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In 2012, Ann Hui directed a short 20-minute film for the Hong Kong International Festival as part of a program called Beautiful. The tile is “My Way” and is a story about a transsexual woman, starring Francis Ng and Jade Leung.

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The story unfolds in a various time axes, although the present one seems to be taking place within the doctor’s office, where the protagonist, Chow, is about to have a sex change operation. A number of women who have undergone similar procedures are giving him advice, with the discussion revolving around size of breasts for the most part. In another axis, the protagonist, crossdressed, is going to the cinema to watch a movie, only to get weird looks from the ticket booth attendant, while when he tries to go to the women’s bathroom, the rest of the women there immediately run out.

The Film

On first hearing the title, you might guess that this is a Hong Kong adaptation of the much-filmed Edgar Allan Poe story. It is, largely, an adaptation, but not of that. Writer/Director Stephen Shin apparently wanted to do a straight remake of Luc Besson’s Nikita, but the rights weren’t available (because they had already been sold in preparation for John Badham’s Bridget Fonda starring Point of No Return [Aka: The Assassin]). Shin made this instead. He makes some cosmetic changes, but in structure and many specifics, it remains very recognisable. You could say that Shin went from remake to ripoff in his concept of the film. Which isn’t to say it’s bad.

Former model Jade Leung debuts as Catherine, who kills a truck driver who tries to molest her, then the cop who comes to arrest her. As she’s taken to her trial,...

Before she escapes with her bodyguard during the cliff hanging end of Part 1, Princess Zhao Min (Janice Man) challenges Zhang Wu Ji (Raymond Lam) to go to Dodu if he wants to rescue the members of the Six Major Sects. Sure enoug,h this sequel kicks off with Zhang Wu Ji and fellow masters of the Ming Cult standing on a clifftop overlooking Dadu; he has indeed taken up Zhao Min’s advice and is travelling to the Capital to free those poor Cult members who are being locked up in the Wan On pagoda.

The rescue mission is a success thanks to Zhang using his energy power to cushion those prisoners who jump from the burning pagoda but there are a few casualties. One of them is the cruel and shrewd Miejue (Jade Leung) leader of the Er Mei Cult, who manages to disclose the secret of the legendary...

Adapted by filmmakers into numerous movies and television series throughout the years, “The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre” is a very popular wuxia (martial arts and chivalry) novel written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). Back in 1993, Wong Jing directed “Kung Fu Cult Master” starring Jet Li, Sharla Cheung and Chingmy Yau; it was a much darker take than the novel and a box office failure. A planned sequel was never made even though it ended with a cliffhanger, but due to repeated exposure on television, it gradually became a fan favorite.

Almost thirty years later, together with a new cast and cinematographer Keung Kwok Man, Wong is back with “New Kung Fu Cult Master 1 and 2” in which the first part is a modern update of the original, while part 2 is the current sequel. Replacing Li is Raymond Lam who plays protagonist Zhang Wu Ji, a young kung fu expert...

(left-right) Jade Lin, Hidy Yu, Jade Leung, Michael Tong and Sin-Hang Chiu star in Fatal Raid. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.

The Fatal Raid is a contemporary Hong Kong action flick offering the best and the worst of this category of subtitled imports. It’s cops vs. bad guys, setting up a slew of intense, elaborately staged action sequences. It also features a handful of lethally gifted babes (some of whom wear less than their situations call for) among the ranks on both sides of the law, reviving the “girls with guns” subset of the martial arts family that thrived a couple of decades ago on both sides of the Pacific.

My low rating comes from the script being hard to follow as it jumps between two time frames 20 years apart, and several illogical aspects to what the characters do, even once we understand their motivations.

In The Fatal Raid,...

The Action-Packed, Martial Arts Extravaganza featuring the Kick Ass Return of Jade Leung hits Digital, Blu-ray & DVD August 24 with an English Dub

The Fatal Raid, hitting Digital, Blu-ray and DVD August 24 from Well Go USA Entertainment, “…brings back the ‘girls with guns’ sub-genre of Asian action cinema with a bang.” Action icon Jade Leung “makes an impressive return” (Asian Action Pulse) alongside a stellar cast including Patrick Tam, Min-Chen Lin (Vampire Cleanup Department), Jeana Ho (iGirl), Michael Tong, and Kristy Yeung. In The Fatal Raid, two elite police teams undertake a secret operation tracking a dangerous gang across the border into Macau, ending in a deadly firefight. Twenty years later, an escort mission brings the survivors back to the scene—and an unwelcome reunion.

