The film tells the story of two brothers, separated by adversity, who are tragically reunited when they find their father, a retired CIA operative, murdered on his birthday. When they both vow to investigate his death on their own terms, danger lies in every corner, forcing them to fight for their lives...as long as they don't kill each other first!

Though the story does have its corny, quirky side at times, to add some vitality to the film's plot, the story is kept interesting, especially with a number of fantastic fight scenes, directed by veteran Hong Kong stuntman, choreographer and director, Tony Leung Siu-Hung. Avedon's and Vitali's performances are just as adequate as performances from most other actors with any B-list martial arts movie of its time; No Academy Awards or Oscars here to say the least.

And Rion Hunter, who deserves much more credit than what he gets, performs brilliantly as one of the baddest modern-day kung fu villains ever to be featured in the history of crossover kung fu cinema. Frankly, I am still surprised that he has not been performing in other martial arts movies after this one.

Lo's directorial vision brings a wonderful (if not somewhat open-ended) conclusion to the "No Retreat, No Surrender" project. I guess it leaves one to breed curiosity as to why each film as the NRNS title attached to it, despite each film having a different story with different characters, etc. Perhaps that answer will come to us in the days ahead to whomever is interested.

In the meantime, either way it goes, each film is a pure treat to watch, and this self-titled finale to the franchise will...well, as Steve Wang would put it...entertain the shit out of you!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "No Retreat, No Surrender", "No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder", "The 7 Grandmasters", "Righting Wrongs", "So Close", "Bandidas", "Yes, Madam!", "In The Line Of Duty 4", "She Shoots Straight", "Wheels On Meals", "My Lucky Stars", "King Of The Kickboxers", "American Shaolin", "Nico: Above The Law", "Shanghai Knights", "Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action", "Kampfansage: The Last Apprentice", "U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force", "Drive: Director's Cut", "Banlieue 13", "Bloodmoon", "Satin Steel", "China Strike Force" and the upcoming film from director Koichi Sakamoto, "Broken Path".

Also co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Dominique Swain, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon and Nick Cassavetes, Face/Off is an electrifying tale of a long-vengeful and battle scarred FBI agent whose one-man war against an elusive terrorist who murdered his son falls into a downward spiral of events, filled with twists and turns at every corner!

Filled with style and substance, hypnotic performances from a talented cast and dazzling scenes of the most high-caliber bullet ballet gun battles ever seen on in Hollywood feature, Face/Off is a true masterpiece that will leave your eyes red from not blinking...

...and blink shall you not!!!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Broken Arrow", "The Replacement Killers", "House Of Flying Daggers", "Passenger 57", "Ballistic Kiss", "Get Carter", "Paycheck", "Double Team", "Timecop", "Kiss Of The Dragon", "S.P.L.", "Flash Point", "2009: Lost Memories", "Legacy Of Rage", "Desperado", "Hard Boiled", "The Killer", "Lethal Weapon 2", "Mission: Impossible 2", "Mission: Impossible 3", "My Father Is A Hero", "Asian Cop High Voltage" and "Undercut".

Starring Taimak, Vanity, Jim Moody, Chris Murney, Leo O'Brien, a young Ernie Reyes Jr., and Julius J. Carry III, the film is wondrously entertaining, and full of colorful performances from a wonderfully cast group of actors and actresses. Taimak in the pivotal role of the chosen one who would save Harlem from Sho'nuff, The Shogun of Harlem. The fight scenes are anything but boring, and keep the storyline progressing, with each portion of the movie introducing more and more elements to sustain the film's comedic and fantastic energy, and still manage to keep the film well-balanced until the very end.

Director Michael Schultz took a concept and made it into one of the most renowned American action movies ever made. And furthermore, any American who has ever loved a good Bruce Lee film, and understands American culture will absolutely love this joyous, wonderful classic addition to the martial arts movie genre!

So what if this is not a Jackie Chan or Jet Li film! Love it, or hate it...this movie is in a class of its own brothas and sistas! Ya dig!?

Peace, Music, Love and Havin' Fun! ;-)

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "The Big Boss", "Fist Of Fury", "Return Of The Dragon", "Enter The Dragon", "Game Of Death", "Black Belt Jones", "The Black Dragon", "One Down, Two To Go", "Slaughter", "China O'Brien", "China O'Brien 2", "Shaft", "No Retreat, No Surrender", "American Shaolin", "Showdown", "Passenger 57", "Blade", "Blade 2" and "Afro Samurai".

