Rating: 2.0

The cast is not without charm, the idea not without potential, but ‘The Real Iron Monkey’ is a certified dud.

Episodic and pantomimic, this is a series of not especially interesting scenes sewn together with a completely uninvolving main narrative.

Normally I’m the first to find some sort of saving grace in all Van Damme vehicles, but ‘The Shepherd’ is just so under-par that it’s painful.

What could have been an amusing film sprinkled with a bit of action is more like a woefully over-exaggerated piece of fluff that wastes a good cast.

‘The Spy Next Door’ showcases very little of the Jackie Chan that we all know and love, and is really nothing more than the same old American kids’ movie being recycled for the umpteenth time.

Those of you assuming that Thai action cinema could do no wrong will be bought back down to earth with a bump after watching ‘The Tiger Blade’.

Despite having all of the benefits of being made under the Shaw Brothers’ banner – solid production values and a notable cast – this is insipid film-making.

The set pieces in general are nice, while the cinematography and the musical score do stand out but again, as a whole the film just doesn’t do what it says on the tin.

‘The Unity of Heroes’ is a slipshod update of the Wong Fei-Hung myth, a film wholly lacking in not only chemistry but also everything else that made the Tsui Hark chapters so influential.

‘The Witches Hammer’ is certainly not a terrible film but neither does it contain much to recommend it for.

When you’ve got Dean Shek, Sandra Ng and Eric Tsang all screeching for ninety minutes, you know it’s going to be a tough experience.

‘Three’ could be the least involving, least exciting action thriller in recent memory. That it has Johnnie To behind it is a particularly sad thing to report.