Starring James Tien and Carter Wong, the two begin as friends yet are torn apart by the enemy and the heart of a girl.This was only John Woo's second effort as a director, but kung fu fans have noted "this looks like a mature Woo picture, with lots of zooming shots and liberal use of slow motion." The same person says, "Though Woo is credited as the screenwriter, one gets the sense that perhaps Golden Harvest insisted the female-oriented scenes (complete with mud wrestling and catfights in a bathhouse) be placed in to increase the 'production value'.I hardly claim to be an expert on Woo or martial arts films. Heck, I can barely even claim to be a fan, having seen more than the average person but far less than the average kung fu fan. I will just have to take this critic's word for it.

John Woo's first effort as a director and boy does he pull of a good job. Starring James Tien and Carter Wong the two begin as friends yet are torn apart by the enemy and the heart of a girl. The two manage to set aside their differences to overcome the enemy in a dramatic finale where the two defeat a whole entourage of enemy's. The movie follows a brilliant storyline and the acting in it is superb successfully conveying emotions and building the characters up well. Their is a number of fights and the finale is probably some of the greatest kung-fu i've ever seen. The stars Carter Wong and especially James Tien are on their top form and this is defiantly a recommended film if you can get your hands on it.