The film takes its journey one gradual step further in telling the story of the half-human vampire hunter, with a new breed of bloodsucking beasts who attack both humans and vampires, called "Reapers". With the only option to call a truce with the vampire nation and team up with a small tactical unit called "The Bloodpact" to hunt down the new threat, Blade and Whistler must utilize their instincts to infiltrate the reapers, and ultimately separate fact from fiction when their instincts lead them to a traitor working on both sides!

As the film moves forward, the story illustrate Blade's ever-evolving character, further revealing more dimensions to Blade's personality when he finds himself inadvertently falling in love with Varela's character, Nyssa, a vampire underworld princess. This allows viewers to see a deeper side of the unrequited love that Blade carries within, despite the never ending war he faces with the vampires, along with the internal war he must fight, with only a custom made serum as his only way to retain his indigenous thirst for blood.

David S. Goyer, who wrote the screenplay for the first film, does a wonderful job in giving each and every character an important element that helps the film's story play out as it must. Del Toro also did an amazing job with the action sequences, which like the first film, remained true to every aspect of Hong Kong-stylized action filmmaking, combined with whimsical fantasy and science fiction elements. The martial arts fight and stunt sequences emulate everything that was needed after the first film, in order for the sequel to work; Amazing fight coordiation by Snipes, Jeff Ward, and Blade-double Clay Fontenot, with supercool martial arts choreography and execution by the film's co-star and principle action director, Hong Kong legend, Donnie Yen.

There is really not enough that can be said about how great a job Del Toro did with this movie, moreover, with the film's ardently brilliant orchestral score written and arranged by Marco Beltrami and Danny Saber. Del Toro had one hell of a vision when it came to this film, and he truly brought it to life in more ways than one;...Hell, maybe even two or three!!! ;-)

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Passenger 57", "Versus", "Aragami", "Black Mask", 'Brotherhood Of The Wolf", "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", "The Mummy Returns", "Highlander: Endgame", "The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman", "Rising Sun", "The Duel", "Romeo Must Die", "Kill Bill", "Spawn", "Xavier Gens 'Hitman'", "Once Upon A Time In China 2", "Legend Of The Wolf", "The Twins' Effect", S.P.L., Dragon Tiger Gate, Flashpoint and the upcoming sci-fi action film starring Bai Ling, "The Gene Generation".

Hardcore kung fu fans will truly enjoy what "Contour" has to offer, as the film emulates many various aspects and hidden aesthetics of the typical Hong Kong action film; everything from quirky comedic character and story delivery, to fast-paced, high maintenance mixed martial arts fight choreography, to "Girls-With-Guns", to watching Yuen Biao dressed in drag (well...via Vlad Rimburg of course, lol)!

Director, co-star and co-founder of The Stunt People, Eric Jacobus, and the stunt team itself, have taken the typical low-budget US action film, broken it down to a kung fu filmmaking science, and constructed one of the most explosive landmark action movies to ever hit store shelves. In fact, not only is "Contour" an amazing martial arts movie, it is a well-set example of just how good even the most overlooked amateur filmmaker can be, with the right amount of drive and determination.

Mike Banner (of www.dragonsdenuk.com) quoted "Contour" as being "...better than virtually anything to come out of Hong Kong in the last ten years...".

I do not fully agree with him. However...in hindsight, Mikey does have a point!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Knockabout", "The Prodigal Son", "Drunken Master", "Drunken Master 2", "Winners & Sinners", "My Lucky Stars", "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars", "Police Story", "The Inspector Wears Skirts", "King Of The Kickboxers", "Magnificent Warriors", "Hard Boiled", "Mr. Nice Guy", "Legend Of The Wolf", "Lethal Weapon 4", "Drive: Director's Cut", "Extreme Heist", "Returner", "Transporter 2", "So Close", "Shadow Fury", "Kampfansage: Der Leitze Schuler", "Special Forces", "Death Trance", "Tom Yum Goong", "Born To Fight", "Banlieue 13", "S.P.L.", "New Police Story", "Bound By Blood", and The "Everyone Is Kung Fu Fighting" series.

