film is to showcase an original, if unlikely, martial arts sport and on those terms ‘Fireball’ delivers.

Vitally, ‘First Strike’ is still full of the energy and invention that leaves so many other action films pale in comparison.

At every turn, the film constantly subverts expectations, creating situations that initially seem all-too familiar before sending them in unexpected, often hilarious directions.

‘Fist From Shaolin’ really stands out with its powerful choreography which, even after numerous other fine new-wave productions, remains very impressive.

In all, this is the definitive martial arts movie. An all time classic which is as good as an all round film as it as a Kung Fu flick.

Although still quite a way off classic standards, ‘Fist Of Fury II’ just goes to show that it is possible to make a “Bruceploitation” flick that is fun to watch.

In my opinion, this is Jet Li’s best work as he carries the film well, performing brilliantly in the films numerous fight sequences.