I have to say that this may be the worst movie I have ever reviewed for this site. Attempting to take elements from Naked Killer, Battle Royale, The Professional and Prison on Fire, the film fails in every aspect. The combination of a horrendous plot, abysmal acting and poorly choreographed fight scenes make it a complete waste of an hour and a half. If not for the presence of Maggie Q and Anya, who posses a fair amount of charisma, this film would get 0 stars.
The biggest offender in this movie has to be the script, which seems to have been written by an 8 year old. There are parts where Daniel Wu's character, supposedly torn between his duty and his love for Charlene (Maggie Q), covers his face and screams into the air, "What the hell am I talking about???" I found myself asking the same thing at least 10 times during the movie, namely "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?" The simplistic plot and bottom-of-the-barrel screenplay probably made it nearly impossible for any of the actors to have any feeling for the characters, but it doesn't make up for some truly horrific performances, namely from Maggie Q and Daniel Wu. There was not a shred of believability to either of their characters or their love affair. Even though they are former real-life boyfriend and girlfriend, they have absolutely no screen chemistry, which might explain somewhat why they aren't together anymore.
However, to be fair, most people would not rent this movie for the plot, acting or the writing. Judging from the cover, director and writer, you would expect action, sex and beautiful naked women. Unfortunately, you only get about 1/2 of one of these points: the beautiful women. Most disappointingly, the action and martial arts are very poorly executed. The fight choreography is so disjointed that the combat is impossible to follow and enjoy. Most of the time you see the actors making completely useless, flourishy moves in the opposite direction of their opponent! A flying kick will get cut mid-frame and suddenly the actors are back on the ground and punching air! Who edited this movie?? Not what you expect from the fight choregrapher that did such a great job with Hero.
There are positives in this train wreck of a movie, but they are few and far between. Jewel Lee, who plays the 3rd of the three female assassins looks to be quite well trained in martial arts, and if allowed to, it looks like she could have shined in well done fight scenes. She's in fantastic shape and looks great performing complicated moves and sequences. Lastly, save for the bad acting, Maggie Q and Anya are both achingly beautiful. Not surprisingly, both are former top models in Hong Kong and they are allowed to strut their stuff in miniscule shorts and tight-fitting tops during the training scenes. If this is a reason for you to rent this movie, go for it. Otherwise, look at the cover and move on... quickly.
1/10