And finally, a personal recommendation of mine:

"Midnight Run", starring Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin. :-D

The film's storyline often mirrors what was done in many films of its kind, like director John G. Avildsen's "The Karate Kid" and Robert Radler's "Showdown" co-starring Billy Blanks. This may or may not be a bad thing, depending on your opinion.

But with all else said and done to create this film with the little budget it had, the film doesn't waste anytime on any one subject. The characters are colorful, quirky, and bring the very foundation that the film needs to deliver itself as a true kung fu classic for martial arts enthusiasts everywhere!

It's amazing how DVD distributors seemed to have totally forgotten this film. It's also pretty damn sad too.

In any event, hopefully it will not be long until this film, and the several films that follow it within the NRNS franchise finally get the respect and recognition that has been long earned and well deserved.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "No Retreat No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder", "No Retreat No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers", "King Of The Kickboxers", "American Shaolin", "Superfights", "Bloodmoon", "Mortal Kombat", "Drive: Director's Cut", "U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force", "Special Forces", "Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing", "Bound By Blood", "Max Havoc: Curse Of The Dragon" and "The Shepherd".

Featuring a well-assembled cast including Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Clifton Collins Jr., Kenneth Tsang, Carlos Gómez, Jürgen Prochnow, and introducing Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat, "The Replacement Killers" is an electrifying motion picture event that redefines the standard for bullet ballet sub-genre in Hollywood action cinema. Director Antoine Fuqua exhumes the very essentials that were needed in order for the film to work the way it does, exploring the many mechanics of previous "heroic bloodshed" types of Hong Kong movies like The Killer, A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled, all of which highlight Yun-Fat's prominent acting career, and are all directed by one of the film's executive producers, acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo.

Any fan of Hong Kong action cinema will see how truly absorbed the director and the cast become in bringing this motion picture event to the big screen, and ultimately launch Chow Yun-Fat into international superstardom.

If you love action, the "The Replacement Killers" is a hit not to be missed!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "The Killer", "Hard Boiled", "Time And Tide", "Beyond Hypothermia", "The Transporter", "2009: Lost Memories", "Face/Off", "So Close", "Shoot Em' Up", "Xavier Gens's 'Hitman'", "Equilibrium", "Drive: Director's Cut", "Elektra", "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever", "Desperado", "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", "Hard Target", "The Art Of War", "Bangkok Dangerous", "The Crow" and "Killer Bean Forever".

Up until then, the only stunt team I was aware of was Alpha Stunts, a stunt team founded by three martial arts performers from Japan responsible for the magic brought to children's homes on the hit television series headlined by the Power Rangers franchise. And after having seen the evolution of Westernized action cinema by Alpha Stunts with films like Guyver: Dark Hero, Drive, High Voltage, Shadow Fury and Special Forces, as well as other production companies with the crossover of Hong Kong action stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, nobody really ever expected anyone not in the filmmaking industry to ever match the same standards on an independent level...

...And then along comes Eric Jacobus and his crack-team of aspiring filmmakers and martial arts performers to put the nay-sayers and non-believers in their place, impressing all who come to their website looking for some great eye-pleasing entertainment.

Undercut, a low-budget feature short film directed by aspiring young filmmaker and kung fu soup extraordinaire "Tuoc Vim Tuong!!!" (a.k.a. Stephen Reedy, lol), pulls out all the stops to deliver a wonderfully comedic screwball action comedy to fans everywhere. For a half-hour straight, watch the story unfold as Eric Ninja, down-and-out of luck ninja working for the city, fights to get his job back after being fired by cartoonish politician, Governor Begbie Carlyle, and ultimately replaced by Chinese Ninja Andy, a cheaper, more cost-effective ninja from China!

Eric Jacobus and Andy Leung, two originating founders of the team, display their dazzling martial arts choreography and performance, as well as their unique filmmaking style, which would have any right-minded studio director going "ga-ga" over these performers, or other performers of other teams alike that can meet the same standards met in virtually all Hong Kong action projects, by-and-large.

Undercut, which acts as a predecessor to Jacobus's directional debut, Contour, emulates anything and everything that martial arts cinema fans around the world have been waiting for for so many years; Great stuntwork, great cinematography, and a style of filmmaking that continues to help the team evolve in substance, as the members of The Stunt people continue to transcend the way Hollywood interprets the mechanics of kung fu genre.

