Country: Hong Kong

Part three has none of the charm of the original and doesn’t even stack up well against the second part; this is a lazy, charmless affair that had me looking at the clock every couple of minutes.

There is quite a lot going on in ‘Re-cycle’ for both the eye and mind and while its perhaps a bit too ambiguous for its own good it’s probably a film best viewed a couple or several times to fully appreciate and digest.

While it remains watchable, ‘Red Wolf’ really suffers from its own inability to create anything fresh.

‘Return Engagement’ is cut from much the same cloth as many gangster films of the era but differentiates itself with a stronger core storyline.

Li’s ghostly anthology achieves its ends as a series of cautionary tales of the ills that might befall those who succumb to their own greed and desires.

There’s therefore much to recommend this superior sequel, a film that takes the best elements of the original and invites viewers to contemplate a message beyond the common expectations of the genre.

Despite the tantalising title, this flick has nothing to do with John Woo’s genre defining classics but is rather a cheap cash in from the relentless Wong Jing conveyor belt.

‘The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin’ was a definite achievement in the genre, but this follow-up has its own charm as well.

A film that gives the viewer the experience of rolling down a hill in a barrel full of dirty razor blades without having to leave one’s home.

Not the best example of heroic bloodshed from the golden age but an entertaining footnote in the careers of heavy hitters Chow Yun-Fat and Andy Lau, and certainly worth checking out for completists.

This is the definitive Hong Kong action flick of the 80’s, easily on a par with ‘Police Story’ and should take pride of place in any fan’s collection.

Loaded with larger-than-life characters and absolutely overflowing with gore, ‘Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky’ is an insane outing that hops from one bizarre confrontation to another.