Naked Weapon

Naked Weapon, from prolific writer/producer Wong Jing and director Siu-Tung Ching, is one of the most preposterous films that I have seen in a long time. It is also one of the most consistently entertaining.

Madame M (Almen Wong) is the head of an organisation that provides sexy assassins for hire. When an operative is killed, she abducts a large number of pretty teenage girls (all of whom are adept at fighting) and takes them to a remote island where they are trained for six years to become ruthless killers (special move: sever the spine with finger tips and remove several vertebrae!).

At the end of their gruelling training, the girls are pitted against each other in duels to the death. The last three alive are then given the opportunity to work for Madame M in exchange for their eventual freedom.

Hong Kong hotties Maggie Q, Anya, and Jewel Lee play the film's ridiculously attractive final trio of killers, and fans of slick, sexy action should not be disappointed: director Siu-Tung Ching delivers loads of high-kicking martial arts action scenes (thoughtfully shot in slow motion so as to give male viewers even longer to ogle the stars' bodies as they perform all manner of acrobatic moves); there are gratuitous bloody gun fights in which the gals sport teensy outfits; and we even get a couple of steamy sex scenes (Maggie Q kindly gets 'em out for the lads!).

It is true that this is a dumb, trashy, sexist, and brutally violent movie—an exercise in style over content which lacks convincing acting and a decent plot. But who cares, when you've got stunning visuals, a touch of gore, crazy Matrix-style fight scenes, and, towards the end, quite a bit of audacious wire-work (at one point, Charlene ends up balanced on one leg atop a bad guy's head)? Certainly not me!

Charlene (Maggie Q) is a young girl who finds herself imprisoned and trained to be an assassin, along with a group of other girls including Katt (An Ya) and the psychotic Jing (Jewel Lee). Six years later, these three girls are the only ones left alive to pass the grade, and are sent out into the outside world to become assassins, working under the control of the sinister Madame M.

What follows is a pretty much non-stop fight scene, big explosions, blood and death. It's totally cool in a way that western films try so hard but fail to be (mentioning no Ballistics). It doesn't even matter that a lot of the fighting is weak and/or doubled, the lead girls – for all their inexperience – look and move great. There's lots of wirework and plenty of camera trickery, but it gets away with it by being far more fun than it has any right to be. I loved it, and if you like girls with guns, looking cool and shooting people in slow motion, you will too.

Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls to train them as the world's most deadly assassins. But as adult's the highly sought after killers main goal is to eliminate the person who scarred them.

Director Tony Ching offers a mix of compelling elements. While the film presents great action setups and an intriguing concept, it also includes some hard-to-watch abuse scenes that may unsettle viewers.

The performances by Maggie Q, Anya Wu, and Daniel Wu add a little depth, enhancing the overall rushed production. Maggie Q stands out, showcasing her talent in action sequences and dramatic scenes.

Despite its flaws, Ching delivers an engaging high concept. It's not just sexy, naked killers, with its blend of intense action, suspenseful moments, and strong performances makes it a worthwhile watch for those seeking a mix of adrenaline and drama.

A word of warning: don't see this expecting intellectually challenging cinema. Naked Weapon is any man's wet dream- gorgeous female assassins go to exotic locations and take out high profile baddies (with mandatory sexy dancing before the kill).

The action might seem a bit tame for hardcore kung-fu fans (lots of wires and floaty camera moves disguise lack of fighting talent on the actors' parts), but for those of who just want to see some mindless violence, it does the job nicely. Unfortunately the plot has no direction (one set piece after another), and the dialogue is laughably bad. Thankfully, the cheesy lines are so bad they are actually quite entertaining, and blend in nicely with the whole B-movie feel of the film.

Far better than I expected- slick and escapist scenarios, high production values, and the action is great fun. I must however warn potential viewers that Daniel Wu is unspeakably bad as the earnest CIA guy on the tail of the killers- all he has to do is fill the audience in on the plot every now and again and get his ass kicked once. How hard can that be? Anyway, he messes that up nicely.

To conclude, Naked Weapon is the perfect film if you've been out drinking, come home at about 2.00 in the morning, and want to see a film where brain power is not expected from the audience. Two thumbs up!

That pretty much sums up my experience with "Naked Weapon." This film is, for the most part, a fun amalgamation of "Battle Royale," modern day Hong Kong action, and Crown International-Roger Corman Chicks-with-guns B-movie super-trash Drive-in insanity. But there is a particularly despicable scene depicting gang-rape about a third of the way through that pushes the movie over the edge into the "unwatchable garbage" arena. It's like something out of a bad, misogynistic Seventies porn flick--and I have the distinct feeling that the Americanized version I saw was softened from it's original form. It's a real shame--cos I like goofy trash. I just don't like rape.