The psychokinetic potential of unused regions of the human brain, referred to here as "god's no-access zone," is channelled into practicality by military medical experiments involving a kung fu technique, which is subsequently enhanced by the cybernetic step-up transformer effect of an energised glove. Young hotshot martial arts progeny Kong is targeted by renegade militiaman Combat 21, who wants the inherited secret of the kid's 'Avenging Fist' style, which, if combined with the bad guy's advanced prototype 'power glove' will make evil invincible and allow him to fulfil his waking dream of Asian supremacist megalomania. Did I mention that he is the villain?

Nice guy cop Inspector Dark (Sammo Hung) is on the case, but the baddies are in a position to know all the heroes' weaknesses - if not all their hidden strengths, and when agents of the Red Dragon Army kill Kong's mum and kidnap his sister, Belle, the battle lines are drawn in spilt blood. Although there's no mistaking the inevitable outcome, of course, who eventually survives and how they pull off the trick of defeating their evil foe present the few surprises this film has to offer.

Obvious visual and design influences are Blade Runner (1982), and some 21st century gimmicks from Back To The Future II (1989), but The Avenging Fist has the same hybridised, genre-breaking quality as Luc Besson's spectacular The Fifth Element (1997). Some action sequences achieve an almost manga cartoon affect by having the camera and background in motion while the live actor stands still, and many of the backdrops were created using animation effects and digital imagery shot on blue screen. However, the non-stop f/x sequences are mitigated by quirky invention and occasional bursts of truly dazzling visual imagination. If you like the sound of brutal fantasy kung fu with superpower techno aids and the best movie gadgets since a certain trainee Jedi got his first light-sabre, this one's for you...

"The Avenging Fist" depicts the adventures of Nova, a young fighter who is guardian of his family legacy, an all-powerful martial arts style known only as "The Avenging Fist".

When "Combat 21", leader of the radical underground movement known as "The Red Dragons", discovers the existence of the style, he will stop at nothing to learn its secrets, and combine its strength with the all-conquering "Power Glove"; a technological fighting tool, designed to unlock the unknown power of the human mind and body.

When the "Red Dragons" prepare to use this unstoppable combination to take over the World, Nova joins forces with fellow warriors "Iron Surfer", "Jazz", and "Dark" to combat this dark emergent force and restore balance to the World. But first he must discover the secrets behind the disappearance of his father!

One and a half years in the making, and showcasing standout performances from martial arts legends Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, "The Avenging Fist" is a jaw-dropping action-adventure which will transcend your wildest imagination.

With the inclusion of Samo Hung and Yuen Biao in prominent roles (and the rumour at one time that Jackie was going to make a cameo appearance) the expectation of a decent fight film might have been higher prior to the film's release but then the reviews came out and it soon became clear that Andrew Lau had done it again. I have to admit, though, that I did quite enjoy the action scenes in this film. They're not classics by any means but if you can appreciate them on the level of say, 'Superman 2', then they work quite well. The special effects really take precedence over any martial arts skills for the main part although there are a few short sequences here and there worth watching out for. Corey Yuen was the action director, with complete control over the action scenes but his influence seems to have been largely hidden by the editing process. From what I'd read on the net, I didn't expect Yuen Biao to appear in quite so many fight scenes as he did and its his fights that steal the show although nothing to compare at all to his earlier classics. The final showdown really is on a level with 'Superman 2' as heroes and villains fly high above Hong Kong throwing lightning bolts at each other. It looked good though.

So I wouldn't say that I hated this film like many others, in fact there was quite a lot that I liked. Its hard not to be impressed by the futuristic portrayal of Hong Kong. Its kind of along the lines of 'Bladerunner' and 'Fifth Element' with flying cars and scooters speeding through a metropolis of high rise buildings covered in video screens. This is probably the best I've ever seen special effects look in a Hong Kong film and it far exceeds the likes of 'Storm Riders' and 'A Man Called Hero'. The CGI sets are completely convincing and its obvious that there has been tons of money spent (its a bit hard to understand why they went to all this trouble and forgot to get permission to use the name 'Tekken').

