Starring: Donnie Yen Ji-dan, Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, Shawn Yue Man-lok, Dong Jie
Director: Wilson Yip Wai-shun
Category: IIB (Cantonese)
In this adaptation of the Hong Kong comic book Dragon and Tiger Heroes, three kung-fu aces bravely battle an array of bad guys, but finally fall victim to the ultimate villain: a bad script.
It's yet another big-budget production whose technical derring-do fails to compensate for a plodding plot, a recipe that's bound to disappoint fans of Tony Wong Yuk-long's original tales and leave non-aficionados less than engrossed by the tedious, albeit richly illustrated, goings-on.
This marks the second collaboration between director Wilson Yip and martial arts actor and choreographer Donnie Yen. Their SPL, released last November, also suffered from a lightweight script, but made up for it with some of the most exciting, non-computer generated action for years. Not this time around - CGI so dominates that it's difficult to appreciate the considerable physical efforts of Yen and company. Not that the graphic imagery isn't impressive, but this is diluted by the movie's release on the heels of this summer's other major local blockbuster, the even more spectacular special effects-laden Re-Cycle.