Prison Fight: 3.5/5
Tam King-Yiu vs Fung Yu-Sau: 2.5/5
Wong Chit vs Fung Yu-Sau: 3/5
Hung Yip vs Fung Yu-Sau: 3.5/5
Skirmish at the docks: 2.75/5
Sinn Ying vs Fung Yu-Sau: 3/5
Hahou Mo vs Fung Yu-Sau: 4/5
This movie is a mixed bag. As a movie it's mediocre. But the fights are pretty good. Wang Baoqiang, who plays the villain, is excellent in this. Which is a good thing since he does 90% of the fighting in this movie. I do wish they gave a more compelling backstory for him. He has a bit of clubfoot going on, which makes his impressive fighting skills even more impressive.
As a modern martial arts film, it's fairly paint by numbers as far as storytelling goes. The thing that stands out is the choreography and editing during the fight sequences. It's eye grabbing stuff. At times the moves performed feel a little too magical and out of place for a modern film, The real bread and butter in the fights is the speed and fluidity of the longer exchanges.
Also, I'm still waiting for a movie where Xin Yu kicks ass and isn't immediately killed, but that's a side point.
If you're a Donnie Yen fan, you'll dig this movie. As a martial arts film, I can only give it a Mild Recommendation.
