I was saddened to recently hear of the passing of Hong Kong movie legend Corey Yuen. What was more shocking was to hear that he had actually died two years previous, due to Covid-19, with his family keeping it secret until now.
Yuen’s passing is a fatal blow, not only to Hong Kong cinema but to action cinema in general. His contribution to the genre was immense, with him being involved in some of the finest action films of the latter half of the 20th century and beyond.
Back in his day, Yuen formed part of the Seven Little Fortunes Opera Troupe, appearing alongside such alumni as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao to name a few. His work here was just a taste of his talents as he would later go onto work as an actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, writer, producer and director as well as a host of other jobs that are too many to mention.
With such a massive loss to the industry, I thought this was the perfect time to look back on some of Yuen’s finest films. With him working on so many quality productions through the years, I had to whittle the list down to personal preference, so some may be surprised by the inclusion of some films and the absence of others. For this list I stuck mostly to those films which Yuen directed with some honorable mentions to others where he contributed the action choreography.
Yes, Madam! (1985)
Yes, Madam! is quite an important film in the pantheon of Hong Kong action cinema. Not only did it kick off the In the Line of Duty series, but it also cemented Michelle Yeoh (still credited here as Michelle Khan) and Cynthia Rothrock as action stars. Sure, Yeoh had appeared in several films prior, but none of those gave her the opportunity to make an impression the way Yes, Madam! did.
This film also marked the debut of Rothrock. While it is hard to gauge the quality of her acting due to being dubbed, her martial arts skills are in full force, with her and Yeoh taking part in some fantastically realized fight scenes, the best of which is left for the bone crunching finale where Yeoh and Rothrock face off against a small army of gangsters, with the always excellent Dick Wei and Chung Fat featuring amongst them.
As expected, the plot is of no great shakes, but the interplay between the characters makes up for this. Some may be put off by the fact that Yeoh and Rothrock aren’t always the film’s main focus, with much of the screen time being given to Tsui Hark, Mang Hoi and John Sham. Much of the plot forms around this hapless trio, with them getting into multiple scrapes, some more comedic than others.
There is additional comedy value involved courtesy of some quality cameos from the likes of Richard Ng and Sammo Hung, who also produces. The comedy may seem jarring in comparison to the hard hitting violence that is on show, but to me, this is just a typical Hong Kong actioner. Like many HK films, don’t be fooled into a false sense of security because there is some comedy as Yes, Madam! takes a decidedly bleak turn as it reaches the finale, with it not being obvious which character will survive.
Yuen keeps everything moving along at a terrific pace, and while he may have made better films, Yes, Madam! deserves to be included here due to just how influential it was, with it still being emulated to this day. The series would only raise in quality from here, with David Chung’s Royal Warriors (1986) being that rare sequel that’s even better than the original. Even the departure of Michelle Yeoh wasn’t enough to derail the series with both In the Line of Duty 3 (1988) and In the Line of Duty 4 (1989) featuring the same quality action the series became famous for. Still, as great as these are, they wouldn’t have been possible without the solid work Yuen carried out on the first film.
Righting Wrongs (1986)
Next to On the Run (1988), Righting Wrongs easily ranks as Yuen Biao’s finest solo starring vehicle. Always an impressive performer, all too often he was cast to play second (sometimes third) fiddle to Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. As great as Project A (1983) or Wheels on Meals (1984) are, he was always being overshadowed by his more famous big brothers. This time round, Biao is given full reign to show off his skills, with Corey Yuen taking full advantage of Biao’s acrobatic martial arts skills.
Playing like a Hong Kong take on Peter Hyams’ The Star Chamber (1983), Righting Wrongs finds Biao as an angry lawyer. Constantly annoyed at seeing the guilty go free, Biao decides to take the law into his own hands, becoming a vigilante and dishing out his own brand of justice. Cynthia Rothrock is the cop brought in to put a stop to him but finds herself more and more agreeable to his methods as the film progresses.
Unlike a lot of other Biao vehicles, there isn’t much in the way of comedy in Righting Wrongs. Well not in comparison to other Hong Kong actioners of the time. Yuen does show up himself as a slovenly cop, with him and Wu Ma as his father injecting some humor into proceedings, but this is certainly no laugh fest. Righting Wrongs progressively gets darker as the film heads towards its brutal finale. The film has multiple endings depending on which country you are in, but neither ending is what you would consider happy, and it is all the better for this. It would have been easy for the filmmakers to go the easy route but this isn’t the film they set out to make.
