War of the Under World (1996)
Reviewed by: hkcinema on 1999-12-08
The two stars, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Jordan Chan, had terrificchemistry in HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT and another team up should have promised the same results. Unfortunately, WAR OF THE UNDERWORLD is poorly directed with an unfocused, convoluted script. Tony and Jordan spend little onscreen time together. Tony, once again, plays a strong, silent, alienated hero and Jordan, once again, plays a wacky sidekick. He must have been bumped to star billing due to the success of the YOUNG AND DANGEROUS serious. Speaking of which, there was a bit of gratuitous promotion when the "rascals" have a fight over who gets tickets to the premier of YOUNG AND DANGEROUS III. And for some reason one of the rascals was in a get-up that made him look like Khan in STAR TREK II. Carmen Lee does her usual good job of playing a good girl who loves a bad boy. She and Tony make the best of their material and turn in touching performances together. WAR OF THE UNDERWORLD wasn't a bad movie, but it could have been so much better.

[Reviewed by Lori Saltis]