The Fifth Commandment (2008)

Posted in Reviews by - February 05, 2020
The Fifth Commandment (2008)

Humourless action yarn produced and written by its star, Rick Yune (The Fast and the Furious). He cuts a lean figure as the film’s conflicted antihero, but is completely inert in terms of on-screen chemistry. But then again, nearly all of the cast seem to be afflicted with the same debilitating habit of delivering dialogue in a husky, stoic monotone, as if they’re auditioning for voiceovers on movie trailers. There’s nothing of great originality here; even the fight scenes are butchered by some overzealous editing. Yune plays an orphaned survivor of a brutal gang attack, who is raised as a killer by a jazz-loving surrogate father and hitman (Keith David). His sterling death toll hits a snag when his next target is a bratty pop singer and her entourage, which includes his estranged childhood buddy. At this point, the action relocates to Bangkok (no doubt in a bid to stretch the budget a little further), and soon the film becomes a cat-and-mouse routine between Yune and a rival assassin, played by the always reliable Ron Yuan. Ron is dependable in the Terminator-like role, but its unlikely this title will be near the top of his resume.

AKA: The 5th Commandment.

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Editor and creator of Kung Fu Movie Guide and the host of the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast. I live behind a laptop in London, UK.

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