The action is perfectly realized, mixing bone shattering fight scenes, shootouts and some of the most dangerous stunts outside the work of Jackie Chan. There is some obvious stunt doubling during the Rothrock fights, but for the most part this is made up for by the pace of the fight scenes and the sheer spectacle of the fight choreography.
Rothrock still does well during her action scenes, but this is Biao’s show, with him getting involved in several spectacular action set pieces with a car park set fight scene being a definite highlight.
Supporting turns from such Hong Kong legends as Melvin Wong, Fan Siu-Wong and Roy Chiao are just the icing on the cake of what is one of the finest Hong Kong action films of the 1980’s.
No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (1987)
Yet another Cynthia Rothrock movie, No Retreat, No Surrender 2 is an in name only sequel to the original, and all the better for it. Although the original has something of a cult following, this is mostly due to featuring an early role from action legend Jean-Claude Van Damme. Outside of this however, it isn’t a particularly good film, and certainly doesn’t rank anywhere close to Yuen’s best work. While it is fun, there are a lot of elements that get in the way for it to be considered a quality martial arts film.
The sequel may not be perfect, but it has a lot to recommend and is overall a more enjoyable experience than the original, with there being more varied action scenes and better production values, no doubt due to filming in the Cambodian jungle. It is because of this that No Retreat, No Surrender 2 is a stand alone feature, with Kurt McKinney and Jean-Claude Van Damme refusing to film in Cambodia due to concerns over their safety. A hasty rewrite resulted in all the characters being changed to what now appears in the movie.
A B movie to the core, No Retreat, No Surrender 2 isn’t exactly what you would call strong on the character or plot front. With a film like this, those kinds of things can be overcome as long as the action is of a good standard, and unsurprisingly with Yuen at the helm this is guaranteed.
Yuen creates some finely choreographed action, using each of his stars to the film’s advantage. Loren Avedon may lack the charisma of a Van Damme, but he certainly has bonafide martial arts skills, with him getting involved in countless quality fights during the film’s runtime. He is slightly overshadowed by Rothrock, but that is more down to her already being an established star by this point, and that she gets to face off against super kicker Hwang Jang Lee. Co-star Max Thayer doesn’t impress as much as his fellow heroes but he’s likeable enough in his supporting turn.
Then there’s the mighty Matthias Hues, making his screen debut as the film’s main villain. His lack of martial arts ability at the time is slightly evident during his fight scenes but he still makes for an imposing villain, with Yuen shooting the action in a way to make him a credible adversary.
No Retreat, No Surrender 2 would be followed by another standalone sequel. Whilst Avedon would appear in the third entry, the director’s chair was filled by Lucas Lowe, with the action choreography being handled by one of the unsung greats, Tony Leung Siu-Hung. Leung’s action is of a high quality but it still somewhat pales to what Corey Yuen previously brought to the table.
She Shoots Straight (1990)
With him pretty much establishing the “girls with guns” subgenre with Yes, Madam!, it makes perfect sense that he would return to make arguably one of the best fighting female films with She Shoots Straight, outdoing his already sterling work on Yes, Madam! It may not feature a star of the same caliber as Michelle Yeoh, but leading lady Joyce Godenzi is fantastic as a tough Inspector, giving her all in the film’s many action scenes. There is the odd stunt double used on occasion, but Godenzi still manages to pull off some extreme fight choreography.
Admittedly, the plot could be considered to be something of a jumble, with there being three separate plot strands that end up merging together. The first is slightly comedic, based around the complications Godenzi is having with her husband and superior officer Tony Leung Ka-Fai. The second strand focuses on the animosity between Leung’s sisters and Godenzi, with his sisters being borderline bigots. These story strands are put to the side with the emergence of a Vietnamese gang led by a coolly vicious Yuen Wah.
The appearance of Wah and his gang leads to several violent set pieces, with a perfect mixture of gunplay and fighting. The majority of the action is given to Godenzi and Carina Lau, who plays her arsehole of a sister in law. Thankfully, the obnoxious nature of Lau’s character eases off as the film heads towards the end, with the two teaming up for an action packed finale on board a shipping freighter.
Yuen doesn’t tone the action down because it’s females taking part. This is as hard hitting as any male orientated action film, with both Godenzi and Lau taking a fair amount of punishment whilst also dishing it out. Like his action in Righting Wrongs, the fights are hard hitting, albeit in a heightened state of reality. No one in real life could take this amount of punishment and survive, but this is easily overcome when the action is this strong.
