Iceman Cometh - Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah
3/5
A cute movie with Maggie Cheung adopting Biao after the guy comes out of time to find Yuen Wah. The two of them have 3 good fights, but that's it really. The first is swordplay, second is mostly stunt based on a car suspended by a crane, and the last one is solid kickboxing which is impressive. Not great, but it's a good addition to a Biao fan's collection. Plus, it's very funny.
I'll Finally Knock You Down Dad - Chin Siu Ho, Chen Kuan Tai, Phillip Ko Fei, Bill Tung
5/5
A great all martial arts movie where the title says it all. Lots of fights, all hand to hand (except one which is an excellent staff fight), and they're all fast paced make this feel like a new movie, with acrobatics and everything else. Chin Siu Ho is young and fresh in this and performs well, Chen Kuan Tai and Phillip Ko are good too. Bill Tung plays a Buddhist monk who teaches bad kung fu. Funny story, very entertaining.
In the Line of Duty aka Royal Warriors - Michelle Khan (Yeoh), Henry Sanada, Michael Wong, Lam Dai Wai
4/5
Good variation on HK films. Though there is some solid kickboxing, including a great scene on an airliner, there are also some good intense scenes like a car chase, some great stunts by Sanada and Khan, brawling, explosions, and a last fight that puts them all together and adds some metal fighting, you know with the pipes and all. Had they replaced Lam Wai with Robin Shou it could have been awesome. Lam Wai isn't a good enemy. I'd give it a 5/5 if they did that, then the shootout in the middle wouldn't have been so, uh, standard and boring.
In the Line of Duty 3 - Cynthia Khan, Dick Wei, Michiko Nishiwaki
4.5/5
Khan is charming and does some great fighting throughout. Her first fight is very cool against the white guy from ILD4 (not Salvitti). She fights Dick Wei later on and then the final fight is her against Nishiwaki and Dick Wei at the same time, which is quite impressive. But Nishiwaki doesn't do much which is surprising. Dick Wei is sinister. Would have gotten a 5 if there had been maybe one more fight.
In the Line of Duty 4 - Donnie Yen, Cynthia Khan, Yuen Yat Chor, Woods and Salvitti, Michael Wong
5/5
Donnie and Khan and Chor are all excellent in this one. They seem to do everything on their own, except for Chor at the end. Lots of fights, not much time outside of action, which is good. Khan does a great fight on top of a moving van, which is probably the best stunt in the movie. Donnie and Woods have their best encounter ever, and Salvitti is really weird but cool. Michael Wong is aweful, and even partakes in the fighting (using a double whenever he can). A great movie.
In the Line of Duty 5 - Cynthia Khan, David Wu, Billy Chow, an unknown expert
4/5
Khan and Wu do very well. Khan takes part in almost every fight, no, she does take part in every fight. That woman's incredible. She goes against this unknown guy in a warehouse and it's an awesome scene. Both of them work well together, and the choreography is very, um, intelligent. The rival really puts everything he has into it, which is a lot. It's all shot in the dark, but it's still visible. She fights Chow all over the place at some power plant, which is good too, but also filmed in the dark. She and Wu both fight Chow in a house that is well lit and is another great fight, and to top it off they take on 6 nicely dressed men in black uniforms in a house, spreading them out and splitting up. It's a 1 minute long scene that is genius. The last 2 fights can't hold up at all. Khan and Wu fight 'the general' who has no talent and makes me sick, and then Khan fights a woman which isn't too impressive either. Great movie for those 4 good fights.
Interpol Connection - Robin Shou, Yukari Oshima, Phillip Ko
1/5
Another Phillip Ko Phillipino production. Almost devoid of martial arts. Shou fights Ko and so does Oshima in a tiny battle, they fight eachother for 5 seconds, and they both have a fight at the end, both of which are forgettable. 3 fights total. Shou and Oshima both look good as always but don't do anthing worthy of their skills. Forget about it.
Iron Monkey 2 - Donnie Yen, Wu Ma, Yuen Man Ching, Billy Chow
4/5
Much better than the first one in my opinion. Though the settings are a little too colorful, the martial arts that are put on, especially at the end, are great, despite some wirework which goes on BETWEEN the fights. You wanna see Donnie do some real fighting as the Iron Monkey, dressed in some of the absolutely coolese outfits ever, and avoiding flying all over the place? This is for you. Very entertaining. But there aren't too many scenes like this.
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