Low budget ‘Tomb Raider’ wannabe from the early noughties may be all but forgotten but as a relic from an older time (when practical fights and stunts were preferable to excessive CGI) it’s a relic maybe worth digging up and giving a watch.
Orphans Georgia (Marsha Yuen) and Mandy (Miyuki Koinuma) are treasure hunters working for their adopted mother Ivy (Yoko Shimada). Marsha, the serious one, and Mandy, the silly one, are also both gifted martial artists and are sent to the China/India border to discover an artifact that may hold the key to eternal life. Hot on their trail are The Wild Wolves, some bad dudes who want the artifact for their own nefarious needs. Much bumbling adventure ensues as the duo are joined by a young guide who goes by the moniker The Kid (Ashton Chen). There’s much silliness, a lot that doesn’t make sense, some dodgy CGI, but mercifully a boatload of wicked fight action.
Produced at the junction when films were starting to utilise a lot more CGI to create fanciful worlds, creatures, and even action, ‘Undiscovered Tomb’ has a distinctly do-it-for-real old school approach. The makers definitely dip their toes into the CGI world with some very dated creatures and backgrounds not entirely convincing but mercifully keep it to a minimum. If this was made today it would be slathered in CGI.
While the narrative is no great shakes, the characters often annoying, and the aforementioned CGI distracting, ‘Undiscovered Tomb’ at least has some great fight action. In fact, it has a surfeit of fight scenes that are energetic, intricately choreographed, sustained, and give lead Marsha Yuen (daughter of Cheng Pei Pei no less!) ample showcase to flex her impressive moves. Likewise, Jin Zhang (‘SPL 2/Killzone 2’), as the is-he-is-he-not-a-bad-guy, also cuts loose showing off his impressive bootwork. ‘Shaolin Popey’ himself Ashton Chen, as the one likable character The Kid, is also on hand to deliver some crisp action.
The action is ‘Undiscovered Tomb’s saving grace (earning it an extra star) and is thankfully packed with it. It’s a shame the film surrounding the action isn’t quite as engaging, though the locations are often impressive, but it all ends rather bizarrely and frustratingly abruptly. Still, it’s a mainly fun time capsule of old school action (the cast even get to fight a come-to-life terracotta warrior: cool!), providing some late-night fight fun for those looking for something undemanding.
- Undiscovered Tomb - December 16, 2024
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