It's true, the movie does lack action in the front-half. But the story is good enough that it's not painful to sit through. It certainly isn't boring. Straightforward, sure. And the characters aren't unique. But it's not bad at all.

The bottom line is that when the action comes, it comes with a vengeance. Donnie Yen has flirted with incorporating the MMA/UFC-style into his movies. And in this one, he brings it strong, alongside his always-flawless kung fu skills. The bad guy in this movie is the guy who played Seraph, the guardian of the Oracle in the 2nd and 3rd "Matrix" films, the only guy with some real kung fu talent. So when he and Donnie get it on, it's as good as you've ever seen it. The gunfights are great, the fist fights are even better.

If you're looking for a top-notch martial arts film or you're trying to find one of those "HK action movies" that you've heard so much about, this is definitely one of the ones to see. No two ways about it.

Of course the highlight of the film is the action choreography of Donnie Yen. Yen added MMA fighting to his already dazzling kung fu repertoire and Collin Chou also gave a good preformance in the long bone-crunching finale. The action was very realistic and intense, as I thought I heard some of my bones snap when viewing. Along with the fighting, there were some impressive foot and car chases.

The only problems I saw were the lack of character development (i.e. OCTB squad members, especially the female), Louis Koo not selling his leg injury to the level of being "crippled", and a pistol that can fire 16 shots in an elevator without the need of another clip. These are just minor flaws as I can't find too much to gripe about. Good film with hopefully more like it on the way.

Finally, it was also great to see big Kent Cheng back on screen, as I think he is a truly great actor and very underrated.

Donnie Yen falls into the same category. If you want somebody to play a hard-ass cop who isn't above going beyond the rule book to take down criminals and using some incredible martial arts skills in order to do it, Donnie's your man. From movies like "In The Line of Duty 4", to the "Tiger Cage" movies, up to and including "SPL", Donnie has the pugnacious, angry, intense, physical, and rebellious cop role down pat.

"Flash Point" isn't so much a movie about two cops taking down a trio of brothers who are up to their necks in crime and violence, it's a giant setup for the last 20 minutes of this movie so we can watch Donnie strut his stuff. When Donnie's eyes get wide and his mouth screws up like he's about to spit something out, watch out, it means he's about to lay some serious hurt on someone. Case in point: in the middle of the film, he's chased the bad guy to an outdoor eating area when the bad guy grabs a kid and tells Donnie to drop his gun or he'll kill the kid. Donnie complies, at which point the bad guy throws the kid aside, letting the kid land on her head and is either dead, or in a coma. Donnie looks at the kid, his face contorts, the camera zooms out, and Donnie proceeds to work the bad guy over.

That scene was just a taste for what happens near the end when he goes toe-to-toe with Collin Chou. This fight scene hurts just to watch it. In this movie and in "SPL," Donnie has stated that he wants to bring Mixed Martial Arts to the screen so as to make martial arts movies look more realistic and at the same time, more exciting. He feels that CGI and wire-fu have had their day and that it's time to get back to basics. It looks like he's succeeded. Like Spencer Tracy, what Donnie Yen does, he does well. I hope he keeps on doing it.

It approaches all of its fight scenes with an innovative and realistic style.

Donnie's Fight scenes must be seen to be believed--you will be rewinding these scenes several times because you will be mesmerised by what you have seen.

This film will remind you why Donnie is a martial arts superstar if you've forgotten.

What Donnie has done in this movie is make you feel like the first time you saw a Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Jet Lee and Tony Jaa film.

I've been a big Donnie Yen fan since "In The Line Of Duty 4", but he did under-perform until "Iron Monkey".

One thing about Donnie is his martial skills are so good that no matter how he under-performs he will still leave a massive impression on you (e.g. "Holy Virgin Vs. Evil Dead).

A must-see for fu fans. If you're not familiar with Donnie Yen, then after this film you will be a fan and will want to check out his back catalogue.

"Flash Point", hot on the heels of "SPL", is another step--make that leap--ahead in action. The battles that take place here are so realistic, you find yourself wincing as in a horror film, and feeling the performer's pain. The plot is very thin, and if you look closer, this may have intended to be some sort of indirect sequel to "SPL", as Yen's character is another rogue cop and is reckless in his hard-assed approach to dealing with the baddies. Louis Koo is good as Yen's partner, and he seems to reel the film in somewhat until the end.

What fans will really get excited about is the finale, the showdown between Yen and Colin Chou, Seraph from the "Matrix" sequels. The mixed-martial confrontation from these men is so adrenaline-packed, nothing outside of the showdown between Sammo and Donnie in "SPL" comes close.

This is a film to watch just for the popcorn action, like a Jackie Chan actioner, not to be taken too seriously. Just enjoy the fighting.

With such a great actor as Louis Koo being in this movie, his performance was severely lacking. After seeing him in Election 2, this is a huge drawback. I was excited to see him paired with Donnie Yen, but he gets no room to act and generally falls very flat.

So, how about the action? Meh. Yeah, that kind of subdued reaction is what one gets out of this movie. Does Coolie from Kung Fu Hustle finally get to show off some awesome moves? No. Are there long shots of uninterrupted action showcasing great martial arts abilities? No. Well, is there a final action scene that blows everyone away a la SPL? Not really.

The last fight scene seems to drag on a little too long with repetitious blows being dealt back and forth. Not too mention how horrendous some of the gunfighting was at the end. You'll know what I mean if you see it. Yet, Donnie Yen pulls out a few awesome tricks, but it feels too much like a copy of SPL with the MMA and grappling stuff. It was okay when it was fresh then, but I'm over it now.

Really, I was expecting the re-teaming of Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen paired with a great actor in Louis Koo to really produce something amazing with over the top action to rival SPL, but it turns out to be a watered down copy without anything innovative or mind blowing (except for the punch in the face which can be seen in the trailer). But what's really sad here is that it's still the best thing out there right now from Hong Kong. So it's worth seeing, but not worth owning.

And the cool neat-o box that comes with the limited edition is complete garbage. Now it doesn't fit with the rest of my movies and it looks bad and it opens retardedly and just ugghhh. . . Just get the regular edition, save your money and enjoy ease of use.

Thanks for reading.