Hong Kong action maestro Yuen Woo-ping, acclaimed fight choreographer of The Matrix, directs stars Kenny Ho and Christy Chung in their fight against a gang of terrorists, which include the fabulous Elaine Lui. There's lots of fun to be had as Lui plays her femme fatale role at full tilt, while Chung provides much of the silliness. Kenny Ho was a protégé of Jackie Chan, and this shows in the numerous stunt scenes that he performs against heavily armed opponents. In a way, this is hardly a classic Hong Kong movie, but it's unusual because there are several non-Asian actors involved and location shooting aboard a genuine ship (they couldn't afford many sets!) gives the backdrop a sense of realism lacking in most similar productions...

Dumb jokes aside, Red Wolf falls right into the formula and only stumbles during its minor attempts at slapstick comedy. Kenny Ho is more than up to the challenge as Dragon, a security officer trying the thwart the attempts of Ngai Sing, Elaine Liu and their legion thugs from smuggling some uranium off from a cruise ship.

Cruise ship? Uranium? Nevermind. The details don't really matter. What matters is that this widely under-rated, if not totally unknown, 1995 Yuen Woo Ping directed film is just about wall-to-wall action and some of it is quite spectacular. Countless fights are sprinkled throughout, featuring knives, axes, explosives, guns and not least of all fists. A few of the bouts are also pretty creative and involving some decent Gwailo talent. For example, one scuffle takes place in a weight room and makes interesting use of dumb bells and treadmills while another takes place on a well-soaped up floor.

The performances are what you would expect for this genre. Kenny Ho is a likable and physically capable hero which is all you really need here. Christy Chung, while nice to look at, tries her hand broad comedy and ultimately fails. But hey, you can still look at her! Elaine Liu portrays just about the most beautiful sadistic bitch ever put onscreen. Her scenes of torturing and ultimately executing passengers, though cartoonish, are almost difficult to watch. Ngai Sing plays the main bad guy with the relish that made his fight scenes with Jet Li in the Bodyguard From Beijing so effective. By the end of the movie, you really want to see the crap beat out of these two baddies.

Yes, Red Wolf eventually lapses into bad taste by endangering easy targets like children and old people to create tension. Yes, they trade corny threats over walkie talkies. And Yes, the bad guys hire someone to break into a safe that features multiple locks and must announce it to main bad guy every time he breaks one. Furthermore, every time someone is hiding from a bad guy and is about to slip by safely some incredibly unfortunate noise happens (a cell phone, the dropping of an item, a sneeze, etc.). Rest assured, this only happens 5-6 times in a 90 minute film! Corn and cheese nonetheless are required ingredients.

Cartoonish violence. Cool kung fu. Evil bad guys. Good good guys. Needless story. Extra cheese. MMMMMMM . . . still tastes good!

Kenny Ho plays a security officer on a cruise ship attempting to stop a terrorist plot to steal plutonium held in the ship's safe. Quite why plutonium would be transported on a passenger ship is never explained but who cares. When they realise their plan has been discovered the terrorists take over the ship completely and hold all of the passengers hostage (well the few that survive the take over anyway). Only Kenny Ho and pickpocketing waitress Christy Chung manage to escape and it then becomes a game of cat and mouse as the terrorists hunt the pair around the ship. Leading the terrorists are Ngai Sing and Elaine Lui, both of whom play their roles with a cool ruthlessness. Making up the terrorist gang is the G7, a group of western stuntmen/martial artists working in Hong Kong movies who formed their own team.

Yuen Wo Ping crafts some excellent action scenes that mix all of the elements that Hong Kong movies are famous for. Excellent gunplay, mad stunts, exhilirating fight scenes and a high body count. Although Kenny Ho wasn't a trained martial artist he still comes across as a fairly good screen fighter although the film may have benefited from someone more competent in the leading role. Although the fight scenes are all enjoyable there's nothing that really pushes them over the edge (when compared to Yuen's other works). Some nice moments see Kenny Ho fight on a slippery floor with bath mats tied to his feet and the finale where he faces Ngai Sing is probably the film's high point. There's a minimal amount of wire work used to enhance some of the fight sequences.

This isn't a standout moment in Yuen Woo Ping's career by any means and certainly isn't a classic but 'Red Wolf' does compare well to other movies made at a time when the Hong Kong film industry had started on its way into decline.

After quitting the Police Force for personal reasons, Alan (Ho) decides to work as a security guard on a cruise liner. During his maiden voyage he witnesses the murder of the captain and is subsequently framed for the crime. His only hope comes in the form of petty thief Linda (Chung) who overhears the terrorists discussing their devious plans. Unfortunately, it's a little difficult to tell who is on the right side so she decides to free Alan who appears to be the only good guy around. It's up to the two of them to start taking down the terrorists kung fu style before more innocents are butchered.

For 'Red Wolf', Kenny Ho (normally recognisable as a bit player in Jackie Chan films like 'Police Story' and 'Project A Part 2') takes the lead alongside Christy Chung to try to allow for a fresh screen partnership that may amount to more. Sadly, this seems like a doomed idea from the beginning as the whole film possesses the trademarks of one of Woo Ping's collaborations with Donnie Yen and you can't help thinking that it would have been more suited to a leading actor with an established persona. To be fair to Ho he is not exactly bad but he is definitely forgettable, never really bringing any of his own traits to his performance which only allows his character to blend in with everyone else. On the flip side, a well known star like Chung is given very little to do apart from display a few moments of comic prowess and then she is only required to scream and get in the way during the fights (which is odd for an HK movie where women normally get to muck in on the action).

With Woo Ping in the director's chair you can normally expect him to make the most of the fight scenes even if the film does suffer with a somewhat overexposed formula (did anybody say 'Die Hard' again?). When it comes to action he knows exactly what makes the perfect shot and how to use it; employing slow motion where necessary and utilising each actor's skills to his advantage. For this film he takes a relative cast of unknowns and still manages to create some fine set pieces that will leave Hollywood scratching their heads in amazement. However, by Woo Ping standards it is by no means his finest hour and we all know he is capable of better but it is all expertly put together and won't disappoint those of you seeking out his back catalogue.

Overall, 'Red Wolf' is a perfectly watchable movie that really suffers from it's own inability to create anything fresh. The action is good and the acting performances show potential but there is nothing outstanding on offer. If you want to see terrorists wreaking havoc on a boat then I would recommend you check out 'City Hunter' instead...