Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018)

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Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018)

The first Kickboxer remake (2016’s Kickboxer: Vengeance) was a painfully earnest slugfest suffering from a charm vacuum. Producer Dimitri Logothetis (who also writes and directs) takes a more ambitious approach with this quick follow-up and, although it lapses into fairly predictable territory, the changes mostly pay off. First of all, the action feels more organic, with two stand-out one-take fight scenes showing the breadth of star Alain Moussi‘s remarkable athleticism. Logothetis also gets a more commanding central performance from Moussi, who appears more confident in his second feature as a leading man, as well as absolutely bossing the physical stuff as martial …

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She Shoots Straight (1990)

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She Shoots Straight (1990)

Demure former Miss Hong Kong, Joyce Godenzi, transforms into a guns-blazing action hero for this melodramatic cop movie for Sammo Hung‘s Bo Ho Films. Sammo and Joyce would later marry in 1995, but not before she gets the Corey Yuen treatment, who paved the way for female-led action movies following the success of films like Yes, Madam! and Righting Wrongs. Godenzi plays Mina, a top cop on the road to promotion who marries the only son of a respected police family. She struggles to win over the affections of his four sisters, but mainly Carina Lau, who really has a problem with …

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Extreme Force (2001)

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Extreme Force (2001)

Michel Qissi is most famous for playing Muay Thai baddie Tong Po in Kickboxer. As director, he makes the most out of a particularly low budget, and the macho punch-ups are mostly good enough to pass scrutiny. Not that the film doesn’t have setbacks. Some of the actors feel over-stretched, particularly debuting leading man Hector Echavarria, a world martial arts champ. He doesn’t quite possess the coolness of top thumpers like Steven Seagal, or the cheeky aplomb of Jean-Claude Van Damme, but he is by no means terrible. The chemistry between Echavarria and Qissi feels stilted, while the story – …

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Enter the Game of Death (1978)

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Enter the Game of Death (1978)

Halfway through this Bruceploitation flick, a Bruce Lee look-a-like (Bruce Le), wearing that legendary yellow jumpsuit, smashes his way into a pagoda and battles with an array of baddies on every level. There is a pretty good duel with Lee Hoi-san (playing a Shaolin monk with deadly balls), and a strange fight with a Snake Fist exponent who bites the heads off live snakes and wields them around his head. A decent nunchaku battle later and Bruce Le is running after a clichéd Japanese villain in possession of a “secret document” (no one really knows what it is) that somehow …

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Encounters of the Spooky Kind II (1990)

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Encounters of the Spooky Kind II (1990)

This non-related sequel doesn’t pack half as much punch as the original, but it is entertaining nonetheless. Sammo Hung is targeted once again by a black magic wizard and his sidekick, who lusts after Hung’s fiancé, Little Chu (Mimi Kung). “You two are vicious, you shouldn’t live any longer,” says Sammo’s sifu, the great Lam Ching-ying (Mr. Vampire), accurately explaining the story in a single sentence. Prepare for insane supernatural set-pieces, kicking off with a nightmare attack from a duo of flirtatious opium-smoking hopping vampires. Things get even more bizarre when a creepy female ghost assists our heroes against a …

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One Million K(l)icks (2015)

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One Million K(l)icks (2015)

Despite its awkward title, this is a strong head-kicking German indie which gives diminutive stuntman Mike Möller free-reign to showcase his incredible physical talents. He might not immediately strike you as leading man material – his small, muscular frame and blonde crop wouldn’t look out of place in a German version of Westlife – but his strength and skill is extraordinary. His kicks are sometimes too quick and intricate for the camera, and you may need to rewind some sections to really savour the action. This was the debut feature for the Silent Partners production company, run by Hong Kong-based …

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Female Fight Squad (2016)

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Female Fight Squad (2016)

A great vehicle for the effervescent martial artist Amy Johnston, who makes the leap from stunt double to star with great confidence. Its just a shame the film struggles to ever fully ignite, and falls flat despite a promising premise. Amy plays a Los Angeles vet with a violent streak. She becomes a YouTube sensation when she takes out two dudes who break into her kennels. It turns out she’s actually a former underground fighting ace, known as ‘Bex the Beast’, who has turned her back on her shady past. But when her struggling and estranged sister asks for help …

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Future Kick (1991)

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Future Kick (1991)

Low-budget, high-concept fight film which deals in virtual reality and kickboxing robots. In a dystopian future, rich humans have ruined Earth and live in luxury on the moon. A prominent VR expert is needed back on terra firma and takes the next spaceship to New Los Angeles, which is full of crime, degradation and corruption (nothing new there then). He is killed by a gang involved in organ trafficking for a company known as New Body, which seems to be harvesting body parts for cosmetic reasons and creating elite human beings. His wife shuttles over to investigate, enlisting the help …

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Hard Bastard (1981)

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Hard Bastard (1981)

One of Godfrey Ho’s bright, wacky and diverse South Korean indies for Asso Asia Films, this typically colourful head-kicker provides an impressive acting showcase for Hwang Jang-lee. He cuts a dashing figure as the grinning, impulsive and comedic foil at the centre of a band of traveling street performers, who live in a tent and are hassled by crooks for some reason. Hwang looks great in an immaculately fitted three piece suit despite being a homeless guy. The gags are broad and involve Hwang being hit over the head with a frying pan, but it’s refreshing to see him in …

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The Last Dragon (1985)

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The Last Dragon (1985)

“Kiss my converse!” threatens the always-angry Sho’nuff (Julius Carry), aka The Shogun of Harlem, a hairspray-heavy kung fu brother who has seemingly raided Michael Jackson’s wardrobe, and hangs out with hoodlums transported from the set of a sci-fi film. Sho’nuff is hired by a sadistic record producer whose business tactics leave a lot to be desired. He kidnaps and harasses New York’s hottest pop star (that’s Vanity, by the way) in order to promote his own girlfriend on her TV show. Vanity refuses – because the girl is clearly terrible – and calls in the movie’s naïve hero, ‘Bruce’ Leroy …

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