Look for great things to come from this amazing stunt team in the future! And while you're at it, keep your eyes and ears open for more to come from Eric Jacobus;...

...Have you seen Jackie Chan movies, and similarly, ever wonder why Eric Jacobus almost never cuts his hair?!?...

...Clearly, the man is absolutely driven!...Driven I say!!!~~~lol

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: The "Everyone Is Kung Fu Fighting" DVD series, "Bound By Blood", "Contour", "6 Hours", "Dogs Of Chinatown", "An Act Of Revenge", "Carmen's Virtue", "Yeah Sure Okay" and "The Witness".

The film is pure, genuine entertainment all around, with wonderful performances from a well-assembled cast of actors and actress, homegrown in Hollywood and abroad! Great stunt and chase sequences, with wholesome storytelling that balances out the entire film from beginning to end.

Of course, with this being a Hollywood action movie with lots of spectacle, some of it wasn't really realistic....but after a while, the film just gets so much more interesting as the story moves from one level to the next, that you simply don't care about all the nitty-gritty details and such.

Directed by Breck Eisner, Sahara is truly a fun film for the whole family, and will keep you laughing and on the edge of your seat!

Action adventure fans will be very pleased!!!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: The "Pirates Of The Carribean" Trilogy, The "Back To The Future" Trilogy, The "Indiana Jones" Quadrilogy, The "El Mariachi" Trilogy, "The Mummy Trilogy", "Armor Of God", "Armor Of God 2", "The Rundown", "Fire Down Below", "On Deadly Ground", "The Scorpion King", "Serenity", "Bandidas", "The Scorpion King", "Banlieue 13" and "Dr. Wai In The Scripture With No Words".

Yeah, a nice story with nice dramatic performances from the principle cast, etc. But let's face it-If you absolutely love great Hong Kong action movies, then this a film that should not be forgotten!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Legacy Of Rage", "A Better Tomorrow", "The Killer", "Hard Boiled", "High Risk", "Iron Monkey", "The New Legend Of Shaolin", ""So Close", "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever", "The Bodyguard From Beijing", "Double Team", "The Red-Wolf", "Cradle 2 The Grave", "D.O.A.: Dead Or Alive", "Universal Soldier: The Return", Jeff Lew's latest and upcoming full-length bullet-ballet CGI animated action feature, "Killer Bean Forever", and the upcoming J&J project, "The Forbidden Kingdom", starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou and Jacky Wu, and directed by Rob Minkoff.

There is no question about it-the film's three principle martial arts stars, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Jing Wu are the true bread and butter of this wonderful modern day action classic, which stands as a throwback to the raw, gritty, substantially brutal style of Hong Kong stylized action choreography, ultimately incorporating mixed martial arts fight sequences, with a classic escrima battle between Donnie Yen with a police baton, and Jing Wu with a big ass knife, lol.

Anyone who has ever seen Donnie Yen's movies spanning the last two decades will truly enjoy what S.P.L. brings to the screen,...no matter what title it contains on the DVD cover box! ;-)

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Fists Of Fury", "The Big Boss", "Knockabout", "The Prodigal Son", "Police Story", "Righting Wrongs", "Crime Story", "Heart Of The Dragon", "No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers", "Royal Warriors", "Nico: Above The Law", "Yes, Madam!", "The Rookie", "Operation Scorpio", "Fist Of Legend", "Tiger Cage", "Tiger Cage 2", "The Stunt Woman", "Hard Boiled", "In The Line Of Duty 4", "Bloodmoon", "Asian Cop: High Voltage", "The Red-Wolf", "Beat", "So Close", "Gedo: Fatal Blade", "Nowhere To Hide", "House Of Flying Daggers", "Mystic River", "Wake Of Death", "New Police Story", "Fatal Contact", "Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action", "The City Of Violence", "Flashpoint", and the upcoming martial arts action feature film, "Broken Path", starring Johnny Yong Bosch and directed by Koichi Sakamoto.

Great stunt coordination and choreography by Frédéric Vallet and Sébastien Peres, who meet the highest expectations audiences had who have waited to see what a Parkour action movie could look like on the big screen, beyond most of what was done in Tony Jaa's break out action hit, "Ong Bak".

