Genre: Drama

While Derek Chiu’s latest film is an acceptable blockbuster, the wit and style of the director’s earlier works is sadly fading away from him.

‘A Battle Of Wits’ is that rare work that is exciting, tense and yet is an introspective on the violence, war and conformity.

Shi Runjiu’s film is a modest production with flaws in certain key areas, but remains a genuinely interesting film.

This is the ‘Citizen Kane’ of HK heroic bloodshed films and it never ages, even after repeat viewings.

What this film lacks in plot, it sure as hell makes up for in action and the finale of ‘A Better Tomorrow II’ is a brutal display of guns, grenades and swordplay.

As a standalone film ‘A Better Tomorrow 3’ is a fairly watchable effort thanks to an intriguing premise, but as a prequel to ‘A Better Tomorrow’ it just doesn’t quite cut it.

A true gangster epic with brilliant performances, direction and action and not a mockney geezer or wideboy in sight. Simply: great.

A portrait of quiet hope and self-worth painted with the delicate strokes the director so often uses.

Perhaps if the story were more involving or it contained better action, it might have been more appealing. As it stands though, it’s really only going to serve as a quick fix for hardcore Andy Lau fans.

Perhaps Billy Chong’s most polished and constantly entertaining film, ‘A Fistful Of Talons’ takes a well-used storyline and turns it into something much more original.

‘A Loner’ is therefore a solid, thoughtful meditation on a traditionally Western problem that is now creeping into the affluent East, but should have been more than its good intentions.

Andrew Lau has a very obvious formula for making comic book adaptations and it’s one that is ultimately not very satisfying.