Rating: **
Review Date: 7/1/99
Director: Clarence Ford
Cast: Almen Wong, Michael Wong, Ben Lam
After seeing this film I started to think "when did Hong Kong action films start becoming so boring?" I think it was around 1995. This latest entry from "Naked Killer" (1992) director Clarence Ford is yet another production that skimps on the action scenes in favor of long and pointless love scenes and dramatic narratives. It's mildly entertaining and borrows a lot from "Beyond Hypothermia" (1996), "Hard-Boiled" (1992) and "The Killer" (1989). Everyone's favorite gweilo Michael Wong is a police officer who's tracking down an assassin who's responsible for a recent string of triad murders. He's okay, but he doesn't have enough charisma and presence to carry the film. Fortunately, the assassin is babelicious Almen Wong Pui Ha and she provides the majority of the eye candy and ass kicking. She's a convincing action actress and she fights and shoots with authority and conviction. Unfortunately, the action scenes are a little sloppy and all too brief. I really wanted to like this movie, but I kept finding myself let down after every scene. There's also a bunch of completely unnecessary and drawn out S&M sex scenes that just make you roll your eyes and reach for the fast forward button.