Yakuza thugs and Chinese triads cross swords in a bitter feud which escalates from the underground nightclubs of San Francisco to Mexico, Japan and back again. Rogue (Jet Li) is a silent assassin who is so damn ruthless he straps explosives to rottweilers and has his own signature titanium bullets (for a marksman dealing in secrecy, this is something of an oversight). Crawford (Jason Statham) is a ballsy, hot-tempered FBI agent who is trying to quit smoking but still talks like Bruce Willis on a forty-a-day habit. Both are completely incomprehensible and rely on their muscle to communicate. They are personally connected because Rogue killed Crawford’s cop partner three years ago and he is hellbent on revenge, which he pursues via a series of labourious gun fights, car chases and the occasional outburst of violent kung fu fighting.

Few double-headers are quite so appealing to action fans than the promise of Jet Li and Jason Statham going toe-to-toe in another grueling kick fest, particularly after their modest success in 2001’s The One. But Jet Li spends most of this film completely bored, and seeing the actor who made a living portraying some of China’s most respected folk heroes suddenly breaking from type and shooting kids in the face is hard pill to swallow. The film has some flashy cinematography and a great sense of style, plus the twist at the end is pretty good, but both leads can do a lot better than this rudimentary fodder.

AKA: Rogue