Donnie Yen‘s directorial debut is a visually ravishing if borderline pretentious action film with some nice location shots, smart lighting and design. The story uses an extended flashback to recall Donnie’s past as a post-war wondering amnesiac hero known as ‘the Wolf’ who, while in search of a girl in a ransacked village, becomes embroiled in a violent bandit fight. As his memory returns, the Wolf has to face some unpleasant truths when the gangsters slay the townsfolk and kidnap his girl. Hyperactive editing during the fight sequences quickly irritates and ultimately distracts from Donnie’s expert head-kicking. The film was released under the misleading title The New Big Boss in the UK and US, but it has no connection to the 1971 Bruce Lee film.

AKA: The New Big Boss.