Hong Kong fans, or action junkies in general, will be truly entertained by the high fluidity observed throughout the film, especially by its stars, Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle. I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of what these guys can do in the future! They are awesome.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "The Young Master", "Righting Wrongs", "City Hunter", "Bloodmoon", "The Running Man", "Sudden Death", "Knock Off", "Kiss Of The Dragon", "The Transporter 2", "The Rock", "ConAir", "Taxi 2", "Ong Bak", "Tom Yum Goong", "Derzkeidni", "Escape From L.A.", "Kampfansage: The Last Apprentice", "Samourais", "Born To Fight", "Tango & Cash", "48 Hours" and "Another 48 Hours".

The movie is both unique and wonderful, not just because of the overall high production quality, especially with reference to the film's action sequences, which are respective for most, to the nature of urban Hong Kong-stylized martial arts fight coordination and choreography, courtesy of action directors Jeff Ward, Wesley Snipes and Chuck Jeffereys.

The film is so ardently brilliant and entertaining, that there are not a lot of movies in the market that can manage to combine so many sub-genres in such a well formulated fashion that can appease the viewing public.

Even today, there are still films that seem to come short of the standards set by the Blade franchise, like like the brutally appalling low-budget action/horror feature, Shadow: Dead Riot, starring Carla Greene and directed by Hong Kong film veterans Derek Wan and Tony Leung Siu-Hung, or Uwe Boll's video game-to-big screen Hollywood feature, House Of The Dead, which redefined the true meaning of the word, SUCK!!!

The other element that helped this movie become such a success is that this is the one true movie, long after Passenger 57, that allowed Wesley Snipes to truly stand out as an action star, showing his raw, electrifying athleticism as a martial artist, as well as an actor! This stood out as a plus for US action fans waiting for the next best thing other than another bad Don Wilson or Jalal Merhi movie to hit the B-market surface.

Conclusively, Blade is a consistently entertaining film that regards every important element that was needed for this film to work. Hong Kong action junkies, sci-fi geeks and shriek show fanatics will get a true kick out of what Norrington brought to the table in this fine piece of action cinema!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "The Evil Dead", "The Evil Dead 2", "Night Of The Living Dead", Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master", "Black Mask", "The Mummy", "The Mummy Returns", "Mortal Kombat", "Makai Tensho", "Brotherhood Of The Wolf", "Lethal Weapon 2", "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", "Doom", "Versus", "Aragami", "Passenger 57", "The Art Of War", "Blade 2", "The Matrix Trilogy", "Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action", "Volcano High", "Underworld", "Underworld: Evolution", "Desperado", "Highlander: Endgame", "Guyver: Dark Hero" and "Action Jackson".

Director Rob Cohen combines fantasy with reality, respectively to each other, to illustrate the spiritual and philosophical aspects that have structured Bruce's identity throughout his life in an ever-changing world. Cohen also manages to bring forth the physical, athletic elements which gave rise to Bruce's legend as a "Dragon", which formulated the indigenous entities that helped him create his very own system of martial arts, Jeet Kune Do.

Regardless of what some have, and will say about the film's principle star, Jason Scott Lee's imperfect Bruce Lee-likeness, Jason performs the title role with brilliance and absolute class, absorbing and emulating every quality about Bruce Lee as much as possible to fit the film's commanding standards, giving viewers a piercing look into a realistically surreal, ethereal and magical world of Bruce Lee.

Supporting actress and co-star Lauren Holly gives a progressively beautiful and evolving performance as the woman who would later become Mrs. Bruce Lee, and ultimately succeed Bruce's legacy through the Bruce Lee franchise, thanks to Universal Studios.

Other co-stars and supporting cast members, including Sven-Ole Thorsen, Ric Young, Luoyong Wang, Clyde Kusatsu, Nancy Kwan, Michael Learned, Sterling Macer Jr., Ong Soo Han, Robert Wagner, Kay Tong Lim, and John Cheung, Hong Kong action cinema veteran and the film's co-star, and co-fight choreographer, all do the film justice in performing their respective roles, with regard to the integrity of the film's story.

