Genre: Action

If you have a strong stomach for bad cinema or are just a sucker for films from the IFD era then it may well be worth adding to your collection.

If you’re happy to laugh along with it then you’ll still find something to appreciate, but a kung fu classic this is not.

Although the plot may be somewhat lacking, ‘Ninja Vs. Shaolin Guards’ remains a very entertaining outing thanks to a wealth of well crafted kung fu fights.

No doubt those who need oodles of story/plot/narrative to justify enjoying a film will grumble (yawn!) but on the whole this is a superior sequel and a super-charged martial arts film.

‘No Blood No Tears’ may not be a film for all tastes, not least due its violent nature towards women and the slightly laid-back pace but it is a challenging and rewarding film as well as an entertaining one.

There may not be much here that we haven’t seen before, but it’s certainly been a while since we’ve seen most of it done so well.

It’s far better than other American style martial arts movies such as ‘China O’Brien’, ‘American Shaolin’ and the like, showing what can be done if a little extra time is taken over the choreography.

Surprisingly, for an American film, there are some well executed and imaginative fight sequences predominantly showcasing the excellent kicking skills of Avedon.

Plenty of fight sequences, which are high-tempo, well choreographed affairs, if a little short by Hong Kong standards.

A rather unremarkable and unsatisfying debut from writer and director Song Neung-han, ‘No. 3’ is neither as funny as it thinks it is or as hip and entertaining as it wants to be.

While some of the humour may be of a particular taste and the tone a little too self aware for its own good sometimes, Thomas Cappelen Malling still fills his flick with stylish sequences and lots of little pokes at the ninja genre.

Anyone searching for a traditional kung-fu flick that is filled with sublime choreography need look no further than this.