Rating: 4.0

Based on a pre-war short story, it tackles a major crime in a sober, yet discreet way and plays with the idea that even an obvious crime has many layers hidden beneath the surface.

It may be a little too simplistic in its narrative for some and others may find the one-man-army slant pushed to its limits but ‘Re:Born’ is a triumph for all involved.

Despite having no conclusion of its own, all of the groundwork of the characterisation and story make the next chapter an exciting prospect.

Fast, fresh, funny and full of character and tension, this is wuxia done well and should be seen by fans of the genre at their earliest convenience.

Beneath the simple premise is a dissection of friendship and finding one’s place in society that is about as good as cinema has ever shown.

There’s therefore much to recommend this superior sequel, a film that takes the best elements of the original and invites viewers to contemplate a message beyond the common expectations of the genre.

‘The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin’ was a definite achievement in the genre, but this follow-up has its own charm as well.

Utilising a premise that is tailor-made for technology-mad Japanese audiences, Yaguchi achieves a partial return to the superlative form of yesteryear.

Slow burn and tense filled horror that relies more on a continuous and thick sense of dread rather than jump scares and oodles of gore, ‘Roh’ is serious horror that gets under the skin.

Added to the humour is the furious action orchestrated by Ching Siu-Tung that makes this much more than the average comedy film.

Just scraping into the 4 star category, the ever-watchable Michelle Yeoh produces more classic 80’s action in a way only the battling babes can!

The action is far superior to that of any American made film on ten times the budget, and shows Chan at his best shortly after the excellent ‘Drunken Master 2’.