Action Member: Stephen Tung Wai

Certainly not subtle but if you can forgive its flaws and instead bask in its blockbuster credentials, then ‘The Battle At Lake Changjin’ delivers some spectacular war movie action.

The film veers between harrowing war bloodshed and comic book daredevil action and while it never shies away from the horrors of war the film is always entertaining: certainly, from an action standpoint.

Though ‘The Great Magician’ recalls films like ‘The Prestige’ and ‘The Illusionist’, Derek Yee’s offering is much lighter in tone.

If ‘The Invincible Dragon’ had just embraced its barmier B-movie aspects and run with them, then this could have been a fun throwback to action films of yesteryear.

There’s little to recommend this uncomfortable kung fu comedy so don’t be in any hurry to watch it.

While it may not be the most original entry into the genre, ‘The Mar’s Villa’ contains just the right mix of drama and intrigue interspersed with a number of enthralling action scenes.

It will lose most of it’s audience by the 20 minute mark and even those that do manage to stay engaged past that point will likely be sleeping by the time our heroes ‘Fly away into the sunset’.

In truth, this is not a great movie, with nothing new added to the age old “separated brothers” story and some bad special effects.

The peripheral cast all read like a who’s who of HK cinema, and it does not pretend to do anything other than offer 90 minutes of lightweight entertainment. Definitely recommended.