ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Tweekums Following a police raid on a triad drugs shipment which leads to the arrest of a drug dealer the man's wife decides to try to extort money out of the triads by suggesting they know the account details of where Triad boss Lin Ho-lung keeps their money. Unwilling to risk the possibility that the man might talk they take drastic action and launch an attack on the police station where he is being held. That isn't the end of their problems though; Lung's friend and financial backer is kidnapped and held for ransom. Lung doesn't realise that those responsible are working with people close to him and soon is involved in a full scale war with rival gangs as well as the police.If you want full on action this is probably the film for you; it is very violent with numerous shootings; limbs being hacked off with swords, explosions and a very gruelling torture scene that certainly made me wince! The basic story is simple enough although with just about every group having insiders they shouldn't trust there is always the possibility of sudden betrayal. The action set pieces are exciting and feel realistic; this isn't the highly choreographed action that approaches dance one finds in some Hong Kong films. Director Denis Law did a fine job keeping the action gritty while also having some more gentle moments; the scene where to senior triad members remember their childhoods while playing hopscotch was a delight. The cast did a solid job; particularly Sammo Hung, who impressed as Lin Ho-lung; Wu Jing, who plays his right hand man Lok Tin-hung and Tien Niu who plays Lung's wife and shows that women shouldn't be underestimated. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of full on Hong Kong action.These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.

dworldeater I have the US Lionsgate release , so I am unsure in any case if the US DVD is cut at all. The best thing about this movie is the cast. Which contains HK legends Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and supercop Danny Lee. Everything other than that is average at best. The story is nothing special and neither is the action . While there is plenty of violence and carnage, it is mostly CG. Plus said CGI is some of the worst I've seen since PS1 came out. Usually HK movies are classy and subtle with the use of CG. Not here, this is 'nt by any means a terrible film. Just an average action flick with horrible f/x and an exceptional cast. If you are new to Hong Kong cinema , I would say to watch another one of these actor's other movies instead . Otherwise keep your expectations low with this one . I give 4/10 for the movie and 6/10 when consideration for the awesome cast.

webmaster-3017 Tagline: Almost as good as SPL… Review by Neo: Dennis Law have finally come of age and after 2 unfulfilled attempts, Law have strike third time luckily with Fatal Move. Fatal Move is not just a good movie, as saying that would be a clear understatement, but one that Neo can proudly claim as the best in 2008 HK cinema so far. Despite a few unnecessary parts in between and some moments of predictability, Fatal Move qualifies as an action movie with HK flair and almost matching the feat of 2005's SPL. It's been a while since Neo have witnessed a good HK movie and with it being so close to his 22nd birthday, Fatal Move comes just at the right timing.Director Dennis Law have previously debuted in the teenage targeted Love @ First Note and have since then gone on to make his first shot at action cinema with the above average Fatal Contact. There is no doubt that Law's career lies in action cinema and if this flick is any indication, his direction is only heading one way and that is up and coming. It is always refreshing to witness a new generation director producing a good quality flick and it is all the more exciting when it comes to action cinema. Law smartly casts a trio from SPL, namely Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Wu Jing and the result is some quality martial arts sequence and lots of fun to be had.Also of special mention, it is probably the first time in years, where action flicks have succeeded without the involvement of Donnie Yen. Perhaps it is time to unleash Wu Jing on his first true starring in almost a decade since Tai Chi 2. Like his role in SPL, Wu Jing, the protégé of Jet Li is cool enough to rock the screen and likable enough to keep the audience attention. His fighting is slick and his youthfulness sets him apart from the rest of the aging cast. Still, these kinds of roles might make him look cooler than anyone deserves to be, but ultimately they are paper thin and not ones that allows Wu Jing to show his full potential. However, it is nonetheless a sigh of fresh air as the days of Sammo Hung is closer to retirement than debutant.Also in the mix is Lee Sir, Danny Lee and without a second though there is no doubt that Lee have aged considerably since his The Killer days and the sight of him with a gun is about as believable as a pensioner robbing a bank. With that being said, it is always a pleasure to see him back on the big screen and once again reminding the audience exactly how movies are used to be made. Sammo Hung almost reprises his role of SPL but this time with a degree of remorseless and thus allowing the audience to maintain interest in his character. Unfortunately one of Law's weak points is that he is no Wilson Yip, which means that he is not a character director. Luckily, the fight sequences more than compensate and the result are some quietly entertaining long takes of these coolly filmed scenes.Simon Yam also appears here and there, but is somewhat subdued and almost certainly a role more suited to the likes of Francis Ng. Veteran actress Tien Niu impresses the audience with a performance that is menacing yet understanding. Those final words of her are strong and her facial expression matched the strong dialogue given to her. As for Lam Suet, he is just himself, but for an actor that does so little, Lam is damn memorable and his acting is just priceless to laugh or cry for.All in all, Fatal Move is easily the best movie of 2008 so far and it is safe to say that it is a movie that Neo actually liked. I understand that the current reviewer has been a little too strict in recent times, but there is no argument that the quality being delivered so far this year has largely been disappointing. With that being said, it always feel good and makes Neo's day a hell lot better whenever he witness good HK cinema. Firstly, it is surprising, secondly, it makes him feel like his effort and passion for this industry isn't just going straight to the garbage dump and finally, it allows the current review to sleep well at night. So what's wrong with Fatal Move, the answer is that there is nothing wrong, but the fact that Neo got sort of over-excited like a little kid receiving a balloon… (Neo 2008) I rate it 9/10www.thehkneo.com

