Country: China

This is a Jet Li film we can finally be proud of and a Ronny Yu work that will finally stand the test of time.

While ‘Fierce Cop’ flip flops between melodramatic exploitation and a serious examination of trafficking, it thankfully keeps proceedings thundering along with Kenji Tanigaki’s excellent action design.

‘Fist From Shaolin’ really stands out with its powerful choreography which, even after numerous other fine new-wave productions, remains very impressive.

Those less critical may get more out of ‘Flying Swords’ as there is still a lot of high flying action on offer, despite it being stuffed with CGI, and the film certainly has a rich visual style.

‘Free & Easy’ is a moderately amusing one minute sketch stretching to feature length and you can feel every one of its ninety minutes pass as if they’re being pulled from your own flesh.

While it is a good idea that is probably stretched beyond its running time, there is something quite heartening about ‘Funny Soccer’.

Much like a television movie version of ‘God of Gamblers’, but stripped of many of the elements that made the original work, this 2020 unofficial update is low budget and low entertainment value.

A delicate tale told with such heart-warming precision that its running time glides by unnoticed, ‘Going To School With My Father On My Back’ is exactly the kind of film that illustrates how valuable world cinema is.

The somewhat sluggish pace, the constant need to flashback to an incident from Li’s past, and a surfeit of cardboard characters rob the flick of any adventure fun.

While it runs out of steam far sooner than it should have done, ‘Hello Mr. Billionaire’ does offer a few smiles along the way.

‘Hero’ has shown that an exquisitely photographed film does not always have to be a case of style over substance.

It will probably be appreciated much more by the local audience but there is enough to enjoy for international viewers.