Rating: 
Summary: NOT A LOT OF NAKED, BUT LOTS OF FIGHTING AND VIOLENCE
Review: NAKED WEAPON is the story of a group of young girls who are kidnapped by an evil madame (Alma Wong) and imprisoned on a secluded island to be tortuously trained into unfeeling assasins who lure their victims in with their bodies. Those who try to escape will die. Those who stay will one day fight eachother to the death. Only one will be allowed to become the supreme assasin.This is a pretty interesting variation on LORD OF THE FLIES type survival as innocent girls who form friendships with eachother must determine which is more important, friendship or life. Those who rent the movie based on the sexy cover which features two attractive women embracing eachother while wearing nothing but camoflauge skin paint might be disappointed to find out that this isn't a movie filled with gratuitous nudity and lesbianism. There is some brief nudity (by the beautiful Maggie Q) as well as some tantallizing strip tease type bedroom dancing, but the these are all quite tastefully done, and the two women on the cover are strong sister-like friends not lovers. Highlights of the film include the wonderfully choreographed royal rumble to the death with the girls drawing numbers to see who will fight first beginning with two on two and the number of entrants increasing as each fight ends to take on the survivor! This is where the director (famed action director Tony Siu-Tung Ching of DUEL TO THE DEATH, FIST OF LEGEND, THE SWORD) really shines. The fights are high flying and lightning paced with each movement of action and emotion visible to the viewer's eye. The best action scenes invovle not only beautiful movements, but actors that actually ACT in those scenes as well showing signs of human wear and tear such as fear, pain, and growing exhaustion. You really see the girls go through these changes as the fights go on making you really root for your particular favorite to make it (although there's really only a few logical favorites to root for based on character screen time). Other highlights include the chemistry between Daniel Wu's character and Maggie Q's (former real-life boyriend and girlfreind), and the climactic final battle between the top female assasin and a Japanese yakuza leader which should impress fans of MATRIX style gravity defying action. Also those who hate dubbed films will be pleased to know that this film is in English with only a couple actors dubbed. Lowlights include Daniel Wu's acting which is very limited. While his scenes with Maggie Q are a real delight in their naturalness and truthfulness, he does NOT seem believable either as an obsessed cop or as a fighter (his fight scenes are good and his actions are fine, but the weak character he has given us make his fight scenes come completely out of the blue making them feel a little empty). Other lowlights include the lack of screen time given to the other female characters. Alma Wong doesn't have any fight scenes, Jewel Lee has no lines, and Cheng Pei Pei is horribly dubbed and also doesn't fight. The movie moves a little too fast for any of these characters to fully develop relationships with eachother and with the audience. I recommend the film to those looking for a fast-paced movie who like beautiful women in fancy fights that come fast and aplenty. (There's a LOT of violence and some sexual content and this movie is definitely NOT recommended for children.) Fans of female assassin type movies may also want to check out NAKED KILLER (this films prototype and superior), HER NAME IS CAT (in which Alma Wong gets to play the lead assasin), BLACK CAT (starring the lovely Jade Leung), and LA FEMME NIKITA (a grandaddy, or rather grandmommy, of its type).
Rating:
Summary: Better than some suggest, but not great.
Review: Okay, what do you expect from this movie? Does anyone really think it's going to be the next Hollywood blockbuster? No, not really. I rented this on a whim and what I got was an action-packed, bloody, and surprisingly touching film about two girls brought up on an island and trained to be master assassins. True, the scenes on the island are incredibly ridiculous. Except for the fight sequences it was a good half hour of lame filmmaking. There are some scenes there that just didn't make any sense. There are 16 young women left and they are locked in a room and told to kill the nearest girl and drag her body outside as a final test. Okay, but why waste the last six years training them and providing food and shelter if half are going to be slaughtered? So, 8 remain and then they are told to kill one another until 1 is left? What a total waste of the last six years! The beginning of the film is promising, and most of the film after the dreadful island sequence is either good or passable. This is an over-the-top action flick to be enjoyed with a big bag of popcorn and a willingness to laugh at all the absurdity. Don't forget the butter.
