Chinese Zodiac a.k.a. CZ12 a.k.a. Armor of God 3 (2012)

Dock fight: 1.75/5


Team JC vs Pirates: 2.25/5


JC vs Vulture: 4.25/5


JC vs henchmen: 3.75/5


Katie vs Bonnie: 3/5



This is not the best Jackie Chan movie ever. It's not even in the top 30, probably. It does have its fun moments, though. It's better than most of the Hollywood stuff he's done. And at least it's a true Jackie Chan Hong Kong film. So for that alone, I enjoyed it.

There isn't a whole lot of fighting in the first 75% of it. The fighting at the tail end of the movie is great though, and is true Jackie Chan creative and at times comedic choreography. There's also a fight between two female characters that is pretty cool. This 15 minute chunk is by far the highlight of the film. Many other plot points and action sequences just don't click and the comedy is very hit or miss.

Mildly Recommended. VERY Mildly.

SPL 2: A Time For Consequences (2015)

Chatchai vs Kit: 3/5


Prison Riot Fight: 3.5/5


Ah-zai vs Cops: 2.25/5


Kit, Wah & Chatchai vs henchmen: 3/5


Kit vs Ah-zai: 3.25/5


Fight in the Dark: 2.75/5


Kit & Chatchai vs henchmen & Ko Chun: 3.75/5



A lot of people compare this movie to The Raid 2. I don't quite see it. The Raid 2 is an excellent sequel to an excellent movie. SPL 2 is a good sequel to a good movie. I guess the tones are similar as well as both movies featuring a cop going undercover and also being in a prison when a prison fight breaks out. But that's about where it ends.

I gotta say, this is the best Tony Jaa movie since Ong Bak 2 (not counting Furious 7). It might even be his best work, overall. As an actor and a screen fighter, he's one of the better parts of the film. Wu Jing is also great. A better actor than Jaa, but towards the end of his screen fighting prime, he carries the film's emotional weight.

There are a bunch of good fights in this movie, but not one truly great fight. There's also some suspect use of wire fu. Considering this is a modern crime film, seeing guys fly through the air can be jarring. Jing and Jaa square off in the first fight and it's solid stuff, if a bit short. The prison fight is also good with a lot of moving parts and long takes. I do slightly prefer The Raid 2's prison fight, though.

The knife vs nightstick fight towards the end, clearly an homage to Wu Jing vs Donnie Yen in one of the best fights of all time from the first SPL, is not in the same league as the original. It's a good fight, it only suffers by comparison. However, when "store the sun" plays in the minutes leading up to that, I got real excited. That's one of the more iconic fight scene themes ever, to me.

Let's talk about Max Zhang, the Big Bad of this flick. He's quite good here. The main problem I have with him, and his part in the finale, is the wire work. A pet peeve of mine is when a character is a lot stronger than the others, seemingly only because he's fighting on wires while they are not. Jaa and Jing are kicking ass the whole movie with straight Muay Thai and Wushu. Zhang's flying around throwing wire kicks. But that's not his fault.

The finale is the best fight in the movie. Jaa taking out the henchmen is some of the better choreography I've seen all year. It's also such a breath of fresh air to see Muay Thai used in a modern, Hong Kong action film. Wu Jing plays such a good hero, night and day from his original SPL character. One thing this movie does well is have the heroes always fighting from underneath. Jing and Jaa are beat to hell by the time they have to take on Zhang.

The best part of the finale is when Jaa squares off with Zhang. Jaa attempts Muay Thai moves he's been using effectively the whole movie and Zhang has a counter for all of them. Such smart choreography. Because of course, Zhang has seen Jaa fight before, so he has that advantage. It devolves after that, though. The 2 on 1 stuff has more wire fu and unfortunately the fight has an implausible conclusion. There's also a weird side part with Jaa's daughter that felt unnecessary.


It's a solid action movie with some really good parts. All in all, Mildy Recommended.

Gorgeous (1999)

Boat Fight: 3/5

Baseball Bat Fight: 3.75/5

Bradley James Allan vs Jackie: 4.25/5

Bradley James Allan vs Jackie: 4.75/5


Not a lot of fighting, as this movie has a very different tone than most Jackie films. It's a romantic comedy, with a few fights. But man, they're good. Even the boat fight is tons of fun while it lasts. This movie is a showcase for Bradley James Allan, who was the head of Jackie's stunt team at the time. He's ridiculously fast, a highly talented screen fighter. His two fights with Jackie are worth watching alone, or seeking out individually. The movie itself is just mediocre. Somewhat Recommended.