Plotwise the film remains engaging, although not particularly deep. A megalomaniac is trying to destroy the world and Lee Hom-Wong stands in his way. Competent performances come from all members of the cast and there are quite a few emotional scenes in the film that allow their acting abilities to show through. Like Andrew Lau's previous recent outings though, the film is really all about dazzling the audience with visuals and it certainly does that. I just want to see more of the things that made Hong Kong action films so great in the first place. Surely we can have both.

What I can decipher about this movie is that supposedly two years ago the human race decoded the entire human genome. And then it took us god knows how long to start taking advantage of it for military purposes. They finally invented a “Power Glove” that lets you free up the 90% of the brain that normal humans cannot use. It somehow grants you godly powers. It becomes even more powerful when you can use the “Avenging Fist” martial art in conjunction with the power glove. The Avenging Fist was developed by a soldier who was involved in the Power Glove experiment, named Thunder (Yuen Biao). When he received word that he was to be involved with the experiment, he left a holographic movie for his son, Nova (Lee-Hom Wang), teaching him how to use the Avenging Fist. As the movie progresses, Nova is forced to battle Combat 21 (Roy Cheung) with Iron Surfer (Stephen Fung). Iron Surfer is also in love with Nova's Sister, Belle (Kristy Yang). Now if I start getting into the rest of the plot, but keep from spoilers, then you’ll lose me. I'd be surprised if you haven’t already. I would’ve re-watched the movie, but that would just be cruelty to myself. (EDITOR'S NOTE: If you've seen "The Storm Riders", you'll notice many similarities. This is, after all, the futuristic version of an Andrew Lau special effects extravaganza. The difference, though, is that "Storm Riders" has characters that you can care about, character development, and substance. Of course, it's fight scenes come no where near to those in "The Avenging Fist")

Time to move to the acting. Wow. I mean really. Wow. I’ve seen better acting in kindergarten productions of Shakespeare. Lets just leave it at that.

The only reason the film gets as high a grade as it does is the fact that it saved its ass with the action sequences. Those were pretty damn cool. The CGI used to intensify the fighting were outstanding. And while they were used in excess, especially outside of fight scenes, I still found them to be one of the few good things about this movie. These are some great special effects. Sadly, nothing can quite compensate for a combination of a bad plot and bad acting. But it gets pretty damn close.

REVIEW
Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung are together again on screen in this sci-fi/ fighting extravaganza. It contains loads of eye-popping digital effects without restraint and lacks originality, but The Avenging Fist delivers on action.

At some point in the future, the government has figured out a way to tap into the unused portion of the brain using what is called a Power Glove. This gives its wielder incredible power and one hundred police officers are selected to test them. Yet, the glove effects each person differently, resulting in two defections. Combat 21, played by Roy Cheung goes mad with power and forms an underground force known as the Red Dragon Army, intent on overthrowing the government. Also going with him is Thunder, the most powerful of the bunch, thanks in part to his mastery of ancient martial arts. He is played with intensity by Yuen Biao who has been brainwashed into serving Combat 21. Twenty years later, Thunder's son, Mega Nova (Wang Lee Hom) and daughter, Erika (Gigi Leung) have been trained in Thunder's form of martial arts. They end up the target of Combat 21 who is trying to discover how to tap into 100% of the mind without using the Power Glove. After kidnapping Erika, who holds the key to this potential, Combat 21 unleashes a lethal gas into a large section of the populous in order to gain control of the world and its resources. With the help of Officer Dark (Sammo Hung), Mega Nova and his friend Iron Surfer (Stephen Tung) unleash the full potential of their mind's and attempt to stop Combat 21 before its too late.