As well as featuring some heavyweight talent in the lead roles like Godenzi, Lau, Leung Ka-Fai and Yuen Wah, the film still finds time to feature an extended cameo from action god Sammo Hung, here playing Leung Ka-Fai’s cousin. He only gets a brief bit of action but he still entertains in his limited amount of screen time.
From a purely acting point of view, the finest performance of the film is delivered by screen veteran Tang Pik-Wan, giving an emotionally strong performance as the family matriarch. This would be one of her final film roles and she doesn’t disappoint.
All for the Winner (1990)
Pretty much the opposite of She Shoots Straight, All for the Winner is a hilariously entertaining action comedy that was amongst the films that helped pave the way for Stephen Chow to become one of Hong Kong’s biggest stars.
A pastiche/rip off of Wong Jing’s God of Gamblers (1989), All for the Winner has everything we have come to expect from a Stephen Chow film, filled with his signature mo lei tau style of comedy and partnering him with his regular comedy sidekick Ng Man Tat.
It may seem out of place in comparison to the other Corey Yuen directed films I have mentioned so far, and this is probably down to the influence of co-director Jeffrey Lau. Even with All for the Winner being much more of a comedy, there are still some terrific action scenes interspersed throughout the film, the majority of them being carried out by love interest Sharla Cheung rather than the film’s leading man.
The first movie ever in Hong Kong to gross over HK$40 million at the local box office, it’s easy to see why Golden Harvest made the decision to tie this film into the official God of Gamblers series, with both Stephen Chow and Ng Man Tat reprising their roles in the same year’s God of Gamblers II (1990). The two of them would continue their association by starring in the even crazier God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991), which goes full on sci-fi.
The action in the third entry is especially good, which is unsurprising having Yuen Cheung-Yan behind it. Still, Corey Yuen’s work in All for the Winner still manages to stand out from the rest of the series and be identifiable as his.
Saviour of the Soul (1991)
Another slight departure for Yuen, Saviour of the Soul finds him teaming up with director David Lai to deliver a visually stunning fantasy actioner that makes up for its shortcomings with sheer imagination and bravura filmmaking.
Apparently based on the City Hunter Manga, although much was left in translation, with only some resemblance to the characters remaining. The film has a distinctive visual style all of its own, courtesy of typically quality work from cinematographer Peter Pau. Pau’s lush visuals raise Saviour of the Soul above other fantasy action films of the time, with both Yuen and his fellow director Lai filling their film with enough incident that you will never become bored.
The action here is more fantastical in nature, with more of a use of wirework. The style is totally in line with the story being told and is acceptable in the world Saviour of the Soul takes place.
The film does have a somewhat comedic tone, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t serious repercussions as the film progresses. The action can get surprisingly violent at times. Anita Mui’s confrontation with Aaron Kwok in a public bathroom comes to mind, with one of the side characters finding himself the recipient of a wooden door through his chest.
Performances are wonderfully eccentric, with Lau bringing the necessary smarm to his role as well as throwing himself right into the exciting action scenes. Anita Mui does particularly well in a dual role, with this allowing her to give a more dramatic performance coupled with a comedy one as her twin.
In the extended Taiwanese version of the film, Corey Yuen even has an acting role in the film. Unfortunately this is the only version of the film his scenes appear, with them being entirely excised from the Hong Kong release. This doesn’t hurt the film in any way, just that it would have been nice to see him make an appearance.
Fong Sai Yuk (1993)
Released during the wuxia boom of the early to mid 90’s, Fong Sai Yuk came hot on the heels of Jet Li’s other historical epic Once Upon a Time in China (1991). Like Tsui Hark’s movie, Fong Sai Yuk also follows the travails of another Chinese folk hero, although the mischievous Sai Yuk is quite different from the gallant Wong Fei Hung.
Sai Yuk’s brashness allows for many comical opportunities during the film, with Jet Li having fun playing a different type of martial arts hero, with him sharing great chemistry with his on screen mother Jospehine Siao who easily runs away with the film’s acting honors.
There is a lot more wirework on display than the majority of the films I have so far mentioned, but it is superbly pulled off and totally in line with the type of story that is being told.
The final fight between Li and main bad guy Vincent Zhou is a real standout in a film full of awesome fight scenes. It’s no surprise that Fong Sai Yuk swept up the Hong Kong film award for best action choreography, with Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak walking away with statues. It similarly won the same award at the Golden Horse Awards that same year.
