City Under Siege (全城戒備) is an 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Aaron Kwok, Shu Qi, Collin Chou, Jacky Wu, and Zhang Jingchu.
Aaron Kwok plays Sunny, a orphan and an apprentice to the knife throwing star of a traveling circus. Collin Chou plays the main bad guy and main knife thrower. However, when they trick Sunny into finding buried treasure, they are all exposed to gas from an long forgotten WWII lab. They all inherit superpowers and start to mutate. With this mutation, Sunny becomes an star, but Chou's gang robs armored bank trucks. Jacky Wu and Zhang Jingchu play a couple that are also special agents set to bring in the Chou gang.
The movie was really full of action, but the action was way over the top. The mutations are at an extreme at the end of the film. I'll be honest, this wasn't a good film. But its one of those guilty pleasure films. Lots of action, cheezy dialogue, really hard to follow plot, a gazillion characters.
Fearless (霍元甲) is 2006 film out of China. It stars Jet Li, Collin Chou, and Betty Sun.
The film is is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia. Its very loosely based. If you read the bio of Huo Yuanjia and THAN watch the movie. You would stay they were two different people. But hey, its the movies and you pay to get entertained! Throw the facts out the windows yo.
Huo Yuanjia is a trouble maker that loves to learn marital arts. In this case, the Huo family fist. But Yuanjia's father Endi does not want him to learn, but instead to study. Yuanjia is defiant and learns secretly. Fast forward 20 years and Yuanjia is now a renowned master. But he's not a very good master. Trouble seems to have followed him home one day. And insert coming of age storyline. Once Yuanjia is a restored man, he does his best to restore Chinese pride!
The movie was entertaining on many levels. I hear there are 3 versions. Cut, director's cut and unrated. I must have watched the cut version as mine didn't have Michelle Yeoh and the Thai fighter.
It's a throw back to the classic Jet Li films of the 90-94 era.
Flash Point (導火線) is a 2007 film out of Hong Kong starring Donnie Yen and Louis Koo. The movie is a martial arts action film that heavily used mixed martial arts.
The movie is about Donnie Yen as a police officer set on bringing bad people in named Ma. Louis Koo as Wilson is an undercover cop that gives tips to Donnie. They are onto a gang of three brothers. The chase is on and there are lots and lots of fighting. Not much else you need to know about the plot of the movie.
The action in this movie was quite amazing. Mixed martial arts isn't something you see in films much and they incorporated it into this film pretty well. The fighting is still classic HK action, but with the "kill" moves grounded in mma.
The version I watched was a China version from 2007. I will try to catch the Dragon Dynasty one in the near future.
DOA: Dead or Alive (生死格鬥) is a 2006 film directed by Corey Yuen. The movie is based off a video game of the same name. It stars an international cast from the US, Australia and various Asian countries.
I don't know if I ever played it before. Up until the Wii, I've never owned a console. But I have no recollection of playing this game or the characters. So, I have no clue if the movie was true to the game or not.
But beyond that, the movie is a classic tournament style action b-movie. The characters beat each other up for a little and than main plot happens. They beat up more people! And of course, the main draw of the film are the lovely ladies. Plenty of sun and bikinis.
Filmed in various parts of Asia but mainly in China and Thailand. Check it out for the stunning beauties and decent fighting. Not for the plot and production value.
The Forbidden Kingdom stars Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Li Bing Bing, Collin Chou, and Liu "Cyrstal" Yi Fei. The story takes some of the concepts and characters from "The Journey West". Specifically, the Monkey King.
There is actually a lot of action in this film and features a lengthy dual between Jet Li and Jackie Chan. The main protagonist is a white guy from South Boston getting sucked into Ancient China. After seeing the "making of" on the DVD, I can see how the movie was sold to a studio to fund. Its the white guys saving the Chinese. Since they can't save themselves. I digress.
The special effects are a little above average as a lot of it sorta looked fake. But overall, the fighting was quite good.
As for the storyline, you'll have to get over it. It's not that great. But the movie is beautifully shot. Uses lush landscapes and it shot entirely in China.
I hope a sequel comes of this. I'd like them to take more chances the next time around. But it'll still be geared towards an American audience.
I know that Crystal Liu had spent some of her pre teen years in New York. Seems that she never completely mastered it as she has a "FOB" accent. I don't know if it is on purpose due to the style of the film, all the Asian ppl that speak Mandarin, have a slight accent. Like Li Bing Bing and the supreme emperor seemed to have dubbed voices. Crystal can be a cross over star if she's willing to sacrifice projects in China in order to spend time in the US. Who knows. I hope she does stay mainly in China as production there is faster and you would see more of her vs. in the US, where productions take a long time and seeing her on screen is alot less.
As for Jet Li and Jackie Chan, they seemed to play off each other and I hope for more of this in the future.
I'll try to get a hold of the DVD when I see it in the 4.99 and under bins.
The movie pay homage to the Shaw Bro movies in a quite a few ways. The opening credits takes you through a bunch of the Shaw Bros artwork from the 60s/70s. Crystal Liu says "Come Drink With Me" in one of the fight scenes. Makes no sense. Its just an homage including the name Golden Sparrow.
