It's almost always easy to see that a drama template comes with potential but where Raymond Lee (Dragon Inn) goes wrong with Rebel From China lies in factors such as unsympathetic main character and dull proceedings. The desperation in Ming gets explained and there's certainly emotions to be felt concerning that but exploring deeper is not what Lee opts for or can do. Instead various gangster scenarios occupy our time and while action director Tony Leung brings his fine, hard hitting talents to a few action scenes, the film is still in dire need of air. John Woo, in his only large acting performance not directed by himself emotes...quite a lot. Yet he comes away with dignity, registering neither good or bad. Cecilia Yip is terribly wasted in a throwaway role however. Also with Tommy Wong, Patrick Tse, Ouyang Shafei and Lau Siu-Ming.