After repeated viewings, I still cannot see how supposedly good, or even great this film is.

Reason a). There are plenty of dull spots. Sure, the action and taoist ritual sequences are fantastic, but they don't completely save the film. A major dull spot is when LCY and his niece move into the apartment. LCY and his new room-mates have completely different perspectives on living, blah blah, yawn.

Reason b). LCY's character is so cliche. He's highly principled, he's a lowly seargent serving in a backwater, he's a lone ranger, he's had a chequered past, and he's dramatic. Geeze, as if we haven't seen that before. His character just got on my nerves. Normally I wouldn't have minded that much, except basically the ENTIRE GODDAMN FILM focused on him. Stuff the cadavers, stuff the creepy Japanese drug traffickers. It's LCY's character that's the main focus. Ugh.

Not that I'm completely trashing the film. I just love all the taoist ritual parts, they were very cool. Physically, LCY is probably in the best form I've ever seen him in-very flexible and athletic. Probably his best move was when he did a backward kick, somersaulted mid-air and landed on both feet. Wow. He was like a cat. He was excellent in this film. His performance rivalled the one he gave in 'Mr Vampire'.

The others weren't bad, but generally they didn't have to do too much. Miu Kiu Wai was fine as the wide-eyed would-be disciple.

The final battle was great. A battle against a hideous looking, blinded, and burnt being? Entertainment!

Overall this isn't a bad flick, but not THAT good. 6.5/10