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火種 (1993)
Angel Terminators 2


Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 09/03/2022

A masterclass in action film-making, and one of the highlights of Hong Kong's "Girls With Guns" genre/era. The first 6 minutes of this film somehow contains more action than most entire movies, and they really are just getting warmed up.

Possibly a career high for Yukari Oshima, who whilst not exactly one of the good guys does at least play on their team and has a substantial dramatic role. I can't think of a better Moon Lee film off the top of my head either.

The quality and quantity of action are enough to make it a classic of the genre, but the story is also pretty engaging. It may not have the highest production values but it definitely brings the attitude.

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 04/04/2006
Summary: Just average

A very mixed bag, mostly less than impressive. Ludicrously gory and violent. As silly a plot as you're ever likely to see in a HK actioner. During the non-action arts, the story varies between hysterical melodrama and dull soap. The characters are all unsympathetic, even abrasive, and it's hard to care about what happens to any of them. Only two of the majors are left alive at the end, but you'd be long past caring who will survive by then.

On the plus side, plenty of gunfighting and kung-fu action (apart from the fairly boring middle section), and some outstanding fighting female kung-fu woven into the climax.

To sum up: John Woo without the style or flair.

Reviewer Score: 4

Reviewed by: grabiel
Date: 11/21/2005

Even Sibelle seems great in this actioner... and it isn't necessary talking about Moon and Yukari. There are two directors credited in this movie and I think one of them directed only a few scenes (the scene of the credits, the scene of the shopping center...) and the other director, not so good, the rest of the film. But only for these few and brief great scenes this movie should be now a little classic of the GWG genre.

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: mrblue
Date: 09/18/2003

A young woman known as Bullet (Yukari Oshima) is released from prison after some Triad shenanigans. Her father (who is a cop) along with his partner (Sibelle Hu) want Bullet to go straight, but she wants to hang out with her best friend Chitty (Moon Lee) and a band of mild deliquents. While trying to get some money from her former boss, Bullet explodes when he asks Chitty to become a hostess. This sets off a tense situation between the various groups, which only becomes worse after Bullet unknowingly steals some jewels from her boss' stash as she and her friends try to help out a girl who was forcibly put into porno movies.

During the heyday of Hong Kong action movies (from 1987-1993), it seemed as if there was an unending appetite for these types of films, and as a result, many were produced -- but most of them were average at best and exploitative trash at the worst. However, Angel Terminators II stands out as one of the best of the lot. You know you're in for a treat when a film doesn't even wait for the credits to end before starting the first action sequence. There's tons of action in this movie, and with Yukari Oshima and Moon Lee involved, it's top-notch. One of the things that pained me most about the horrible Charlie's Angels was how people gushed about how good the lead actors looked fighting. To get a good fight scene, you need the best fighters, and Yukari and Lee are so far beyond Diaz, Liu, Barrymore... hell, most anyone -- male or female -- it's almost scary. One of the best parts about watching this movie was seeing Yukari just give a simple look -- almost like Brigette Lin's legendary stare -- and you knew she was going to kick serious ass.

As good as the fight scenes are, it's the performances which really make this a solid movie. I liked the way Moon Lee played against her usual "good girl" type. Sibelle Hu manages to be both tough and compassionate without turning into a cariacture. The real standout, however, is Yukari Oshima. Usually regulated to supporting roles or worse yet, in the case of cut and paste director Godfrey Ho and his ilk, glorifed cameos, Yukari is given one of her few opportunities to actually develop her character, and she does a great job with it. There is one sequence that showcases this very well. Bullet and Chitty are at a karaoke bar and Chitty wants to sing. Bullet is too shy to get on stage -- seeming the total opposite of a usual Yukari character -- but when a drunken businessman threatens Chitty, she snaps right back into badass mode.

Okay, it might not be Oscar-winning stuff, but it's little things like that which really help the viewer understand and care about characters in movies. It's when a film steps beyond the usual cookie-cutter fare that seperates the good from the great ones.