The story centers on Pi-Ho (Ying Hsia), a young woman who has gone mute after her parents are killed. One night, while walking home from work, she is raped in an alleyway. After Pi-Ho returns to her apartment, a man attempts to attack her, and so she fights back and kills him. The murder sets Pi-Ho off, and she beings stalking the streets and killing men she deems to be problems for women, regardless if they actually are or not.

There really isn't much depth to the story, but this is a case where there doesn't need to be a whole lot going on beneath the surface. Through her performance, Ying Hsia brings enough to the table to create a compelling character. It's too bad most of the cast doesn't seem able to follow her lead, most notably Alan Tam, who despite his top billing, only has a (thankfully) smaller role as Pi-Ho's boss. The acting isn't bad enough to totally de-rail the picture, but it definitely hurts it at points.

A big part of the reason the acting doesn't hurt this movie too much is its' style. Since I'm not well-versed in director Richard Chen's movies, I'm not sure if it was intentional or accidental. But the somewhat amateurish techniques Chen and his editor, Chiu Hung-Shing, employ give Girl With a Gun a stark grittiness and toughness reminiscent of Ringo Lam's better work. The synth-heavy score composed by Hiu Gam and Shut Git-Wing is also extremely solid, with the one big caveat being a song sung by Ying Hsia (who was a minorly popular singer in her native Taiwan) that is repeated in parts over a dozen times during the course of the movie.

Overall, despite the inherent pitfall in doing remakes (not-so-boldly going where someone just went), some flat acting, and the technical flaws in the production, Girl With a Gun ends up being a pretty satisfying take on the "female revenge" film. Fans of the genre would be well-served to hunt this little-known movie down, pop a couple of tops, and press play.