Country: China

In a relatively short time Yee creates a fascinating martial world every bit as involving as the visions that Chor Yuen used to put together years before.

There are some excellent action scenes here and though the choreography gets a little too familiar, it does throw in a few unusual moves.

The style of this sequel is just as frenetic as its forerunner, combining visual cues from video games and anime along with the steam-punk vision of 19th century China.

Despite being as absurdly hyperactive as a coffee junkie with St. Vitus’ Dance, ‘Tai Chi Zero’ is fun and snappy for most of its running time.

It hasn’t got the sheer confidence and brash brilliance of ‘Red Cliff’, yet it is a welcome addition to the crowded sub-genre of Three Kingdoms movies.

While it doesn’t always engage and could have used a little more oomph come the second half, Feng Xiaogang’s film is still a decent attempt at dynasty drama.

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.

It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it succeeds in painting an interesting portrait of an aging gentleman looking for a little redemption.

‘The Bravest Escort Group’ was one of those films you start watching while all the while thinking that it must have either been edited down from a much longer version or part of a series.

‘The Butcher, the Chef & the Swordsman’ may be an uneven yoking of brilliance and banality, but it is so heavily stacked in favour of the former that this still proves to be a film of great interest.

Had ‘The Captain’ focused on the drama on the plane and not felt the need to flick back-and-forth to dull secondary characters, it might have brought the true story to the screen with aplomb.