Slug Streets Scrappers 4 (2014)

Peaches vs Knuckles: 2.75/5

Buster vs Slugger Squad Fabulous: 2.75/5

Bruiser vs Knuckles: 3.5/5

Peaches vs Buster: 3.25/5

Bruiser vs Revered One: 3.5/5


I liked this final installment. I wish the finale had gone a bit longer, but they did a good job of making it feel epic in a short amount of time. They also didn't have access to a lot of their cast frm earlier installments, and they made it work. Not as good as Part 3, or even Part 2 I would say, but a solid end to the series. Recommended.

Slug Street Scrappers 3 (2013)

Peaches vs Hopz: 3.25/5

Peaches vs Bruiser: 1.5/5

Jimmy Broker vs Billy Broker: 4.25/5

Ryuken vs Bones: 3.75/5

Peaches vs Punchy: 3.25/5

Jimmy & Billy vs Mr. Sexy: 4/5

Knuckles vs Slugger Squad: 2.75/5

Knuckles vs Ryuken: 3.5/5



Man, this is great. Tons of fighting, and it's varied. Jimmy vs Billy steals the show. Highly recommended.

Slug Street Scrappers 2 (2012)

Ryuken vs Slugger Squad: 3.25/5

Knuckles vs Billy Broker: 2.75/5

Bruiser vs Venom: 3/5

Bruiser vs Ryuken: 3.75/5

Peaches vs Shizuka: 1.75/5


Good short film. The fighting is varied and the story progresses. Shaun Charney and Micah Brock are both great. And we get to see them fight each other, here. Recommended.

Slug Street Scrappers (2012)

Bruiser vs Punchy: 3.25/5

Bruiser vs Slugger Squad: 3/5

Bruiser vs Peaches: 2.25/5


Decent short film. More of just a taste of the universe being created. Its sequels improve upon it. Recommended.

Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear (2013)

Casey vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Dojo Fight: 3.25/5

Casey vs Thugs: 2.25/5

Casey vs Lucas: 3/5

Bar Fight: 3.75/5

Casey vs Drug Dealers: 3.25/5

Hotel Fight: 3.5/5

Casey vs Myat: 4/5

Casey vs Goro: 2.75/5

Casey vs Nakabara: 4.25/5


This movie is better than The Protector 2 but not as good as The Raid 2. Scott Adkins (Casey) is one of the best screen fighters in the world. This movie is a good demonstration of his abilities. As a movie it's a pretty straight forward action film, not a whole lot of depth.

The 2 major fights both deliver. One pits Adkins up against Tim Man (Myat), a very talented man only known by true martial arts film nerds. The other fight pits him against Kane Kosugi and it's the best fight in the film. Kosugi's movements are very crisp and smooth, he doesn't look like he's being choreographed at all. Although Adkins vs Tim Man is also great there were times during the fight where it felt choreographed. Also, all of Kosugi's movements had intention. And his fight acting was terrific.

Adkins also has to fight the elderly actor that plays Goro, which actually delivers exactly as it should. It's short, tells a story and gets to the point.

Solid fight film. Somewhat recommended.

Special ID (Flash Point/SPL) (2014)

Fight Scene: 3.75/5


Much better than their Raid tribute, I dug this fight. My main qualm was that the choreography felt a bit repetitive towards the end. But overall lots of great stuff. Good exchanges, a nice sequence leading into a triangle choke, and some flashy kicks. Better than any of the solo fights in Special ID.

Future Boss (2013)

Eric vs Lorenz: 4.5/5


Two of my favorite screen fighters ever, indie or otherwise, finally going at it. Man I've been waiting on this for a while. And it doesn't disappoint. This fight is all around excellent. Especially once Eric learns how to fight, it leads to some fantastic exchanges. Great kicking, falls and handwork. Fast and fluid. Love it.

Informant (2011)

Eric vs Andy: 4.75/5


Two of my favorite indie guys mixing it up. It honestly even exceeded my expectations. Man this fight is amazing. Excellent rhythm, pacing and choreography. So fast and fluid. Indie martial arts screen fighting at its finest.

Ness (2011)

Eric vs Lucas & Alvin: 3.75/5

Ed vs Hiroshi: 3.25/5

Eric vs Hiroshi: 4.25/5


Eric and Hiroshi have great screen fighting chemistry. I love watching these guys trade blows. Also Eric's fight with Alvin and Lucas is really good, even though it's short. I can tell Eric and Alvin also have great chemistry, and Lucas has improved tremendously.

Great work as usual, by the Stuntpeople.

Project A (1983)

Sailors vs Police: 2.75/5

Lobby Fight: 3.25/5

Bike Fight: 4/5

Jackie & Sammo vs Thugs: 3/5

Clocktower fight: 2/5

Finale: 3.75/5


Don't let the ratings fool you, this is a fun movie. There just aren't that many substantial fight scenes. A lot of it is chasing. The Finale pits Dick Wei against the 3 Dragons, which is a blast. Movies with all 3: Jackie, Sammo and Yuen... are rare. So this is a lot of fun. There just isn't that much fighting.