Two elite police teams head up a secret operation following a dangerous smuggling ring across the Macau border, but when their presence is discovered, the mission ends in a deadly firefight.

Pablo Picasso was apparently supposed to have said “good artists copy, great artists steal”. In the world of transnational cinema this is especially true when we see re-imaginings (to use the modern parlance) of particular films. With Luc Besson’s “La Femme Nikita”, the original “inspired” an incredibly dull American remake, TV series and inevitably an unofficial Hong Kong take from D&b Films. It would be hard pressed to argue that they were great artists and Stephen Shin would hardly be considered a visual stylist as Luc Besson in his prime. Yet this is more than just a facsimile copy and does have merit in it’s own right.

After killing a truck driver for assaulting her, Catherine (Jade Leung) is found by the police and shoots one of them unintentionally. After being attacked in jail by vengeful officers, she attempts to escape whilst on route to court.

"Honor the fallen... by claiming revenge." Well Go USA has released an official trailer for a violent Hong Kong action film titled The Fatal Raid directed by Jacky Lee. This originally opened in Hong Kong in 2019 and is part of the new wave of "girls-with-guns" action films coming out of Hk recently. It also played at the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff), and arrives in the US this August. Two elite police teams head up a secret operation following a dangerous smuggling ring across the Macau border, but when their presence is discovered, the mission ends in a deadly firefight. Twenty years later, an escort mission brings the survivors back to the scene of the tragedy—and fosters a highly unwelcome reunion. Starring Patrick Tam, Michael Tong, and Jade Leung, this "police action thriller" also features a hard-hitting cast including Jeana Ho, Hidy Yu, Min-Chen Lin, and Jadie Lin.

Recently, we have scene the return of the “Girls with Guns” sub-genre to the Jade Screen with several female led action movies emerging with various degrees of success, with former action heroines slipping back into their former roles after years away. After Kara Hui returned to action prominence in “Mrs K” in 2016, we now have the resurrection of Jade Leung in Jacky Lee’s “The Fatal Raid”.

A police operation in Macau involving Inspector Tan Ka Ming (Patrick Tam) and Madam Fong (Jade Leung) goes tragically wrong, resulting in the deaths of most of their teams and several civilians. The operation is deleted from police records and the survivors are left to deal with the traumas. Twenty years later, they return to Macau as part of a guard detail. After an attack on the Chief inspector, they remain along with two junior policewomen Alma (Jeana Ho) and Zi Han Minchen) to investigate,...

July 14 screening caps off lively Hong Kong component.

Hong Kong thriller The White Storm 2: Drug Lords, which grossed $59.7m in China at the weekend, has been unveiled as the closing night film at the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff).

Veteran director and 2013 Nyaff guest Herman Yau teams up with Andy Lau (who also produced the film) and Louis Koo in a cat-and-mouse story of drug barons and corrupt tycoons. Michael Miu, Karena Lam, and Cherrie Ying also star.

The July 14 screening will cap off a Hong Kong component to the festival that included a masterclass by Star Asia...

Sequel to the 2016 film “Special Female Force”, “The Fatal Raid” is another addition to the Girls with Guns subcategory, which seems to ascend the stairs of the most popular action flick quite rapidly.

“The Fatal Raid” is screening at New York Asian Film Festival

The story begins with a rather violent confrontation between Detective Tam, Inspector Madam Fong, Blacky and a team of commandos, and a group of outlaws trying to cross to Macao through Hong Kong. The result was tragic for the law forces, with a number of commandos getting killed and Blackie disappearing. 20 years later, Tam and Madam Fong still feel much regret about the incident, but now have a chance to atone,during a mission of escorting the female deputy commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force to Macao, along with four female officers: Alma, Zi Han, Sheila, and Tong Yu. However, this time young members of...