Returner (2002)

In a desperate attempt to save humanity from an invading alien force, a young woman named Milly (Anne Suzuki) jumps back in time from the year 2084 to 2002, hoping to prevent the aliens from gaining ground before their war has a chance to even begin. Meanwhile, in 2002 a man named Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro) stages a personal war against a wicked Triad leader (Goro Kishitani). The two agendas are initially unconnected, but soon overlap.
The film is a combination of many different genres; although primarily science fiction, it has gun play, romance, action, comedy, and a few surprises thrown in for good measure. It has the feel of a multi-episode anime that's been condensed into a Toku-inspired movie. Not quite a jack of all trades, but not deserving of the second half of that phrase either, it's an entertaining fusion.

3 speed bursts out of 5

Executioners: The Heroic Trio 2 (1993)

The world has changed since the Heroic Trio last fought together. It’s now post-apocalyptic. (I'm so damn tired of post-apoc settings. If we do ever blow the world up, let’s do it right and leave no one alive to make a film about.) Two of the women are being heroic in other ways. Wonder Woman has a daughter. Invisible Girl works to repay her debt to society. Only Thief Catcher is unchanged; she stills hunts for bounties.
The editing is still a little clumsy but it seems as if Ching Siu-tung has taken a more active role, meaning the fight scenes are better staged; although there’s still too much slow-mo. The story is less bat-shit crazy this time.

3 pieces of oath cloth out of 5

Dr. Wai in the Scriptures with No Words (1996)

Two stories happen simultaneously in this bizarre adventure. One is modern day harsh reality, while the other is an historical, pulp fictional adventure story. Jet Li’s character in the modern era is the writer of the other, wherein he becomes the hero of his own imagination, the titular Dr Wai: Adventure King. Modern Jet uses the fantasy world to compensate for his real world troubles. All goes well until the story gets some co-authors that create a very Gilliam-esque situation with a Chinese twist.

NOTE: Two versions of the film exist. The one I watched was the original Ching Siu-tung version (aka Hong Kong Dir Cut). Tsui Hark was hired to reshoot a large part of it for an International Cut, making it more linear.

2½ mighty pens out of 5

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

HoFD excites because it has Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro acting side by side, but repeated viewings reveal a film that’s less than it seems. When it ceases trying to seduce your eyes with colour, splendour and physics bending CGI weaponry it remembers that your heart also needs to be moved, and it’s there that it comes up short. It’s primarily a love story, but the romance that’s supposed to tie the threads together lacks spark and is only really believable in a short scene near the end. It's still an enjoyable film, but it could have been so much more.
Zhang Ziyi is convincing as a blind girl; it’s not often I get to praise her.

3 bamboo ninjas out of 5

Red Cliff: Part II (2009)

Part II delivers on what Part I teased. Opposing sides, building on strengths and exploiting enemy weaknesses are what John Woo excels at.

NOTE: Part I and II together run for approx 286 mins. The "International cut" is the 2 parts combined but butchered to 148 mins.

4 stanzas of war out of 5

Red Cliff: Part I (2008)

A lavish historical epic that drips money from every scene.  It’s set around real events during the end of the Chinese Han Dynasty so director John Woo doesn't have guns to play around with, instead he gets creative with spears and swords, a lot.  Less stylised combat and more time devoted to the many characters would have earned it an even better score.

3 fake beards out of 5

Wu Xia (2011)

I went into this movie hoping for spectacular action scenes, and while it delivered on that front, I wound up getting a whole lot more as well. Wu Xia combines martial arts with film noir and elements of Sherlock Holmes, and it comes together beautifully, elevated by some stunning visuals.

I'm a sucker for a good intellectual stand-off, and I got that here. Donnie Yen is one of the greatest action stars working today, but he also has some acting talent, and gives his best performance to date here. My only real complaint is that the movie's a bit unoriginal, but I don't need a film to reinvent the wheel when it's as entertaining as this one.

4.5 one-armed swordsmen out of 5.