Genre: Martial Arts

This is the definitive Hong Kong action flick of the 80’s, easily on a par with ‘Police Story’ and should take pride of place in any fan’s collection.

‘Ring of Fire’ is a bold attempt at breaking the usual martial arts B-movie mould but unfortunately it proves to be an unsuccessful one.

The film takes a silly concept and knows how to have fun with it, making for an enjoyable action-packed outing that is easy on the brain.

All of the fun clashes with wacky opponents are noticeably absent, and the film feels like a much more run-of-the-mill low budget actioner.

Wong Fei-Hung gets the revisionist upgrade that someone, somewhere asked for and the results, though mixed, are mostly positive.

The title bears no resemblance to the film it makes you think of and also bears little relevance to anything in this actual film, instead ‘Roaring Dragon, Bluffing Tiger’ is just a dull and lazy wannabe adventure flick.

Despite some wonderful Jackie moments it proves to be a movie where the need to be ‘cute’ is more important than the desire to entertain.

The idea behind ‘Romeo Must Die’ was an interesting one but the finished product winds up being distinctly average.

While ‘Rosa’ isn’t one of the best action-comedies to come out of Hong Kong in the 80’s, it is still a constantly watchable one.

It may be a routine swordplay flick that ambles along with little revolutionary, but ‘Roving Swordsman’ is nonetheless watchable enough to warrant a purchase.

Added to the humour is the furious action orchestrated by Ching Siu-Tung that makes this much more than the average comedy film.

Part two is lavish and colourful, but simply not as absorbing as it needed to be. A steadier hand at the helm may have rectified this.