Moreover, John Cheung, as mentioned above, along with the aid of Jeet Kune Do coordinators, Fran Joseph and Jerry Poteet, all shared a common goal in creating the highly electrifying and whimsically entertaining fight sequences needed for the film to work, also aiding the concept of Bruce's goal in highlighting the differentiating concepts of martial arts: style and substance.

The TV series approved by Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee, for production for TV broadcasting in China features some immense star power, with names like Gary Daniels, Michael Jai White, Ray Park and Mark Dacascos. However, after watching the respective, boring 3-minute long trailer for the TV show, it does not come with much surprise in realizing that this, Rob Cohen's Hollywood production, is the BEST biographical observation of Bruce Lee's eclectic and wondrous life, spanning years in the entertainment industry and martial arts world.

Conclusively, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is, inarguably, the only production of its kind that can do what it does on the big screen. Needless to say, there will be no other production like it, or any TV show of any kind that can imitate it!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: The Big Boss, The Way Of The Dragon, Fists Of Fury, Game Of Death, Enter The Dragon, Bruce Lee: The Legend, Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon, Enter The Fat Dragon, The Young Master, The Prodigal Son, Fearless Hyena, No Retreat No Surrender, The Last Dragon, Bloodsport, The Rocky Sextology, The Karate Kid Trilogy, Donnie Yen in Fist Of Fury (TV), The Perfect Weapon, Fist Of Legend, Only The Strong, Mortal Kombat, Legend Of The Wolf, Gorgeous, Fighter In The Wind, Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision, Fearless, Kill Bill, Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing, Kiltro and Finishing The Game.

So, I bought the DVD, watched it, and enjoyed very much what the film had to offer. Ironically however, it was a surprise for me to discover some of the discerning reviews and reactions, posted on various websites, that the film got from most other people who saw it. In sum, I felt disappointed.

It is habitual, with a high majority of martial arts movie fans, to complain about martial arts movies that have no storyline or foundation, or any real depth. But what disappointed me the most, was reading reviews that, basically, varied between topics (more or less) like "...bad casting..." or "...the film took too long...", or in this case, "...not enough 'Donnie Yen' action...". I always thought it was more important, primarily, to take into account, what it took to make the film in question, especially for finding one superficial reason after another to scrutinize it.

Whether or not this is the case, it just seems, however, that that perhaps, and for a long time now, people either do not know what they want, or, they might know, and yet simultaneously, did not know what they were looking at.

When "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" first entered the US market, I had almost no idea what to fully expect. And little did I know, it would, pretty much, exceed most of my expectations, becoming one of the few best kung fu movies I had seen in years, what with all the Van Damme and unimpressive Don Wilson films I had seen before that.

From that point on, I have seen a lot of different martial arts movies, especially, in the sub-genre that I have come to know as "Wuxia-Pien". And I have enjoyed them all, for their vigorous camera work , high-flying action sequences, and colorful characters. But most importantly, I love what separates "wuxia" from most other types of action movies. And that is, how much of the various forms of "art" that directors apply to their own filmmaking formulas.

I urge all who have seen "Seven Swords", and are, hopefully, taking the time out to read my review, to open your minds to the absorption of a broader understanding of art and culture, as supposed to "Your kung fu is weak, and pretty useless! Bastard!!! You will be no match for my Moo-Shoo Pork Claw and Moo Goo Gai Pan Fist!!! HA-HA-HA!!!..." :-)

I highly admire Hark for doing, what I believe was, the right thing in making this movie upon returning from his hiatus. He took the high road, literally, and worked very hard to take audiences right into the world that was "Seven Swords". He, the crew and the cast takes us on a journey and gives us such a deep scope into the film's adventurous voyage, taking beautiful shots of various landscapes, and even going as far as mountaintop views and mountainsides, while dealing with real-world extreme and tumultuous weather changes and conditions.

As for dramatic believability, the actors and actresses play their parts very well and very befitting for the film. Even more so, although most martial arts films these day often include a main cast that consist mostly of actors and actresses like Leon Lai and Charlie Yeung who are not professionally trained wushu or kung fu experts like Donnie Yen or Ty Li Wu. But they certainally do give exceptional permances, both dramatic and physical, which, convincingly enough, showed me that Hark and the crew generally knew what they were doing.