Right off the bat, it will be easy to spot the film's influences. Avenging Fist may move the martial arts genre into the future but most of the sci-fi elements are strictly from the past. The gratuitously shot setting of a futuristic city is a hybrid of The Fifth Element and Blade Runner where flying cars whiz between tall, industrial-like skyscrapers under a perpetually dark sky. In a flashback sequence, Yuen Biao and Roy Cheung steal one of the Power Gloves in a scene reminiscent of Terminator 2 as the glove slides out from a wall panel. Nova, who inherits his father's glove has been told his father is dead until he turns up as Combat 21's pawn, wearing a mask. Brainwashed, Thunder tries to kill his own son until he realizes the truth at the last moment and sacrifices himself for the sake of his son. This plot should sound familiar to anyone who has ever seen Star Wars and recalls a similar relationship between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. If you listen closely you'll even hear the sound of a Tie-fighter laser blast during a fight at the beginning of the film! The film was originally supposed to be an unofficial version of the video game, Tekken. Lawyers stepped in early on, halting production. The results were a series of delays, several title changes, and much speculation. An early scene in the film involves a fight between our heroes, Nova and Iron Surfer. The action is highly stylized with ample amounts of computer enhancement thrown in to replicate the kind of moves one might see in a video game. Even E.T. gets ripped when Nova and his love Erika streak across a moon-filled night sky.

Its a shame that while Hong Kong action films have fully embraced digital effects, their stories generally remain poor. There is no explanation as to why our heroes are fighting on a fake rooftop. In an awkward nightclub scene, Nova meets Erika, the woman of his dreams and proceeds to mock-fight her in a ludicrous new wave dance. Wang Lee Hom's hammed anguish over his mother's death is marginally tolerable but repeating the same scene with his father frays the nerves. Although short, the whole romance angle, complete with a sappy Canto-pop soundtrack is out of place with the rest of the film's raw action. Its as if the producers felt it necessary to throw in the romance to broaden the film's marketing potential. The film continues the HK trend of abrupt endings in a confusingly short series of effects shots, followed by a campy closing shot of our heroes, followed by more Canto-pop.

More traditional martial arts film fans will be disappointed with Avenging Fist despite the prominent roles taken by Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The two actually get to fight each other briefly but the scene is drowned in special effects. Always willing to poke fun at himself, Sammo's younger self is played by Ekin Cheng (Legend of Zu) in a short cameo. Sammo's increased size is explained as an aftereffect of using the Power Glove. Biao gets more screen time but very few lines. He spends most of the film brainwashed, while wearing a goofy steel mask over his mouth.

The Avenging Fist is not a lost cause, just hampered by a number of poor elements. Fans of Legend of Zu and Storm Riders will enjoy the heavy effects-augmented action. Its also nice to see director Corey Yuen, Sammo, and Biao making a solid transition to the latest trends in action cinema. If only the filmmakers had tightened up the story and toned down the effects, the film would have been a lot better. Additionally, they need to start springing for symphonic scores or edgy pop music as the conventional synthesizer melodies and Canto-pop tunes do not augment the film well at all. Notwithstanding the obvious influences of previous American films, Avenging Fist is an exciting futuristic romp.

On another day of cyber bike racing with Jazz, Nova fights and befriends Iron Surfer, a rock and jock, goggle wearing, red haired punk kid who ends up being a key figure in finding the man who killed Nova's father and becomes the love interest to Belle. Dark, an enigmatic figure and detective emerges and all it set loose on the table as an explosive special effects extravaganza hits the screen and becomes an all out martial arts fest driven by Corey Yuen's fight choreography and Andrew Lau's direction.

REVIEW
Sigh.

In many ways, I've avoided writing this review, avoided putting on the hate I have for this film. But at the same time, I wanted to avoid the praise I wanted to give to a film that sucks so bad and hurts so much that it's almost inexplicably cool.

Do you see my dilemma?

Could there be a movie that can be considered the worst film of all time, but also one of the most groundbreaking and interesting films to come out in a long while? I don't know. Maybe I'll be flamed for this, maybe not. Usually, I hate hating on a film as much as most people do. My general philosophy is that every film deserves to be seen, but as a critic, I have an obligation and job to save people's money, to save their hard earned cash and to preserve their waking hours from being wasted on films that could be considered a mockery to filmmaking. Not that "The Avenging Fist" is a mockery, but it's definitely a film that crashed and burned on hype, leaving an after rot of wreckage and despair. Though, much like Pandora's Box, there is a glimmer of hope, because of the high amount of invention and creativity that flows throughout this film.