Rating:
Summary: Babes, Bullets, and Martial Arts
Review: Okay. I have to admit that it had "everything." At the risk of sounding both racist and sexist - I will stay with the obvious - the movie was full of babes, bullets and lots of martial arts. Models Maggie Q and Anya Wu form the 'babes" component. There is no shortage of weapons and gunplay, which forms the 'bullets' component. Lastly, directed by Ching Siu-Tung, we are treated to tons of fairly good martial arts sequences. However, the remainder of the movie is a little suspect. The plot is predictable and is in no way near anything resembling a Femme Nikita. I am almost tempted to rank this film among the many "exploitation" films out there. Lets face it... of all the movies made out there; perhaps 95% are designed to do one thing only - to entertain. The remaining 5% attempt at least to make social commentary - of which a select few really succeed while trying to entertain. Of the 5% there are also those who try but fail to enlighten or entertain and sadly some fail at both. It would be safe to say that this movie fits into the former 95% - so it would do us no good to attempt any form of analysis but to simply enjoy it. All the possible discussion of feminine empowerment and disempowerment I will defer for another place and time. Naked Weapon is a story about female assassins, kidnapped at a young age and trained by 'Madame M' - played by Almen Wong - another integral piece to the 'babe' component. Upon the failure and death of a one of a kind assassin, Madame M takes stock and goes on a kidnapping spree to recruit fresh blood among the myriad of athletic, nubile and potentially erotic and exotic young girls. She takes them to a secluded island headquarters and forces them to undergo rigorous training that lasts all of about six years. The bevy of young girls - as that is what they are when they were first kidnapped - are taken to school to learn about guns, computers, feminine ways, and self-defense. Charlene (Maggie Q), Katt (Anya Wu) and Jill (Jewel Lee) form the core of fighters who will eventually engage in one another in a Battle Royal for a marquis spot in Madame M's stable of assassins and a piece of the action. There was, however, one dark side to this one-dimensional almost harmless exploitation film - a splash of misogyny that really messed things up. I saw no real reason for the rape scene, which really degrades his starlets and the movie. I am not an idiot and will admit that this movie was nothing short of a guilty pleasure, but what heavily reduced the guilty enjoyment factor was the graphic sexual violence and the totally useless rape scene - which I have to admit, was nothing short of off-putting. I know, I was not supposed to 'go there' but the film does not punish Madame M for her heinous acts and the three young women get short ended in a lifestyle that was not of their choosing. The movie would not be interesting is there were no plot twist and turns. Charlene begins to develop existential angst and starts to miss her mother - played by non other than Cheng Pei-Pei - and risks a Hong Kong hit by bumping into her. Madame M, to say the least, is annoyed by Charlene's new distractions. Moreover, the character Ryuichi appears in deus ex machina fashion to terrorize the three young women. Not to disappoint, there are flashes of skin and a love scene and a disturbing rape scene - so this is not for the squeamish. The short of it is, cinematography is good and the women are all 'dolled up.' In an effort to fully 'exploit' the pretty people almost everyone moves in slow motion with the obligatory wind - in the right direction - adds to the cheesy ambiance. It is a 'guy flick' and it should not be seen as anything more than that. The camera is great to Maggie Q - it can't miss. Admittedly there is action and it does not pretend to be anything but exploitation. Miguel Llora
Rating:
Summary: Babes, Bullets, and Martial Arts
Review: Okay. I have to admit that it had everything. At the risk of sounding both racist and sexist -- I will stay with the obvious the movie was full of babes, bullets and lots of martial arts. Models Maggie Q and Anya Wu form the babes component. There is no shortage of weapons and gunplay, which forms the bullets component. Lastly, directed by Ching Siu-Tung, we are treated to tons of fairly good martial arts sequences. However, the remainder of the movie is a little suspect. The plot is predictable and is in no way near anything resembling a Femme Nikita. I am almost tempted to rank this film among the many "exploitation" films out there. Lets face it -- of all the movies made out there; perhaps 95% are designed to do one thing only to entertain. The remaining 5% attempt at least to make social commentary -- of which a select few really succeed while trying to entertain. Of the 5% there are also those who try but fail to enlighten or entertain and sadly some fail at both. It would be safe to say that this movie fits into the former 95% so it would do us no good to attempt any form of analysis but to simply enjoy it. All the possible discussion of feminine empowerment and disempowerment I will defer for another place and time.
Naked Weapon is a story about female assassins, kidnapped at a young age and trained by Madame M -- played by Almen Wong --another integral piece to the babe component. Upon the failure and death of a one of a kind assassin, Madame M takes stock and goes on a kidnapping spree to recruit fresh blood among the myriad of athletic, nubile and potentially erotic and exotic young girls. She takes them to a secluded island headquarters and forces them to undergo rigorous training that lasts all of about six years. The bevy of young girls -- as that is what they are when they were first kidnapped -- are taken to school to learn about guns, computers, feminine ways, and self-defense. Charlene (Maggie Q), Katt (Anya Wu) and Jill (Jewel Lee) form the core of fighters who will eventually engage in one another in a Battle Royal for a marquis spot in Madame M's stable of assassins and a piece of the action.
There was, however, one dark side to this one-dimensional almost harmless exploitation film - a splash of misogyny that really messed things up. I saw no real reason for the rape scene, which really degrades his starlets and the movie. I am not an idiot and will admit that this movie was nothing short of a guilty pleasure, but what heavily reduced the guilty enjoyment factor was the graphic sexual violence and the totally useless rape scene -- which I have to admit, was nothing short of off-putting. I know, I was not supposed to 'go there' but the film does not punish Madame M for her heinous acts and the three young women get short ended in a lifestyle that was not of their choosing.
The movie would not be interesting is there were no plot twist and turns. Charlene begins to develop existential angst and starts to miss her mother -- played by non other than Cheng Pei-Pei -- and risks a Hong Kong hit by bumping into her. Madame M, to say the least, is annoyed by Charlene's new distractions. Moreover, the character Ryuichi appears in deus ex machina fashion to terrorize the three young women. Not to disappoint, there are flashes of skin and a love scene and a disturbing rape scene ? so this is not for the squeamish. The short of it is, cinematography is good and the women are all dolled up. In an effort to fully exploit the pretty people almost everyone moves in slow motion with the obligatory wind -- in the right direction -- adds to the cheesy ambiance. It is a guy flick and it should not be seen as anything more than that. The camera is great to Maggie Q -- it can't miss. Admittedly there is action and it does not pretend to be anything but exploitation.
Miguel Llora
Rating: 
Summary: Really Bad movie
Review: This is one of the worst movie I have seen lately. The only good thing about this movie is some of the fighting sequences. The lead actress (Maggie Q) is beautiful, but she and the rest of the cast can't certainly not help the bad movie script from the director. The story doesn't make any sense. Everything is so illogic. My friends and I had a good laugh at this movie but seriously, it's really a bad movie overall. If you are looking for a great Hong Kong/China/Asian movie, I will recommend these instead: "The Twin Effect (Vampire Effect)", "So Close", "Shaolin Soccer", "Hero" and "Infernal Affairs".
Rating: 
Summary: Naked Weapons -- Two Thumbs Up!!
Review: This movie is awesome! What more do anyone wants action, suspense, martial arts, and hot gals combating each other! Maggie Q did a wonderful job in her role. Check it out and you won't regret it!
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