Having read many poor reviews of this title I was not expecting much from the film to say the least, but it turned out to be an extremely good Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah vehicle given their chance to shine away from Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. The acting honours though are stolen by Maggie Cheung whose character is also far removed from her appearances in Jackie Chan films.
Yuen Biao plays a Ming Dynasty Imperial bodyguard whose brother (played by Yuen Wah) has used his martial arts skills for evil ends and he is dispatched to hunt him down. In the ensuing fight they fall over a precipice into a chasm of ice and are frozen, only to be defrosted 300 years later. Yuen Biao is taken in by Maggie Cheung - a prostitute - for her own purposes as he finds himself completely lost in a very different world. Meanwhile Yuen Wah quickly adapts to the modern Hong Kong crime scene and Yuen Biao realises his mission is not over...
I can see why people watching this film may be disappointed by the fight scenes as they are certainly not as realistic or as frequent as those to be found in his earlier classics such as Prodigal Son or Knockabout. However there is still much to enjoy and the fight scenes are certainly varied and there are some high quality stunts.
While the storyline has its failings such as large leaps of faith, it at least shows some effort and imagination compared to many action films and has much to recommend it. I certainly do.
Yuen Biao plays a Ming Dynasty Imperial bodyguard whose brother (played by Yuen Wah) has used his martial arts skills for evil ends and he is dispatched to hunt him down. In the ensuing fight they fall over a precipice into a chasm of ice and are frozen, only to be defrosted 300 years later. Yuen Biao is taken in by Maggie Cheung - a prostitute - for her own purposes as he finds himself completely lost in a very different world. Meanwhile Yuen Wah quickly adapts to the modern Hong Kong crime scene and Yuen Biao realises his mission is not over...
I can see why people watching this film may be disappointed by the fight scenes as they are certainly not as realistic or as frequent as those to be found in his earlier classics such as Prodigal Son or Knockabout. However there is still much to enjoy and the fight scenes are certainly varied and there are some high quality stunts.
While the storyline has its failings such as large leaps of faith, it at least shows some effort and imagination compared to many action films and has much to recommend it. I certainly do.