Finally, Hong Kong action is back.

I have no clue why Donnie Yen is not as popular as Jackie Chan or Jet Li here in North America. I wouldn’t consider it an “action-packed” film (I mean, for the first-half hour there’s only one punch, I think) but Donnie Yen’s choreography is simply superb – mixing the fanciful martial arts you see in everyday kung fu films and adding a healthy does of Ultimate Fighting-like takedowns and grapples.

And seeing Sammo Hung playing a ruthless gangster is quite a change from his oft-played humorous and merciful characters. It’s like a cute ol’ cuddly panda bear snapped one day and decided to shove bamboo shoots up the zookeeper’s ass. Well, almost like that.