Interestingly, Vincent Zhao would go on to take over the Once Upon a Time in China series from Jet Li, with him starring as Wong Fei Hung in the 4th and 5th parts of the series. Now many have complained that these films aren’t of the same quality as those that starred Li, but I would argue they are still worthwhile, especially part 5 which finds Tsui Hark back behind the camera.
It easily ranks alongside the similarly themed Once Upon a Time in China, with the two Yuen’s action scenes being some of the best of the decade. The success of the film led to a sequel being fast tracked into production, coming out only a few months later. Paling in comparison to the first film, it is still a worthwhile film, with the action being of an exceptionally high quality.
My Father is a Hero (1995)
Another Jet Li collaboration, My Father is a Hero brings the two of them back into modern times, with Li playing an undercover cop from the mainland who infiltrates a gang of Hong Kong terrorists. The film is given an emotional kick by the fact that Li has a sick wife back home along with his 8 year old son, played by the crazily impressive Xie Miao.
Through a series of convoluted events, his son ends up getting involved in Li’s investigation along with a Hong Kong Inspector played by Anita Mui in a thankless role. During this, Corey Yuen peppers the film with his typically excellent action scenes.
My Father is a Hero doesn’t reach the heights of the previous Fong Sai Yuk, with its somewhat generic plot dragging it down. The relationship between Jet Li and Xie Miao does elevate proceedings and gives the audience some emotional investment.
Still, even with these drawbacks, it can’t be denied how great the action scenes are. They do favor some wirework but it isn’t anything of the scale of what was employed in Fong Sai Yuk. Yuen mixes up gunplay, martial arts and even a touch of some vehicular mayhem in his journey to keep his audience entertained.
Some suspension of belief is required in order to accept 8 year old Xie Miao taking on violent terrorists, but Corey Yuen almost makes this believable and doesn’t shy away from putting him in harm’s way because of his age. One ingenious scene even has Li use him as a weapon, with Miao attached to the end of a rope which Li proceeds to throw at his opponents while Miao kicks them with glee.
My Father is a Hero had a wide release in the U.S. Unfortunately it was through Dimension, meaning this was in a truncated form with typically awful dubbing and a name change. Thankfully, it is quite easy these days to track down the proper released version in its proper language.
Hero (1997)
Corey Yuen’s remake of Chang Cheh’s classic Boxer from Shantung (1972) reteams him once again with Yuen Biao, giving the veteran action star one of his best roles of the 90’s. Takeshi Kaneshiro makes for a suitably dashing hero, but this is Biao’s film with him easily giving the film’s best performance as well as getting the best action moments.
Yuen, who wrote the script alongside regular collaborator Jeffrey Lau made enough alterations to make sure that this isn’t a carbon copy of Cheh’s martial arts epic. Unlike Cheh’s film, there is a fair amount of gunplay interspersed throughout the fight scenes, with Yuen and action choreographer Yuen Tak filling their film with several awe-inspiring set pieces, with many of the performers seemingly defying the laws of gravity.
Yuen Tak additionally appears in front of the camera, giving a truly venomous turn as the film’s main villain who has an especially brutal face off with both Kaneshiro and Biao in the finale.
As expected, the film doesn’t exactly strive for reality. This is no Ringo Lam style crime thriller, although there is a fair bit of melodrama that is guaranteed to bring out an emotional response.
While the action choreography doesn’t follow the same style as was presented in Cheh’s version, it still features our heroes taking on small armies single-handedly. Even so, the action is viscerally violent at times, with no one leaving unharmed.
Hero is also noteworthy for being a rare 90’s cinematic outing for Shaw Brothers, who at that time were primarily focusing on television. Yuen makes sure that his film can rank amongst the best to come from the studio in its heyday. The bloodletting that was so heavily featured in those classic 70’s Shaw Brothers movies is more than present here, so much so that it caused the Chinese sensors to cut some of the more extreme violence. Thankfully these scenes were in tact with the western release of the film.
The Transporter (2002)
Corey Yuen may have made better films during his career, but the importance of The Transporter can’t be overlooked. Sure, co-director Louis Leterrier should be given some of the credit, but I am sure that it was Yuen’s awesome action scenes that helped make Jason Statham a bonafide action star.
Although Statham is best known for his action films, it is easy to forget that this wasn’t always the case. The only real action films he had been involved in prior to this were John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) and James Wong’s The One (2001), neither of which used him to the best of their advantage. The idea of him leading an action film back then could even be considered laughable, but here we are over two decades later and Statham is one of Hollywood’s best action stars.
