The Avenging Fist (2001)
Reviewed by: Wu'xiaBadger on 2003-01-17
Summary: Star Wars meets Tekken
This isn't my favorite Andrew Lau film, but it's certainly a passable one. Like all of his more recent stuff, people complain about his CGI-enhanced fight scenes being all style and no substance; and this movie certainly won't win him any new fans. The other criticsm he receives a lot(one that I agree with, to some extent) is that he doesn't use masters like Yuen and Sammo to their full potential. That said, it is a very well paced and enjoyable film.
Also working in its favor is the sci-fi element, a nifty view of the future. And while the story is derivative of "Star Wars"(the son and daughter of a powerful masked warrior who went bad have to learn to use their pyshic powers to battle their father), its all in good fun. Their best friend even gets frozen in carbonite!
So despite some flaws, I liked it. Lau is one of the most innovative and skilled directors working (in HK or the US), so anyone who deosn't like him can piss off. A lesser effort from Andrew Lau is still ten times better than your average action flick. 6/10 (If you like Lau films, check out the similarly-styled Korean flick "Volcano High School", it one of the best Asian films I've seen all year, an easy 10)
Reviewer Score: 6