Movies like this just reinforce how unimportant an original storyline really is. Not because it succeeds despite its hackneyed plot, but because vastly superior films like Bullet in the Head and A Hero Never Dies used similarly cliched storylines to much better effect. Cheap Killers, however, has lousy acting, go-nowhere characters and sub-plots, and mostly tepid action. Remember when even the cheapest Hong Kong B-list actioners had great action? Those days are long gone; Cheap Killers looks, well, cheap. After all this time, Clarence Fok is still as inept as ever; he just doesn't seem to know when stylization is appropriate, or just gratuitous. Sloppy, amateurish direction is just the crowning touch on this utterly pointless mess.