Zhong hua zhan shi

"Magnificent Warriors" finds its leading star, Michelle Yeoh, in top form: her speed and dance-like grace make her fight scenes a pure pleasure to watch (she's also good with a whip....and a rope....and a spear....well, you get the idea). And as a bonus, there is another girl, the beautiful and feisty Cindy Lau, who fights as well! Richard Ng, perhaps better known for his role in the "Lucky Stars" films, provides the comic relief, and he's actually quite funny here. The action offers a good mix of martial arts and large-scale battle scenes, and the story is (after the first 30 minutes) engaging and at times even inspiring. The production is spectacular and the music score appropriately epic. If you want to see an Asian take (plus a female twist this time) on the Indiana Jones formula, this is a much better choice than Jet Li's "Dr. Wai And The Scripture With No Words". (***)

Michelle Yeoh is a daring adventurer, singlehandedly destroying a village of men who try to cheat her of twenty tael (although she uses a lot of footwork), and flying her yellow biplane around to win aerial combat against a Japanese fighter plane; this is during the Second World War. Her grandfather sends her on a mission to rescue Prince Youda of a city where the Japanese wish to set up a poison gas factory. She mistakes wanderer and con man Richard Ng for the agent she is supposed to meet, but soon settles out that it is actually Tung-Shing Yee. Meanwhile, Chindy Lau is in love with the timid Youda, played by Lowell Lo. When Lo refuses to order the deaths of the three leads, Miss Lau rouses the people of the city to revolt against the Japanese. This results in a big battle in which it looks like a company of mortar men and ninjas attack Fort Zinderneuf from THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE.

Miss Yeoh is the star, but clearly the producers thought she was not strong enough to carry the movie by herself, so they got involved in a lot of elaboration which works very nicely. She still loks great running, and her martial arts are very good to watch, but Ng steals the show with his con man character, and the final battle is a lot of fun to watch. There's a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment, still de rigeur in Chinese movies, but with a hint that things can work out in the end. Lots of fun.

This film is set during the Japanese occupation of China and follows pilot Fok Ming-ming as she tries to help a leading member of the resistance. Things don't quite go according to plan as she initially mistakes a conman for the agent. Later they are found by the real agent and the three of them start working together to thwart Japanese plans to build a chemical weapons factory in a remote city.

If you want lots of well-choreographed martial arts action combined with plenty of laughs you could do a lot worse than this. The story is fairly easy to follow and effectively introduces the key characters in an entertaining way before the main action gets underway. There are numerous action sequences throughout the film with the sense of danger increasing towards the end. These sequences are all impressive with great martial arts, some shooting and some impressive explosions. The cast is solid; most notably Michelle Yeoh who excels as Ming-ming. She really impresses in her fight scenes but also brings a sense of fun to her role without feeling silly. Richard Ng was a lot of fun as the roguish conman... I couldn't help wondering if his character partly inspired 'The Weird' in the Korean film 'The Good, The Bad, The Weird'! I was a bit surprised that the film is rated '18' here in the UK as there is nothing too extreme shown; I suspect if re-rated it would only be a '15'... and that due to certain language in an early scene. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of action-packed, but not overly intense, martial arts films.

These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.

The appearance of Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies and then Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon piqued my interest in the lady's earlier films and when this one came up cheap on DVD, I jumped at the chance to acquire it. I am glad I did. It is not the greatest film I have ever seen, but it is good fun and includes some good fight stuff. Michelle Yeoh looks terrific and does some great fight scenes, and all with a great sense of fun. This is one film not to be taken seriously and the result is a great way of spending 90 minutes. If you like mindless action with a touch of humour, then you could do a lot worse than this film. Check it out.

And any fans of hers will want to see this thoroughly entertaining romp. A big-budget picture that doesn't skimp on plot or its sometimes-hilarious script in showcasing Ms. Yeoh's considerable talents (including a great scene with a whip!), THE MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS delivers on all counts. Don't miss!