The Bike fight/chase however, is inventive and funny. I very much enjoyed it. And Jackie pulls off an amazing Clocktower stunt too. Worth the buy. Recommended.

Nice Guy Hunter (2013)

1st fight: 2.25/5

Finale: 3.5/5


Eric and Irving sure have grown since they started making films. The first fight is really more about story than about technical prowess. In the finale Irving turns it up and carries himself like a star. Lots of tricks and athleticism displayed by him.

I enjoy this short film, if not for the finale alone. Recommended.

Contour (2007)

Opening Fight: 3.5/5

Eric vs Andy: 4.75/5

Dennis & Ray vs Vlad, Troy & Thugs: 3.75/5

Ed vs Rabbit: 2.5/5

Ed vs Phantom: 4/5

Tyler vs Thugs: 2.25/5

Ed vs Troy & Thugs: 4.5/5

Andy & Vlad vs Ray: 4/5

Eric vs Dennis: 5/5

Man, what can I even say? Contour is one of the best martial arts movies of all time. It's not just "good for an indie movie". It's incredible. It's honestly probably in my top 5 fighting movies ever. And I've watched a lot of fighting movies. 

What's so great, beyond just the pure quality and amount of fighting there is, is the variation of fighting. From 1 vs many, to a baseball bat eskrima fight, to a wing chun duel to your standard straight up kickboxing clash...Contour offers so many fights and every fight tells its own unique story through its own unique brand of martial art. Great stuff.

I mean, the ratings speak for themselves. Just buy it, support these guys. Go to the stuntpeople.com and see for yourself. HIGHLY recommended. 

Death Grip (2012)

Baseball Field Fight: 3.25/5

Bathroom Fight: 2.25/5

Dark Fight: 2.75/5

Eric vs Knights: 3.75/5

Eric vs Alvin: 4.75/5

Eric vs Johnny: 4.25/5

The stunt people truly are a top tier stunt group. Eric Jacobus performs great screen fighting as usual. Add Johnny Yong Bosch to the mix and we've got a barn-burner. I will say that a lot of the fighting in the first half of the film didn't grab me. The dark fight is an interesting concept. The bathroom brawl is pretty funny. Once we get towards the end, things really pick up. Alvin and Eric deliver a near perfect knife fight. And the highly anticipated finale is also great stuff, more of a storytelling fight than a technical one. Recommended. 

SPL Sha Po Lang a.k.a. Killzone (2005)

Sammo vs Cops & Donnie: 3/5

Donnie vs Cops: 2.5/5

Donnie vs Wu Jing: 5/5

Donnie vs Sammo: 3.75/5

Donnie vs Wu Jing is the best modern day weapons fight I've ever seen. Donnie with his YRG baton against Wu Jing's knife. Incredible stuff. The end fight with Donnie and Sammo suffers from overused wire work. But the grappling and straight kickboxing is still great. Sammo plays a surprisingly good villain. Those are the 2 major fights. Recommended, for the weapons fight alone. 

Rosa (1986)

Office Fight: 3.25/5

Yuen Biao and Girls vs Thugs: 4/5

Girl vs Chung Fa: 2.25/5

Yuen Biao vs Dick Wei: 4.25/5


Yuen Biao steals the show yet again. His group fight near the end is performed beautifully. And his showdown with Dick Wei is great. These two have terrific chemistry. Chung Fa is underutilized, which happens far too often. Not a lot of fighting here. But some quality stuff. Somewhat recommended.

Owl vs Bombo (1984)

Sammo vs George in dark: 2.5/5

Sammo & George vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Sammo vs students: 2.25/5

Sammo & George vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Sammo vs Richard Ng: 2.75/5

Sammo vs Everybody & Dick Wei: 4.25/5


Nothing really substantial until the Finale. The finale has one of my favorite "One w/ weapon vs many" group fights of all time. It's exceptional. And then capped off by a Sammo vs Dick Wei showdown. I only wish that it were longer. Nothing else really noteworthy, though. Somewhat recommended.

City of Darkness (1990)

Bar Fight: 3/5

Billy Chow vs 3 Guys/ Donnie Yen: 3.75/5

Restaurant Fight: 3.25/5

Kim Maree Penn vs Guy: 3.25/5

Kim Maree Penn vs 3 Guys: 3.5/5

2 Guys vs Assasin Guy: 3/5

Donnie Yen vs Collin Chou: 4.25/5

Donnie in top form. Donnie's charisma carries the fighting for most of the movie. The other guys do a decent job as well. Billy Chow is a great early obstacle. And the finale between Donnie and Collin is great stuff. Recommended.