I somehow totally missed this flick in the 90', having seen it now in 2015 I'm pretty damn amazed at some of the stuff that can be witnessed here. The fights are top of the list to this very day, really the kind of stuff that every martial arts junkie has to see before dying a slow motion death from a spinning wheel-kick. Some of cinematography is pretty artsy as well. All the rest is pretty clunky, but easier to swallow if you can manage to concentrate on how bleak and inordinary this movie is rather then the terrible writing and acting. As you might have heard, the ending is pretty f*cking dark too.B-Movie fans will know what to do with this.6/10

A variety of Hong Kong's top-tier male actors come to the forefront in this modern gangster tale of iconic issues: moral consequences & power struggles. The cinematography is gritty and stylized to the point where you can breathe in the tension on-screen, which properly sets the tone and makes this one of the biggest positive attributes for the movie. The HK film legend Sammo Hung plays arguably his darkest role as a crime lord who takes pity on no one and crushes everything outside his personal interests. Another HK film veteran Simon Yam, is the leader of a group of detectives who will do anything to bring Sammo down regardless of police protocols. The plot is fairly simple as a cat & mouse chase ensues throughout the nighttime ambiance of downtown Hong Kong sparking a blood-feud between detectives and gangsters. The film excels in creating emotional drama between characters and impressing the audience with snowballing suspense that explodes in the third act. An incredible martial arts display happens here, thanks to action masters Donnie Yen, Wu Jing, and Sammo Hung. Unfortunately the melodrama is exaggerated to the brink of absurdity, even within the bounds of other HK crime films, and you'll become tired of seeing extended shots of concluding moral quandaries. Even so you'll glance over the flaws thanks to the charisma and superb fight choreography of the lead actors. The story, albeit unoriginal, is genuinely interesting. You'll be sucked in the drama meanwhile becoming emotionally invested in the detective squad. A fresh entry in the long-running crime genre from HK. -8/10

I decided to check this flick out after someone suggested it was better than "The Raid" and "Kung Fu Hustle" (Two very different films, but both of which I loved).I was extremely disappointed. The plot is paper thin and the script is very weak. The "good" guys are idiots and mess up on every single turn. Non of them is likable. Not even Donnie Yen's character, which comes off as very conceited and bratty. The action and script are not believable at all. They include: The commander miraculously released from the bad guy's cage without explanation. The protagonist finally finishes the bad guy, but doesn't check if he's dead or handcuffs him, instead he goes searching for a product placement.A 75 kg man picking up and catapulting a 130 kg man over his head without using momentum. A cop fighting a man with a mini Katana without trying to disarm him. A cop coming to kill a man, but using the element of surprise to waste all his bullets on anyone who is not the target, even though he has a clear shot. The bad guy is videotaped playing golf with a cop's head, then his accomplice shoots the cop in the head, but this is insufficient evidence, apparently, to charge him with anything.A cop shooting at a hostage taker while the hostage is still alive, but not firing a single shot once he is executed. then doesn't call it in to warn other cops, so they get executed as well. A cop going to a dangerous neighborhood alone and unarmed. A woman saying she can't get pregnant, but next time she appears on screen, she has a month old baby. A man is beaten with sticks while running, but this doesn't hinder him at all. Then he gets beat up with sticks for several minutes but continues to stand (maybe I missed the part where they said he was an android?).A cop has a few months to live, he is devoting his remaining time to taking out the bad guy, he's willing to destroy his reputation by faking evidence, but does not simply kill the bad guy when the bad guy confronts him on the street while his gun is drawn. Bam, would have ended the movie there, but no, had to make it complicated and get everyone killed. Great! no wander you're the commanding officer in this flick.Oh, and finally, the good guys lose. That was worth sticking it out for...The only redeeming points are Donnie Yen's and Jackie Wu's martial arts skills, as well as Sammo's surprising agility (although I think camera work and editing helped him out a little), but those are rarely seen. Without these, the movie is a 3. As it is I give this a 5.

Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung (who looks like an asskicking purple Chinese Santa Claus in this movie) both shine in this action orientated crime thriller. If you are seeking sensible dialog and a cerebral plot you'll have to look elsewhere. This is a brutal HK action movie in every sense of the word. The unfortunate problem with this film is that while there is an interesting backdrop of characters and a plot to speak of the dialog and execution of it is B-grade. There were obvious emotional "tearjerker" attempts shoehorned into the movie's plot but it's hard to take anything seriously when every tragic death comes right after receiving a phone call from their loved one. It's a ridiculous cliché and I was a bit surprised to see it in a film from 2005 that wasn't supposed to be a parody. When you watch a movie like SPL (Kill Zone) sometimes you have to wonder how much better it would have been if they hired a real writer to work on it. With that being said even with these ridiculous elements this movie is still far better than most Hollywood movie attempts at martial arts action and probably cost 1/10th to make as well. Donnie Yen really mixes up his fight choreography with obvious inspiration from Capoeira, Kali/Silat style knife and stick fighting, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and run of the mill greco-roman wrestling moves. Yen proves he's one of the premiere physical action choreographers anywhere in the world.