The Dragon From Russia

Rating:
Summary: cool fight sequences - overlooked but good
Review: While the world is now familiar with Jackie Chan and Jet Li, not many perhaps will have heard of Sam Hui. Also a comedy star in Hong Kong, appearing with his brothers Michael and Ricky, Sam made a surprisingly good action hero in this adaptation of the Japanese manga, Crying freeman (which has recently been remade in the US under the same title). He was certainly physically up to the part. At one point, during the 'training sequence' which seems to come up at some point in almost every martial arts movie, Sam is hanging with his knees hooked over a beam doing verical sit-ups while swinging nunchakas. There can't be many people that can do that. Stylistically it's slick and fast paced, in the manner of the Tsui Hark or John Woo movies. The fights are fast and acrobatic. I saw it in a Hong Kong cinema where it was punctuated by vocal audience responses, "Wah!... Woo!...". The movie also features the fabulous Maggie Cheung, long before she became the arthouse star she is today.

Although perhaps unknown outside HK, the movie has a good story and is packed with creativity and wild action. I was most impressed by the opening fight scene which appears to be shot in the grandeur of the Moscow underground. If you like martial arts this one is definitely also worth a try.