Vietnamese martial arts film which revolves around a captivating performance from Veronica Ngo. She is exceptional as Hai Phuong (the character name is the film’s original Vietnamese title), a Vovinam-trained former Saigon street punk who falls pregnant and escapes her hoodlum life to raise her daughter in rural isolation. Her fighting skills comes in handy as a debt collector, but her motherly tendencies don’t quite come as naturally; she is ignorant to her child’s pleas to escape her bullied school-life, she burns the dinner and fails to protect her daughter when she is snatched by criminals in the village and sold into a child trafficking ring. Over the course of a day and night, Hai Phuong goes on a one-woman rampage traveling back to her old stomping ground in search of her daughter, kicking ass and taking names in the process. Ngo is vibrant, enraged, dignified and delicate, displaying a dichotomy of emotions in a very strong central performance. She is also heavily involved in the fabulously physical and entertaining fisticuffs, orchestrated by fight choreographer Samuel Kefi Albrikh who champions long fluid movements and resists any obvious gimmicks or effects. The cinematography follows suit with a similar attention to detail, with vibrant landscapes ranging from the lush greens and wetlands of rural Vietnam to the neon reds, purples and blues of Saigon’s urban environment. This was a huge hit domestically, rightfully making Veronica Ngo a huge star. Following appearances in Bright and The Last Jedi, it will be exciting to see how her talent transfers into larger roles in Hollywood.

AKA: Hai Phuong (Vietnamese title).