Fire Dragon (HK 1994)

Rating: ***
Director: Yuen Woo Ping
Cast: Brigitte Lin, Max Mok, Sandra Ng, Yip Chuen Chun (Chuan-Chen Yeh)

Another fine looking effort from director Yuen Woo Ping full of flying femmes, fire (lots of fire), and some amazing swordplay and fight choreography. Brigitte Lin proves that she is still a potent actress and effortlessly shifts between being a savage and cunning martial arts villainess and being a frail common villager. The main assistant to the head villain is impossibly beautiful (her establishing shot is breathtaking!) and Woo Ping does a good job of convincing us that she and Brigitte Lin are great fighters. Max Mok pulls off some nice swordplay and Sandra Ng hangs around to lighten the tone with her silliness. Uncharacteristic of Woo Ping's films, he utilizes some blur motion techniques in a few fight scenes which cheapens their look and impact, but otherwise it's great!