The Transporter still holds up today, with the beautiful French locales being the perfect backdrop to the beautifully choreographed action. A mixture of vehicular based chase scenes, gunfights and martial arts battles means that you are never bored, with The Transporter being the perfect antidote to the already tired Matrix inspired action that was all the rage back then.
Statham makes for the perfect action hero, with many of his ensuing movies following the prototype laid down by The Transporter. Throwing himself right into the various set pieces, it is understandable how Statham quickly became so popular. Shu Qi may be wasted in a damsel in distress role, but she at least looks lovely doing it.
Inspired by BMW’s The Hire series, Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen’s screenplay doesn’t offer anything new. Originality isn’t their aim, instead using their plot to get us to the next break neck action scene. Their work clearly paid off as the film led to a further 3 sequels (one without Statham) and a short lived television series where Chris Vance took over the role of Frank Martin. One of the main issues with the show was the absence of Yuen to carry out the action choreography, with it paling in comparison to anything present in the original trilogy of films.
Notable Mentions
We’re Going to Eat You (1980) – As Action Choreographer
An early horror/martial arts hybrid from Tsui Hark, We’re Going to Eat You is extremely rough around the edges but has a style and energy of its own that makes it worthwhile. Typically of Tsui Hark, it isn’t just a simple action tale, with a good amount of political commentary on show which is well mixed with the more grand guignol aspects of the films.
It’s great to see the underrated Norman Chu in a lead role, with him being expectedly good during the film’s lengthy martial arts battles. Melvin Wong from Righting Wrongs also does well as the crook that Chu is after, with it becoming clear during his hunt that there are those worse than Wong that he has to contend with. With some cannibalism thrown in for good measure, it’s safe to say this isn’t your typical Shaw Brothers style actioner.
Corey Yuen’s martial arts choreography is more traditional in nature, being much more form based than most of the films I have mentioned so far. Even so, it is expertly pulled off, with the action scenes making up for any of the film’s other shortcomings.
Tsui Hark was reportedly not happy with the finished film, and it is true that it pales in comparison to his other film of that year, Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980). Even so, it has many of the hallmarks that we have come to expect from a Tsui Hark film, which accompanied with Yuen’s expectedly great action choreography makes it a must watch.
Another point of interest is the musical score. Many Dario Argento fans may recognize it as being the work of the band Goblin, with the score being lifted directly from Argento’s Suspiria (1977). Tsui Hark stated this was due to the production having no money to record a score of their own. It is initially jarring to hear it included, but it works surprisingly well as an accompaniment to the on screen action.
High Risk (1995) – As Action Choreographer
Coming the same year as My Father is a Hero, High Risk is quite a different Jet Li vehicle. This is mostly to do with who is sitting in the director’s seat. Whilst My Father is a Hero had Yuen himself, here it is the prolific Wong Jing that is calling the shots. That means the film is extremely un-pc, with 100% more dick jokes and general misogyny. So, a typical Wong Jing film then.
Saying this, Wong Jing clearly understands his audience, with his career spanning 5 decades. I would be a liar to say that I haven’t enjoyed a fair amount of his films, even if you would never consider them high art. What High Risk has going for it is winning performances and exciting action sequences.
Unlike other Jet Li films, there is more of a focus on gunplay than fight scenes. There are still the expected martial arts face offs but surprisingly the film’s best fight scene isn’t given to Jet Li but rather Jacky Cheung, playing a prima donna actor. Cheung is hilarious in the film, with his character included so Wong Jing could take a swing at Jackie Chan who he had worked with previously on City Hunter (1993). Obviously the two didn’t get along, with Jing including many jokes here at Chan’s expense.
The action is carried off well, and although this would never be Yuen’s finest work, the sheer energy of the set pieces commands attention and makes up for what could be otherwise classed as a throwaway B movie.
Kiss of the Dragon (2001) – As Action Choreographer
Like many Hong Kong movie stars who transitioned to Hollywood, Jet Li wasn’t exactly given the best material. The likes of Romeo Must Die (2000) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) all had the correct ingredients but something went wrong in the mix, be it messy editing or obtrusive CGI getting in the way of the action.
Personally, I would say that his films made under Europacorp are by far his best International productions, with both Kiss of the Dragon and Danny the Dog (2005) giving Li a chance to shine. While Danny the Dog a.k.a. Unleashed had action handled by the legendary Yuen Woo Ping, Kiss of the Dragon had Corey Yuen, giving the film a real Hong Kong action movie flavor which was absent from those he made under the auspices of Joel Silver.
