Genre: Martial Arts

A big-budget mess that occasionally makes good use of its actors, this is a movie that has few strengths to rely on.

A four-star movie that, due to its heavy-handed closing shots, loses half a star; the same idea was used with much more sophistication at the end of ‘Anonymous Heroes’.

All in all, this is a solid action flick that should appeal to those who enjoyed ‘Kiss of the Dragon’ and similar adrenaline-fuelled fare.

Strong performances, intelligently filmed action and an all round aura of quality mean that this comfortably hits a four star rating.

‘The Twin Swords’ isn’t the type of Shaw Brothers production that will appeal to everyone, mainly due to its fairly dated style that lacks the superior fight choreography.

A typically weak affair that is made all the more confusing by Godfrey Ho’s random dialogue and vague attempts at creating a story.

‘The Unity of Heroes’ is a slipshod update of the Wong Fei-Hung myth, a film wholly lacking in not only chemistry but also everything else that made the Tsui Hark chapters so influential.

‘The Valiant Ones’ really does deliver on its promise of a group of gifted fighters going after a never-ending swarm of rampaging pirates and fighting them all to the death.

‘The Victim’ is a fine mixture of action comedy and even drama – three elements that director Sammo Hung juggles with masterful dexterity.

‘The Water Margin’ is the kind of grandiose masterwork that is enthralling and, despite the presence of three accomplished directors, has a remarkable consistency to it.

While ‘Fist of Fury’ is the Little Dragon’s best film, this comes a close second and would not be out of place in the DVD rack of any martial arts movie fan.

‘The Web Of Death’ would be a four-star film but (and it is a big ‘but’!) for the preposterous sight of seeing the heroes fleeing from a green spider.