I've always considered Andrew Lau as being the Jerry Bruckheimer of Hong Kong. He created the first event film with his smash hit "The Stormriders" and introduced Centro Digital and CGI to the world of Hong Kong Cinema. Since then, there have been a slew of films utilizing the new CGI craze, even Andrew Lau himself in his last few endeavors with "A Man Called Hero" and "The Duel." Even though his films have created a definite amount of income for one of Asia's most ambitious director, it seems that Lau continues to overflow his films with more of the same old thing. Though reinvention and ingenuity is a habitual fare for his films, he never learns nor attempts to fix the mistakes that flood his past films.

What ultimately fails "The Avenging Fist" as a film is that it lacks the humanity in its story, damaging the bind the audience may have on the main characters. The sense of tragedy is there by focusing on the development of Nova and his father, Thunder, but the other supporting characters lack any depth to truly be "supporting." The main evil force behind everything, Combat 21, is so excessive as a character, that it destroys every moment of coolness for its actor, Roy Cheung. Who, arguably, played the best villain in the "Young and Dangerous" series.

Lee-Hom Wang departs from being Aaron Kwok's sidekick from "China Strike Force" and jumps into the main lead of Nova. Being somewhat young and almost infantile for the counterpart role of Jin from "Tekken," he lacks the tragic aggression and fury that keeps him from being a true force on the screen. Wang doesn't do too terrible in the later parts of the film when he realizes the truth about his father, but it never surpasses the plateau of melodrama to be of any emotional worth. It's interesting to see though, that somewhere in the midst of all that hair and made up testosterone, lays an actor waiting to come out. For being a famous pop singer, the charisma and magnetism is there, but Wang is going to have to go through some bad roles before he can fully make the most of his favoring characteristics and attributes.

I may be bias with the inclusion of Kristy Yang (Belle) and Gigi Leung (Erika), since I'm in love with them and swear on my life that I will somehow be in bed with the both of them in the near, near, near future, but they played their roles remarkably. As in, being pretty and standing there smiling and looking ferociously hot. I hate to say it, but they were Lau's Barbie Dolls in the film. By dressing them up, and putting them in pretty poses, both Yang and Leung were just one dimensional love interests for both Stephen Fung's Iron Surfer and Wang's Nova respectively. I would have loved it to have Gigi Leung's character to have more insight and back story, since she didn't have any other connections to the storyline other than looking beautiful for Nova, but it's too bad she was wasted in this manner. Even Yang, who played the sister to Nova had some small moments of importance in the film, but ultimately was used as an instrument for unnecessary tragedy.

The main reason most people will want to watch this film will be the re-teaming of the dynamic duo, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Sadly enough, both are used sparingly and almost ridiculously to satisfy the appetites of old school fans. In retrospect, Biao does some pretty impressive CGI fighting, but the silver mask on his face totally kills all expectations for his character. Why put a famous and very likeable star such as Biao in a pathetic role as Thunder when all you're going to do is cover up his face? Even Hung suffered from a terrible character design with the worst use of a trenchcoat matched with a silver, metal hat. The funniest part though, is the cameo role of Ekin Cheng who played Hung's slimmer self during the flashback scenes. It's almost too surreal.

The one saving grace for "The Avenging Fist," though, was the fact that it had Andrew Lau's signature direction all over it. With the sweeping camera movements and the stylish editing of the action and overall scope of the picture, Lau definitely does an amazing job at painting a portrait and creating new worlds of imagination and intensity. From the first shots of the film, you have a technopolis never before seen in any Asian film, filled with flying cars and skyscrapers that never seem to end, obviously paying homage's to Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element" and George Lucas's "The Phantom Menace." But what is most satisfying is the inventiveness and utilization of CGI special effects. For some, it may seem too much and in many ways, an overabundance of CGI can kill any form of real acting and drama from the picture, but can also become eye candy, filled with as much sugar to give cavities to your eyes for a long while.

For fans of "Tekken" out there, this is not a "Tekken" film. Due to the court battles, Lau and company had to remove all the references to the video game. Though some character designs may reflect players such as Jin and Hwoarrang, "The Avenging Fist" does not follow the storyline whatsoever. The film may seem more along the lines of "Star Wars" if anything from the obvious allusions that the film makes to the trilogy, but it ends up being a mess of everything that it never really contains an ounce of originality in its plot when it's attempting to separate itself from "Tekken."

