Genre: Martial Arts

I would not recommend this to anyone but die-hard Rothrock fans, and those curious enough to see Kurt McKinney in action after so many years. Otherwise, steer clear.

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.

‘Tai Chi II’ features an average plot and some unnecessary over-the-top moments, but is a decent effort that usually earns little attention from Hong Kong film fans.

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.

Packed full of superbly choreographed fight sequences and sporting solid leading performances, it is definitely one of the finest kung fu movies to emerge from Hong Kong during the 90s.

Fantastical ingenuity, crazy comedy, outlandish practical effects, and hard-hitting martial arts are thrown together in perhaps one of the best zany action flicks to come from the Golden Era 80s.

Even a few moments of magic from Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Gary Daniels do little to improve the overall picture, and it has to be said that this is a sorry excuse for a ‘Tekken’ movie.

This sort of sequel/prequel has its moments also but is nowhere near as fun, is often confusing and unfortunately feels like a half arsed attempt to cash in on the first flick.

Even though it does get some of the backstory correct, it just seems far too muddled and mundane to please the game’s fanbase.

At the end of the day, ‘Temple Of The Red Lotus’ works as more of a historical artefact than a genuinely exciting swordplay feature.

The final word is that this is highly recommended for the teaming of fifteen or so of the top stars of the Shaw Brothers era. As a stand-alone production though, ‘Ten Tigers Of Kwantung’ is not Chang Cheh’s best.