DICK STEEL Written and directed by Dennis Law, Fatal Move was originally conceived as the prequel/sequel to 2005's SPL, which had Donnie Yen and Simon Yam pit their skills on the side of the law against triad members played by Sammo Hung and Wu Jing. SPL had an interesting concept to begin with, but I guess with the ending as it was (a cop out in my opinion), a successful sequel with an interlocking storyline with the surviving characters would prove challenging. A prequel on the other hand might not be as engaging, as if we were to see the rise of Sammo's character to triad boss status, it would ring too much a bell with Infernal Affairs 2.So Fatal Move offers a completely new storyline, albeit with most of the SPL main cast coming back for another go. Donnie Yen is absent (I'll see him in action later with The Empress and The Warriors), and Simon Yam crosses over the fence to star as the brother of Sammo's triad boss character Lin Ho Lung. However, Yam's Lin Ho Tung seems to be having a walk in the park (and in fact he really did!), as is Lin Ho Lung, because those itching to see some serious butt-kicking action by Sammo Hung, will have to wait until the last 10 minutes of the movie. There are plenty of Milkyway regulars here, with Lam Suet, Cheung Siu-Fai and Maggie Siu on hand to lend their heavyweight support to appeal to Westerners here who are familiar with their works, and Danny Lee returns after a long hiatus to play, what else, a cop yet again.The storyline is nothing to wow over, and most times seemed to be running on a railway track, completely fixed and one-way, chugging along almost endlessly, without a destination in sight. Character motivations were unclear, and Tien Niu as Lung's wife Soso really let it all rip in a melodramatic monologue that contains a lot more story in her words than all the dialogue put together in the movie. It's about the self-destruction of a triad gang from internal strife from the greed of man, but its central theme was touched upon in a rather haphazard, messy manner that you'd wonder if the sub-plots were just bookends for the action sequences.However, despite its title, Fatal Move is severely lacking in compelling action scenes. You have the tired car chases, and it seems that there was little effort in trying to milk what Wu Jing and Sammo Hung could do. They're martial arts exponents, but get to handle guns most of the time, and this does not exploit the skills they are trained with, which you can probably employ anyone to take over their place. Most of the fighting sequences were courtesy of Wu Jing, who's especially mean with his lopsided blue-dyed hairdo and an extremely sharp sword, but given no competent exponent character-wise to spar with him, it all boiled down to a one-sided affair. Seriously I'm a fan of his and I think it's about high time he takes over the starring role mantle for Chinese action movie stars, instead of getting bogged down playing side show villains.What gets compensated for the uninspiring action sequences, was blood and gore done in CGI. I'm placing my bets that Herman Yau, as director of photography here, would have added some of his own pointers in this aspect, and the camera does linger on in some of the more violent and gory aspects, such as pumping continuous lead into a body, and various forms of decapitations involving limbs and fingers, right down to a castration. The much touted fight between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing was the main draw for me I have to admit, but if you were to put SPL and this side by side, Wu Jing vs Donnie Yen had a lot more intensity and slick moves compared to Wu Jing vs Sammo Hung.But alas despite the M18 rating here, the movie was still subjected to multiple edits (originally rated R21 uncut, but no thanks of course to money-making distributors), and most of the gory bits couldn't escape the censor's scissors. What made it unforgivable, was that the much awaited duel too became victim, and for that, with the insipid storyline and relatively generic action, I would have to recommend that this be skipped at the cinemas, and rent the DVD if you're really interested.