Genre: Thriller

The core concept remains relatively fresh and the switch in style to more of a war-like epic works in the film’s favour.

Not just one of the best thrillers to emerge from Hong Kong in a good few years, but also as good as many that have been released throughout Asia over the artistically-rich 21st century.

There really is no disputing that ‘Best Of The Best 4’ is a far cry from the quality we have come to expect from the series, and this is basically nothing more than a very faceless action movie.

Boobs and blood can be a fun distraction but they aren’t enough to make up for a complete lack of anything else.

Jade Leung’s impressively committed performance and the always dependable Simon Yam elevate the low budget nature of the flick making it an entertaining romp.

While the original was essentially a remake of Luc Besson’s ‘La Femme Nikita’, ‘Black Cat II’ is more a straightforward action flick, with a little bit of ‘Terminator’ thrown in.

Low budget, straight-forward, though with a couple of unexpected twists and turns, this was a fun and surprisingly action packed ride.

Along with all the sweet kickboxing action the flick crams in a fair chunk of graphic gore and a surprising amount of drama for a low budget B-movie.

Part 2 showed some nicer choreography but was hindered by the MTV-style camera work, which has seemingly infected all action films of the past few years.

‘Bleeding Steel’ starts with promise and then refuses to flesh out any of the plot details, leaving us bewildered shortly after our interest had piqued.

‘Blind’ is a more than capable thriller that builds patiently to an edge-of-the-seat climax. And Kim Ha-Neul continues to ascend to the top of Korea’s starlist with another charismatic performance.

Director Teddy page made a ton of these action clunkers back in the day and while it’s far from his best it does boast Karen Shepherd in a lead role kicking lots of ass.