This set is great! I've been hoping for a restored release of the Sister Street Fighter films ever since Optimum released Sonny Chiba's Street Fighter trilogy in the UK. Sadly no UK release has been forthcoming, but this Brentwood set's very reasonably priced and well-restored.

Chiba himself makes an appearance in the first film, although not as Takuma Tsurugi (from his Street Fighter films). The action choreography's similar, as are several cast members (Masashi Ishibashi, from the first two Street Fighter films, appears in at least the first two Sister films, if not the third as well), but the first three Sister films are a hell of a lot more wild and wacky.

The villains are pretty much all dressed in bizarre costumes, and carry traditional weapons at all times. Never ask why no-one carries a gun - it's like asking why Bond villains don't just shoot Bond in the head when they capture him. I can only imagine the glee the costume department took when they set to work.

The great Yasuaki Kurata co-stars in the second and third films (as different characters), which is reason enough to watch them anyway. I've a feeling Japanese action cinema at the time had an even smaller talent pool to play with than Hong Kong, given you see several actors appear in more than one film, yet playing someone else each time.

The first three films follow fairly similar stories, but all are fun, if a little sadistic at times. The fourth film, Fifth Level Fist, is a bit different however.

Fifth Level Fist is a sequel in name only, with Etsuko Shihomi playing a completely different character here. There's a disappointing lack of crazy villains here, but there's a few Western actors involved, who appear to be speaking Japanese, rather than being dubbed, like they would have been in Hong Kong. I was rather impressed with the rather open treatment the film-makers gave the racist abuse two of the characters suffered in their youth. It's not something you expect in a Martial Arts film, and was handled very well.

I doubt I've covered why I actually recommend these films with the above meandering waffle. Basically, you get a very pretty leading lady who kicks major-league ass, crazy henchmen, a few naked ladies, Sonny Chiba, and Yasuaki Kurata. You also get Etsuko Shihomi displaying some rather fine nunchaku technique as well.

Perhaps I've been spoilt by films along the way (Lau Kar-leung's Shaw Brothers directorial outings, and much of the Hong kong Legends series), but I didn't get much out of King Boxer choreography-wise. It seemed very much in the pre-Bruce Lee "Windmill Fist" vein, and it seemed to be running in slow motion at times.

In saying that, Lo Lieh made a good, intense hero, a role (like the great Hwang Jang Lee) he didn't get to play too often. Also, the crimson Shaw blood remains a favourite effect of mine, even after working my way through my beloved grubby Italian splatter-fests, George Romero and David Cronenberg films, and Ichi the Killer.

Looking at the story, King Boxer does have nice sub-plots, even if the characters never really develop. However, like I mentioned at the start, I've seen a lot better films since this was released, with Sammo and Lau Kar-leung primarily responsible for some of my favourites (ie The Victim, The Prodigal Son, Heroes of the East and The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter). It may be unfair to compare true "old-school" films with more modern pieces (even if only ten years separates them) but, unfortunately, that is what is going to happen, especially with Celestial reissuing about 75% of the Shaw Brothers catalogue.

Personally, King Boxer is a film I bought due to it's fame as the film that broke Chinese Martial Arts movies in the USA (under the name Five Fingers of Death). For that reason alone, it's one to own.

Oh, and it's still better than many, far more recent, American Martial Arts movies.

Where do I start? The misogyny? The homophobia? The wasting of Chiu Man Cheuk? Being a Wong Jing production? The completely ludicrous revenge storyline?

Whilst I'll admit that Wong Jing has come out with a few good films over the years (he's made so many that the law of averages says some of them must be watchable) this certainly isn't one of them. Whilst he isn't the director, his hallmarks are all over this film. Misogyny far beyond any of Sammo' films, a man who kills women seemingly solely because he's gay, and the wasting of a gifted martial arts star.

One thing I didn't work out is that, if the killer murdered one of the characters because he loved Chiu Man Cheuk, how does that explain the earlier victims?

I remember Bey Logan saying that this was one of the worst films he'd seen to come out of Hong Kong. He wasn't exaggerating. Avoid it like the plague.

The choreography is stunning, especially the duel between the masters and Leung Kar-yan. For a man whose only real training came when he decided to work in films, Leung Kar-yan has superb control. How they didn't kill each other amazes me.

I have to admit, I though Dean Shek was hilarious as Master Rocking. He was a bit too strange in Warriors Two, but here he's just right. Funnily enough, before seeing any of the HKL series, I was unaware that Dean Shek had done roles like this. I'd only seen him in A Better Tomorrow II, where he'd done a rather good dramatic turn. I digress...

Anyway, this film is one of the finest Hong Kong martial arts films of all time. I still prefer 8 Diagram Pole Fighter for weapons scenes, but this comes very close to that.