Genre: Thriller

Not the return to modern action many a Woo fan may have hoped for but fun in fits and starts if you can forgive its flaws.

A B-movie with some bite, ‘Maria’ stumbles with its by-the-numbers story and unnecessary scenes of torture but is saved by some cool fight scenes and a fierce lead performance from Cristine Reyes.

Despite a few hints of quality from the action/stunt team, the film is a shambolically constructed mess that is rarely fun to watch.

A seemingly simple set-up is given verve, Hitchcockian tension, and extra depth via nerve shredding direction and having the two leads both deaf and mute.

Despite going the exploitative route and therefore diluting some of the mystery, the film still grips thanks to the ever present sense of something horrible about to happen and a cast who give it their all.

‘Mission: Impossible II’ certainly offers the world a clear glimpse of what Woo is capable of when it comes to action, but it also lacks his usual quota of emotional drama and camaraderie.

‘Monster’ has a few elements that could make for a decent thriller, but the overall picture is sadly spoiled by a number of idiotic characters making even more idiotic decisions.

Bookended by two outstanding train-based action sequences, ‘Moscow Mission’ starts with a bang before settling into a more standard, yet still entertaining, police procedural.

This is certainly not a flick for mainstream critics and while it could have eased up on the over stylisation of the action, ‘Ninja Assassin’ is still a big, bloody hoot.

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.

Definitely not to everyone’s taste, but ink black humour and Choi’s powerhouse performance prevent ‘Oldboy’ from becoming unendurable.

‘On The Run’ is a superb effort from Biao and a welcome change of pace for an actor who is so often seen as just the “little brother” of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.