No foh wai lung

If you're somewhat of a Donnie Yen fan and film completionist, there's probably not much I can say to stop you from seeing this movie as you're going to check it out regardless. That darn curiosity. After In The Line of Duty 4 and Tiger Cage 2 (two of my top 10 martial arts movies), it's hard to watch the cast of Donnie Yen, John Salvitti and the mighty Micheal Woods go to waste under the weight of an unimpressive direction and small budget. There's no heart or real effort put in this movie.

With a title like 'Crystal Hunt' you might expect or hope an action-adventure movie perhaps in the style of Jackie Chan's 'Armor of God' but all the actual adventuring is comprised of a short mountain hike near the end of the movie. The rest of the 'hunt' is mostly comprised of uninspired foot-chases and shoot-outs, and then the titular 'crystal' isn't even relevant yet! As for the crystal, it's supposed healing powers are never explained or shown. So, what was the point? Oh yes and you're probably interested in at least the fighting? It's just not very good. While Donnie is in good form as always, the choreography and set-ups aren't really to write home about. If you're going to see this movie to cross that entry of your Donnie Yen list, just make sure it's on a lazy Sunday afternoon; don't make it the highlight of your evening. Because it won't be very shiny. Probably also skip 'Cheetah on Fire', it's in the same boat as this movie. If you're really interested in checking out some earlier low-budget Yen movies, I'm recommending The Holy Virgin vs The Evil Dead. It's very silly but I found it to be way more entertaining then this one. Plus, that flick arguably has the best tracking shot in movie history (those who've seen the movie know what I'm talking about).

I was very excited when I finally got this movie because the cast is almost exactly the same as in Tiger Cage II but after the first seconds of the movie I realized that this was a cheap, low-budget Thai-production... A real shame on the good cast. If you want to see these guys go get Tiger Cage 2 where everyone do a much better job. The fighting sucks and the story is uninteresting, Ken Lo don't get many chances to show his skills and Donnie don't do much with his fights either.

Why can't Donnie make another Iron Monkey???

Carrie Ng is the daughter of a terminally ill businessman, whose last hope is a legendary healing crystal hidden deep in the Thai jungle. With her boyfriend (Ken Lo), she tasks a scientist ( Hsu Hsia) in finding the crystal. But the scientist is apprehended by a team of mercenaries (headed byJohn Salvitti and Michael Woods), and soon his daughter (Fujimi Nadeki) goes looking for him with the help of two cops (Donnie Yen and Sibelle Hu).

The story can be confusing with several parties (gangsters, police officers, treasure hunters) who are looking for the "golden crystal" because it supposedly also has healing powers, and the plot seems to be strung together with different genre elements - it's disjointed, crazy, and incoherent, but it's still quite fun primarily due to the energetic fighting and action scenes, as well as the cast, mainly Donnie Yen and Sibelle Hu. Most of the cast seems to be having a lark as they know that this project is totally tongue-in-cheek and played for fun.

You know, Donnie Yen has made a number of low-budget films during his career. In an interview he said that he made them only because he needed to pay the bills...otherwise he hated them. Crystal Hunt is one of those movies that I believe he hated. Having said that, the movie is not all that bad.

The plot is some nonsensical mishmash about a magic crystal and the various parties that are looking for it. There are a lot of characters to keep track of. Ultimately the plot really doesn't matter...the fight scenes do.

There is a good number of fight scenes in this movie. Like many of Donnie's films in the 1990s, the fight scenes are often undercranked. However, for the most part, it isn't too bad. Donnie is in good form. His wushu/kickboxing is always great to watch. Sibelle Hu, Carrie Ng, and Fujimi Nadeki get to cut loose and bust out some cool moves. Ken Lo (of Drunken Master II fame) even has one decent fight scene. Also, I have to rate this movie as John Salvitti's best martial arts performance. He really outshines his work from ITLOD 4 and Tiger Cage 2. Micheal Woods does alright too. The end is entertaining, in not too brutal.

Overall a pretty good action film for fans of the genre.

If you're too demanding about the general quality of your martial arts movies, forget about "Crystal Hunt". But if you can just concentrate on the action and forgive the other weaknesses, this film is a must-see. The disconnected plot introduces numerous characters, but all you need to remember is that Donnie Yen, Sibelle Hu, Fujimi Nadeki, Ken Lo and Carrie Ng lead the good side; Michael Woods, John Salvitti, a guy who looks like a Jamaican, and two unnamed Thai babes who spend the entire movie in red tank tops and jean shorts lead the bad; they are all looking for a crystal that apparently has magical healing and other qualities, but we never do learn exactly what they are, and indeed the movie ends without even telling us what happens to the crystal! The plot is just an excuse for everyone - and I do mean EVERYONE - in this movie to fight and shoot. Just like in "Cheetah on Fire" (made with much of the same cast & crew), I am very pleased with the depiction of the female characters, who are all strong and brave; although opinions vary on Sibelle Hu's martial arts skills in general, she comes off as a very good fighter in this movie - and sometimes quite sexy, too. Another notable thing may be that this time it's Salvitti, not Woods, who is treated as the main villain of the film, and I have to agree with a previous reviewer that this is possibly Salvitti's shining moment in his HK career. My rating is *** out of 4, but is valid only for martial arts fans.