In the end, the extremes of "The Avenging Fist" hurt it the most. The excess and surplus of special effects and CGI titivates the picture, but destroys almost all substance the film carries on its shoulders. It's almost as if the film was attempting to break through the flashy effects and gratuitous action and struggle as much as it can to show the world, that underneath the entire make up and gloss, lays some heart and emotion.

DVD
The DVD from Deltamac is a one-two punch of goodness because of its superior sound. I believe this one of the only handful of DVD's that has come out recently that has both Dolby Digital 6.1 EX and DTS 6.1 EX. If you have a great sound system attached to your television, turn it up, crank it up and you can definitely feel the awesome power that is "The Avenging Fist." The film comes widescreen with awesome clarity (dark in some cases), due to the fact that the film relies on a clear picture to deliver the visuals. The subtitles are a decent fare in English and Chinese along with the original Cantonese and added Mandarin track. Overall this edition is a pretty damn good one if you're interested in seeing this film.

Taking place in a bleak, Blade Runner-eqsue future, The Avenging Fist centers on a young man named Nova (played by newcomer Wang Lee Hom) whose father, Thunder (Yuen Biao), disappeared at an early age, and so spends his days fighting. Thunder was involved in the development of a device called "the Power Glove" (which in another Wong Jing classic, was actually the name of an old Nintendo peripheral) which enhances a fighter's "internal arts" and makes them near-invincible. An evil general known as War 21 (played by Roy Cheung, in a role swiped from the character of M. Bison from Street Fighter II) is looking to perfect the Power Glove by capturing the world's best fighters and taking their "psychic energy," and Nova and his friends become prime targets.

Well, okay, the story isn't exactly earth-shattering, but remember that this is Wong Jing and Andrew Lau -- the kings of Hong Kong "pop" filmmaking -- we're talking about here. Their collaborations are known for style over substance, and being basically brainless entertainment. While none of their movies could really be considered "artistic" or "masterpieces," at their best, they deliver solid, if unchallenging, entertainment. The big problem with The Avenging Fist that there is so little substance, so little for the view to care about, that it ends up feeling a bit flat and dull.

I will grant that The Avenging Fist is an incredible-looking movie. US films almost have seemed to hit a roadblock in terms of special effects -- even big-budget affairs like Arnold Schwarzengger's Collateral Damage look cheap nowadays -- but each "big" HK movie seems to be getting bigger and better in terms of visuals. The Avenging Fist is especially impressive, since HK typically has not been known for producing good-looking science-fiction movies. But just one look at the sweeping shots of the future noir city should tell you that HK can really no longer be considered a "bit player" when it comes to special effects. The fights -- aided by these effects -- are also pretty exciting. I'm not saying every movie should use CGI in the fights (in fact, I tend to not like using computers to replace real martial arts ability), but in the video game-inspired world of The Avenging Fist, it works. And, of course, this being a Wong Jing movie, some of the best looking things in the movie are the young actresses, such as Kristy Yueng and Gigi Leung (I suppose female viewers would like Stephen Fung and Wang Lee Hom, but then they also get guys like Chin Kar-Lok and Roy Cheung).

However, all the best "eye candy" in the world can't save The Avenging Fist from its' worst enemy -- the script. The movie starts out with a bang, with several fight sequences, but then slows down to a crawl as the story is ever-so-slightly drawn out inch by inch -- there are attempts to create suspense, but really any viewer should be able to see the "twists" a mile away, and so the "suspenseful" moments just become boring. Of course, there is also a romantic subplot, which is handled with all the style of your typical soap opera. There were some bits which were just unbelievably cheesy (flying around in the clouds and crud like that) that almost made me wretch and wish for the "good old days" of Ekin Cheng romancing Hsu Chi in the Young and Dangerous movies.

Though to its' credit, The Avenging Fist's finale is fairly exciting stuff and manages somewhat to make the viewer forget the crap that proceeded it. It's a bit sad really, because it shows that if it was put together right, The Avenging Fist could have been a tight 90-minute action movie. Instead, like many recent Hong Kong movies, it tries to be everything to everyone and loses something in the process.