It is no secret that a lot of HK movies of this era were made on the fly, with little to no script as such. On some movies you can't tell, on some you can. Here it's fairly evident. Characters come and go, the story seems to go nowhere for long periods of time and is actually pretty boring when there is no action happening. There are too many main players to keep track of, or care about, and none of them are especially fleshed out.

Dick Wei is the one with the most interesting character arc, and I would have liked the movie to be more about him. It is also fun to see Benny Lai in a more prominent role, but he more or less disappears in the last half of the movie, only to briefly appear again towards the end. And some more of his awesome kicking skills would have been welcomed. I guess Mark Cheng is the leading man of sorts, and he and Yukari Oshima look pretty good in the fight scenes, but it's not exactly earth shattering stuff.

As is so often the case, the final showdown is the best part of the movie. And this one is pretty damn cool at that. I felt that the mighty Ken Lo was wasted for the majority of the movie. However, he brought the heat in the finalé for sure. It just wasn't enough to save the movie as a whole. Too bad.

"Godfather's Daughter" is an impressive piece of film making. The director and action choreograper, veteran screen villan and choreographer, Fung Hak On, took obvious care in presenting a story, albeit a cliched one, about a triad boss from the old days and his struggle to maintain his status quo while being challenged a young, viscous Yakuza boss played by Ken Lo. The story is character-driven and has the force and momentum of an old James Cagney Warner Brothers' gangster flick which helps keep the story in a insistent forward motion. And for a Hong Kong action film to have a good story plus good fights is a minor achievement. Although the subtitles bleed off the edges of the screen, with the use of the pause button, I made the attempt to read them and follow the story. Not too hard since the story is fairly simple and straight forward.

Yukari Oshima is excellent as the mob bosses daughter who, early in the film, plays slightly obnoxious, clueless girl whose only interest is to fight, and to learn new fighting techniques. But as the movie progresses and Yukari sees her loved ones get slaughtered by the murderous Yakuzas', she transforms into a woman who'll stop at nothing to destroy Ken Lo and his clan. The demonic fury she displays when going in for the kill, especially her memorable fights with Ken Lo are quite convincing, and shows that Oshima her character from an actress standpoint, as well as the martial art end of her character. I found her quite endearing , reminding of the cuteness and intenseness (when the heat was on) of Sue Shimoi. Yukari also handles the comic aspect of her character with ease and one would wish to see her in more roles that allow her to show her comedic flair.

Add to this, not one, not two, but THREE great hong kong villains; Ken Lo, Dick Wei and Fung Hak On (who also directed and choreographed the fights.), and you've got a potent mixture of ingredients that delivers the goods. A small cameo by Leung Kar Yan as a mob boss is a minor treat.

Although I have never seen him before, Mark Cheng's buddy throughout the film is reminiscent of Yuen Biao.

Fung Hak On's camera placement is confident and original, and he always knows what angle to use to exploit the drama of the script. The inventive camera work and well executed fight choreography is very impressive, such as the scene where Oshima goes to Ken Lo's gym to kill him, only to end up fighting Lo, Fung and all his cronies for a brutal and beautifully choreographed fight. The movie boasts some sophisticated use of CGI/blue screen effects as when Yukari impales Fung with a sword (1h 25m 49s); or when a Yakuza thug gets run over by a car (1h 25m 57s). Ken Lo's demise is also original, as well as over the top.

What stands about the film is the directing, and, in particular, sophisticated use of film editing techniques that date back to the silent era that serve Fung's mayhem well. A couple of examples are when a Yakuza lackey on a motorcycle crashes and slides under a truck that explodes (1h 17m 6s). Look closely and halfway through the skid the rider is replaced by a dummy in mid-skid before the bike continues it's slide under the truck. The same technique is used when a yakuza lackey hanging on the outside of a car gets sheared off when the car glances off a tree - again the actor was replaced by a dummy before impact - but since it looks like like one continuos shot, it gives the stunt it's power and believability (1h 25m 49s). Chaplin and Keaton used these same techniques in the silent era, and it shows that Fung has paid attention to his film history and by paying close attention to the techniques used in American silent comedies, which are in constant use in martial films (back winding, hidden cuts, etc.)

One amazing stunt that obviously uses NO effects whatsoever, is when a thug on a motorcycle runs into the back of Oshima's car, sending the thug airborne completely over the roof of the car and landing twenty feet in the road ahead (1h 17m 57s). If you've seen enough footage of Evil Knievel hitting pavement during his real life motorcycle crashes you'll know this was a real human being doing this stunt with no CGI, no wires, and no dummies - just some chinese stuntman who was willing to risk his neck for money and celluloid immortality. Blacky Ko, perhaps?

But the real a accolades go to Fung's directing and choreography. As a director, he handles the material with an original style that is lean and bereft of unnecessary filler shots. Fung also shines in his duty as fight choreographer and obviously leaned something from his time with Shaw Brothers and Sammo Hung. Fung also delivers a typical effortless nasty performance as Ken Lo's right hand man, although personally I'd have wished he had more screen time. A scene with Fung and his lackey sitting in a car who witness a woman getting acid thrown in her face and then driving away laughing, shows that he chose to give the characters a slight depth not often seen in HK action fare. For Fung to wear so many hats during this production and to shine on all levels shows that he is a seasoned pro. I'm curious why he doesn't get work in America.

I'd recommend this film to anyone who enjoys the "girls with guns" genre and "old school" martial arts films, since this film straddles both eras. "The Godfather's Daughter Mafia Blues" also has the distinction of having at least three "boy, I've never seen that before" stunts, which makes it required viewing for action fans.