The action in Martial Angels actually has some punch, unlike a lot of the squeaky-clean movies (read: too much CGI) coming out nowadays. It helps matters out a lot that the plot is refreshingly simple compared to a slate of overconvoluted films that have come out recently. Hsu Chi is a member of the "7 Angels," a team of female thieves. She makes the mistake of falling in love with a competing thief (Julian Cheng). Their relationship, of course, ends in disaster and Hsu becomes so distraught that she quits the "business" altogether, only to be pulled back into it as a Russian terrorist kidnaps Julian and demands that Hsu steal a top-secret computer program to get him back.

Of course, this being a Clarence Fok/Wong Jing joint, there's a bit of sex thrown into the movie as well, mostly through the form of Terence Yin who plays a sleazy bomb expert the Angels must hire -- he demands sexual favors rather than money for payment -- and a pretty funny bit involving Sandra Ng trying to seduce Hsu's boss Wong Jing. It's nothing overly smutty, though. Wong Jing, perpetually the dirty old man both on screen and off and the director/producer that defined Hong Kong sexploitation in the 1990's with his onslaught of Cat III sex romps, seems to be mellowing out a bit, and that might highlight Martial Angels' main problem. It looks nice and there's a good amount of action, but it lacks that certain something -- that wanton recklessness and williness to go over the edge -- that made many earlier films in this genre (junky as they were) so enjoyable to watch. Martial Angels does a good job of what it sets out to do -- showing pretty women kicking ass. I just felt like there should have been more to it.

From the first minute the film is trying to be cool with hip music, innovative camerawork, stylish action and high tech gadgets worthy of James Bond. The other thing that struck me early on is its obvious similarities to other recent movies such as 'Mission Impossible 2' and 'Charlies Angels' and also to Clarence Ford's earlier classic 'Naked Killer'.

Shu Qi plays Cat, an international jewel thief blackmailed by the Russian Mafia into stealing some top secret anti virus software. The leverage they use against her is by holding her ex lover and partner in crime (Julian Cheung). Calling on her gang of co-criminals Cat makes an attempt to rescue Julian in one of the films high points; a high octane shoot out staged in Chungking Mansions. However after the attempt is unsuccessful Cat has no choice but to try and steal the software.

Anyone (like me) hoping for a return to the classic days when Yukari Oshima and Moon Lee were churning out kick flicks is probably going to be disappointed. The main problem is that Shu Qi and her gang, despite how photogenic they all are, are not trained martial artists or even have the skills that could fool the viewer into thinking they were. Clarence Ford gets around this with stand ins and fast editing, of course, but its still a little unsatisfying. Despite that though I still found myself enjoying this movie.

The plot is pretty thin but it isn't really that kind of movie and by the same token the so-so performances didn't really upset me either. Some characters work better than others and if you don't expect too much from the English speaking roles then you'll be fine. Of course Shu Qi and her entourage look hot for the entire movie; reason enough for me to watch it.

Although the cover would suggest a kick flick, martial arts sequences are short and mainly feature in the final reel. The choreography isn't that inspiring but at least some thought went into covering the action from awkward and interesting angles. Mostly its the fast editing style that we get so much of these days; easier to hide an actor's limitations.

Altogether its not a bad film but its not likely to be remembered as a classic either. Somehow I don't think that was ever the film makers' intention.

First of all, the women in the film are gorgeous. They're all strong and sexy, and none of them take any shit from anybody. And there are seven of them! A female action lover's dream team! I've never cared much for Shu Qi, but she managed to be very genuine and quite engaging in this film (and her hair is unbelievably beautiful). Kelly Lin is probably the toughest and sexiest of the bunch, and the chemistry she has with Shu Qi is delightful. It was good to see Sandra Ng again after so many years, and she still looks great. The rest of the team seems to be unknowns, but they're all very beautiful. Sophie Ngan (?) is by far the prettiest of the bunch, but they're all just friggin' amazing. (and watching her say "f**k you, asshole" to a man at gunpoint is utterly spectacular) Unfortunately, the action scenes are weak and low budget, but the unflinching conviction of the women makes everything seem credible and extremely exciting. When you have limited resources, you have to rely on presentation and the strength of your characters. These ladies take their work very seriously, and I appreciate it immensely. The film also suffers from some embarrassing effects work, and the addition of a sex maniac to the cast makes the film unnecessarily sleazy. However, he manages to redeem himself in the end, which makes him seem a little less repugnant. (although I would have much rather seen him take a bullet from any one of the girls)

Overall, it's a fun and exciting girls 'n' guns outing that borrows heavily from "Charlie's Angels" (2000) and "Mission: Impossible - 2" (2000). However, what really intrigues me is that director Clarence Ford ("Naked Killer" (1992) ) reportedly shot and edited this film in only eleven days. I know they work fast in Hong Kong, but that's really incredible, not to mention inspirational. Especially when you look at the quality of domestic films that are produced in the same amount of time (Jim Wynorski's work immediately comes to mind). Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy female action cinema.