I've read that this has a cult following; I suspect that Yuen Woo Ping has a cult following, members of which are trying very hard to like this film.A few years before this film, Wong Jing (no one's favorite Hong Kong director) did a movie that was part "Die Hard" with kung fu (supplied by the ever-able Jet Li) and part satire on the career of Jackie Chan, "Meltdown". The film actually has some interesting moments, especially the finale, but the violence is too cruelly presented, even for a blood-thirsty old 'fu fan like me. The Chan satire makes the darkness tolerable, but is itself unnecessary.What Yuen Woo Ping has done in "Red Wolf" is given us "Meltdown at Sea". that's about the size of it; except that Yuen has no satire here - no comic elements at all. Which means that, given the raw tension, and the sheer violence of the film, the over-all effect is down-right depressing.I admit, it was so uncomfortable to watch, I couldn't finish the film. I don't know what happens at the end of the film. because the characters were so vapid, even watching them get killed didn't interest me.the stars are for the choreography, which is top-notch of course; but really, I'm sure you can find something more amusing to do; and I wish Yuen Woo Ping had tried.

Great martial arts action makes this cheap, low-budget, and poorly acted Yuen Woo-Ping film fairly entertaining and likable. The story is one we have seen many times before in many variations - terrorists take over a cruise ship and kill randomly, crew betrayals and heroic actions by a former cop (with a bitter past to add some depth to the character) to save the day are nothing new. A larger budget and better supporting actors would have made this lots better, but even so the no-wires-anywhere fight scenes are great despite the film's grade-Z budget, dumb stereotyped characters, and over-the-top slaughter-everyone violence. Worth a one-time see anyway.

Don't expect too much - the action is good, but hongkie buffs have seen it all before. Also, the story is a UNDER SIEGE rip-off (rather than DIE HARD, as mentioned in another review above). If you want me to compare it with others of this kind - I personally prefer HIGH RISK (this! was the DIE HARD rip-off, fella). the webhamster sez 4/10.

The red wolf is basically a remake of ''die hard'' ,starring Bruce Willis, but this time the action is set in a cruise ship and not in a building. There is a good amount of action but the action is separated in little sequences(1 or maybe 2 minutes each) and the climactic fight does not even last 5 minutes. But the action is good (what else do you expect from Yuen woo-ping?) and Christy chung is looking better than ever(she even has a catfight in this one!). This is a fairly entertaining movie to rent but don't buy this one, buy Yuen woo-ping's masterpiece ''Iron monkey'' instead. This movie deserves 7,4/10