What also makes the film so enjoyable to watch is its majestic score, composed by Kenji Kawai (The Princess Blade, Samourais). His use of the three-note motif in the adrenaline pumping, and exciting "hero" theme, which is played only a few times in certain key points in the movie, gives "Seven Swords" such a powerful sense of deliverability of pure entertainment.

Finally, granted, you cannot have an action movie without action. And I would normally include a few sentences to a paragraph about fight scenes and such. But in this case, I will make an exception to the rule.

If you've been merely skimming through the review in search of a portion that can tell you how the action was, then you've been looking in the wrong review. And, I highly encourage you to seriously think about what you are truly in search of when it comes to your taste in various types of martial arts movies.

For those who have, hopefully, taken the time to read some, if not all, of this review, then I thank you. And, I simply ask this of you:

Try to open your minds and broaden your horizons; For if people only care about how many fight scenes there are in the movie, who is fighting who, and how good or bad the fights are, then what will be the fate of kung fu cinema?

Besides, as I have explained, there is more to "Seven Swords" then just Donnie Yen and kung fu! And I'm sure there is plenty of Donnie Yen action to go around in most of his other movies.

In the meantime, if you want to buy this movie, just think long and hard about just what you are looking for.

I leave that for you to ponder at your own will...the rest is up to you.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: Chen Kaige's "The Promise", "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", "Circus Kids", "Bichunmoo: Warrior Of Virtue", "Seven Samurai", "Hero", "The Tai Chi Master" and "Moon Warriors".

The film is not the typical 90-minute romper-stomper that were some of his other films spanning his crossover campaign in the mid-90's, that contain predominantly bad acting and more dubbing than a Spanish soap opera! Instead, we a served a true cinematic gem that tells THE WHOLE STORY; I'm really happy that this a two-hour movie that explains itself from start to finish. And believe me, you will absolutely love the ending. I know I did.

So you haven't bought the film yet huh? Well...SPARE YOURELF FURTHER SKEPTICISM AND BUY THIS MOVIE ALREADY!!!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: The Police Story Trilogy, Gen-X Cops, Sha Po Lang, Time And Tide, Hard Boiled, Muscle Heat and Bloodmoon.

As filmmakers, perhaps the director and the cast and crew had the singular vision of making Dragon Tiger Gate "better", or at least more entertaining than Sha Po Lang. But in dealing with the recognition of the GENRE (film category), I will fast forward to this conclusion: Dragon Tiger Gate is not necessarily a "better" film than Sha Po Lang; In fact, it is simply a different film from Wilson Yip's preceeding new-school martial arts crime drama.

Dragon Tiger Gate is a live-action science fiction martial arts fantasy adventure based on a very predominant and successful comic. It stars a diverse cast of actors both young and old, including Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, and martial arts legends Yuen Wah and co-star/action choreographer Donnie Yen. The movie supplies a very wonderful compilation of stories told from different points of view, dealing with romance, love, family, and the importance of humility.

There are elements in the film that are not explained fully to the viewer, which more than likely means that you would have to have been a reader of the comic book in oreder to understand who certain characters are and what their purpose is in the story.

The final battle between the three starring actors and the villain Shimbumi, played by Yu Kang and voiced over by Louis Koo presents a high octane and spectacular action scene with nice CG effects, grand theatrical elements and wonderful choreography and production values.

Finally, though standing well with cool scenic artwork, use of color, costume design, casting, action and direction, my only problem with this movie is its length. With a film as great as this, it should have been at least a half-hour longer; So to say, the film tends to cut corners which would have left room to understand some of the little details about the story itself, such as who certain characters are, etc.

Just over 90 minutes, Dragon Tiger Gate is a great comic book action movie that does what most Hollywood producers and filmmakers have stopped doing--That is, giving viewers a reason to care about the movie. Instead of trying to make a "cool" movie, Wilson Yip made a wonderful cinematic venture and provided a story that leaves room for poignancy, captivation, jubilation, and explosive martial arts action. And by the end of the movie, viewers will truly be satisfied of this film.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Fist Of The North Star", "The Storm Riders", "The Avenging Fist", "Guyver: Dark Hero", "Death Trance", "Iron Monkey", "Legend Of The Wolf", "The Princess Blade" (a.k.a. "Shura Yukihime"), and "Sha Po Lang".