Kiss of the Dragon hardly wastes any time between introducing Li to the first kick ass action scene.
The opening action scene takes place in a Parisian hotel, where Li’s Chinese Security Agent has to run for his life after being set up for murder by corrupt cop Tcheky Karyo. Li has to take on an assortment of opponents as he flees with Yuen’s action being on point. Now and again director Chris Nahon’s overly flashy direction can get in the way but for the most part he allows the action to shine through.
Bridget Fonda’s friendly prostitute gives the film some emotional stakes, with her and Li building a connection as the film progresses. Add in a superbly slimy Karyo and you have a great time at the movies. Sure, it may slightly pale in comparison to some of Li’s best Hong Kong movies, but when compared to the medium budget actioners coming out of Hollywood at the time, you would have to admit that Kiss of the Dragon is a winner.
Martial Arts fans will also get a kick out of seeing Li take on French martial arts great Cyril Raffaelli, here playing one of a set of twins that he faces off against during the finale. It would have been nice to see Raffaelli afforded more screen time, but he still makes an impression.
Transporter 2 (2005) – As Action Choreographer
Sitting out of the director’s seat for the sequel, Corey Yuen instead focuses solely on the action this time round. Louis Leterrier is more than up for the job to take the helm, having already assisted on the first film. He gives the film a suitably sleek visual look, with the change from France to Miami making for a nice change from the first film, with the filmmakers utilizing the locations to their advantage during the action.
Transporter 2 may be totally lacking in terms of plot or originality but this is made up for with a relentless pace and no shortage of action scenes. Yuen more than improves on his work from the first film, and while the sequel may be more over the top than the first entry, the excitement the action generates can’t be faulted.
Jason Statham once again kicks ass with aplomb, with him now well and truly a full blown action star. His fight scenes take full advantage of his physicality, with a garage set showdown with a small army of gangsters being a clear standout, with him using what’s at his disposal as a weapon, with him making particularly memorable use out of a fire hose.
Running at just under 90 minutes, Transporter 2 is a pure adrenaline rush and still one of my favorite Statham films to this day. It was followed by a lesser sequel, which featured a still on form Statham and a decent villain turn from Robert Knepper, but something just went wrong in the mix. Yuen was once again on board to choreograph the action but for some inexplicable reason, director Olivier Megaton employed the dreaded shaky cam during the action, partly obscuring Yuen’s quality work. Transporter 3 is still worth viewing, albeit with lowered expectations.
Shaolin (2011) – As Action Choreographer
Shaolin is from another action great that has sadly since passed away, the venerable Benny Chan. Chan had helmed numerous action classics in his day with the likes of Big Bullet (1996), Gen X Cops (1999) as well as his final magnum opus Raging Fire (2021).
There have been many films based around the famed Shaolin Temple, but Benny Chan gives his film a truly epic feel, thanks in part to impressive production values, serious star power and no shortage of awesome martial arts action scenes from Corey Yuen, Yuen Tak & Nicky Li.
Both Andy Lau and Nicolas Tse are terrific, with Yuen making both of them seem like genuine martial artists. Considering they act alongside proper skilled martial artists like Wu Jing, Xing Yu and Jackie Chan, they do especially well in the numerous fight scenes they appear.
Speaking of Jackie, his role is listed as a “special appearance”, but even so, he has a considerable amount of screen time. He doesn’t appear until roughly the halfway mark, but he brings the expected charm to his performance, injecting the otherwise serious film with some humor. Although he doesn’t star as one the main characters, Chan is still given his own fight scene, done in the trademark Chan style, with him using whatever comes to hand as a weapon, in this instance a series of cooking utensils.
This would mark the final time Benny Chan would work with Jackie Chan, with the two of them having collaborated on several of Jackie’s best action films such as Who am I? (1998), New Police Story (2004) and Rob-B-Hood (2006).
Unsurprisingly, Corey Yuen’s sterling work earned him and his fellow choreographers nominations for best action choreography at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards. Unfortunately they were beaten that year by Yuen Bun, Lan Hai-Han and Sun Jiankui’s work on Tsui Hark’s Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011).
And there you have it, my personal favorites from the Corey Yuen filmography. A sad loss to both his friends and family as well as to the film world, we can take some solace in the great catalogue of work he has left behind.
