Down and dirty Hong Kong action drama that pulls no punches (ahem!), ‘A Punch to Revenge’ may not be the best remembered actioner from the HK Golden Era but it’s a tough little flick if you’re looking for something off the beaten track.

Eddy Ko (‘Heroes Shed No Tears’) is a not-so-kindly family man who resorts to pimping out his wife to help get money so they can take care of their disabled child. He then falls in with a gang of criminals who plan a big heist, where they can score big. Yukari Oshima (‘Outlaw Brothers’) is a social worker assigned to Ko’s family and when she gets wind of his heist plans, she ropes in cop friend Ben Lam (‘Police Story 2’) to help the family out. Inevitably, the heist goes spectacularly wrong as the gang Ko and his friends try to rip off retaliate with maximum force.

Jettisoning all comedy, ‘A Punch to Revenge’ (despite the silly title!) is a rough-edged thriller buoyed by frequent bouts of hard-hitting action. Ko’s character makes bad decision after bad decision, pulling everyone down with him, the narrative thus having a very downbeat feel to it. It’s not a happy film but an often gritty one, showing those on the lower-rent side of society trying to scrape by in the big city of Hong Kong. It’s commendable director Lee Chiu (‘Angel Force’) sticks to the seriousness of the subject matter, though it does tend to drudge on a little when the action isn’t kicking off.

Thankfully, there is plenty of well-orchestrated and painful looking fight action to keep proceedings moving along. Co-choreographed by Ridley Tsui (‘City Cops’), the action is tight and frequent with Oshima doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the fight department. She cuts loose in a series of short and sharp confrontations (including a great scrap in a parking garage!) before disappointingly being sidelined for the finale. However, there are also a couple of great hard-hitting shootouts, including a firefight in a confined stairwell that spills out onto the Hong Kong streets, and the finale packs a punch featuring some very dangerous looking stunts.

Not always a fun time and a lot more serious than the title might suggest, ‘A Punch to Revenge’ is nevertheless a satisfyingly serious action thriller for those looking for something a little harder hitting but still with the requisite old school Hong Kong flavoured action.