LeonLouisRicci Average for This Type of Thing, an Expensive, Slick Looking, Overproduced Kung Fu Action. Director Tong (a former stunt man) has Made a Career Helming Hong Kong Films and Seems to be Trying Forever to Become "International".Problem Is, the Appeal and Charm of Hong Kong Action is Hong Kong Action Unfettered by a Hollywood Looking Production that is so Pretentiously Pandering to a "Wider" Audience that the Core and Soul of its Raw and Reliable Homeland Sizzle is Wanting.The Only Thing Recommended Here is Some Daring Set Piece Stunt Work. But Even that is Derivative and Lacks a Certain Spontaneity. The Wire Work is Clunky and Rapper Coolio is the Clunkiest of the Clunk Going On Here. It's Not Awful but Some of it Is. A Very Weak Story and Even Weaker Acting, Makes the Whole Movie Sink Under its Contrived Conceit of Cool, and Again, Not Helped by Hiring Coolio. The Movie Looks Good and the Few Disjointed Action Scenes Make for Some Fun, but Overall it is a Mediocre Mess. An Appeal for a Hollywood Sleekness when None is Required.

renosuniverse I sought the movie for my Mark Dacascos collection, and because of him I watched it all the way through. The scenes he's in are solid, and (of course) his fists and footwork are the icing on this otherwise dry cake. The movie begins very slowly and seems disjointed. You have to piece together plot elements which is unfortunate because a little bit more effort to include the viewer would have improved the flow. The places where you get a break from that feel opportunistic and thin. There is a feeling that the characters are just trying to get to the next action sequence, and those aren't well-timed or particularly powerful. Everyone in the film is visually interesting, but the backdrops seem opportunistic and static, and the stunts often look like the evening news, shot too wide and far away, never sharp or startling enough to rouse. Kwok looks like he's really trying to find a character in there somewhere; he's likable and the bits of banter that occur between Darren (Kwok) and his partner Alex make you want to see their efforts succeed, but it's just too little spread too thin and nobody else is acting like there's room for humor in the scene. Mark Dacascos is top-notch with what he's given. If you like how he moves his presence through a scene, using his skin, eyes, those long elegant hands, you'll appreciate his sense of proportion here. He brings the film a sense of solidity when he's in the frame and offers the only intimacy in the venture, using his eyes to evoke it even though his character is aloof. Coolio wields a brutally candid hood mentality charm, pulling no punches with his brazenly observant racism. I found it refreshing and palatable - it's aimed at everybody, even his old friend Tony Lau (Dacascos). His abrasive drama plays well off Dacascos' polished and saturnine hauteur, but the two of them aren't enough to carry a film about "two other guys and some other stuff"... and that's exactly what this feels like. The action scenes are slow, and shot from less than optimal angles. There are ways to shoot people who look this interesting ( Andrezej Bartkowiak and Christophe Gans both know how to put a camera on Mark Dacascos), and with the abundance of attractive personages it's too bad that didn't happen here. I was hoping for another Cradle 2 The Grave, something that surprised my mode of thought and shook up the mix, that had punch, pride, and balance. I was sorely let down. Even so, I give it four stars out of ten, all of it due to Mark and Coolio. If you want to watch a movie that goes where this one doesn't - see Cradle 2 the Grave for some good-looking people, broken stereotypes, nice dialogue, fine music, and superb acting by DMX. If you want mystery, lyrical execution, passion, and art with your kung fu - see Crying Freeman for its beautiful dialogue and provocative tone set by Gans' shooting and Julie Condra's amazing voice flowing throughout. Mark Dacascos is in them both, for all the right reasons.

gila_film I really expect much from Stanley Stong, because he is well known as a good action director (Rumble In The Bronx, Martial Law), but when I decide to watch this one, I found my self fell in a such boring movie. The things that deserve to watch are only the action scenes and (off course) Noriko Fujiwara. The plot is trashy, and Aaron Kwok was seems to gorgeous to be a cop. Bad for you, Stanley. I hope he could do better next time.5/10

Thomas Jolliffe (supertom-3) *warning- spoilers* The film is reasonably acted as far as Hong kong actioners go and this is the best non-chan, non- woo HK film I have seen. The actors are all okay ranging from adeqaute to moments of cheesyness or woodenness. Mark Dacascos is very good in this as the bad guy and he makes an excellent baddie in a limited part. His demise was also a let down, I felt there wasn't a big enough showdown between him and Aron Kwok. Mark was excellent in this as usual with his fighting, he did not look out of place infact his form and acrobats beat the others hands down and he did some impressive stunt work whereas say Van Damme would have been consistently doubled. The film has a good pace, Coolio is funny in an over the top way and there are some exceptional stunts. The fight scenes are first class although as far as Hong Kong goes I have seen better and some unrealistic stunts and wire work also look dodgy but overall I was entertained. Dacascos stole the show for me and his only weak moment was where he was smoking a cigar, it is obvious he's not really a smoker with his strict training he undertakes and the fact he looked like he was going to throw up, aswell as a sore sounding throat. Overall this is a good way to pass 90 or so minutes although the DVD I own has a bad picture and mediocre sound. 7/10