Spectrum Films Blu-ray Synopsis: Alex Man stars as a petty crook whose only friend is a kid named Little Monster. One day, he is killed by a gangster who works for Dragon's Head, the godfather of the biggest criminal organization. Alex then teams up with Miss Ho, a super cop, and Jessica, a Japanese woman dressed in black as a masked heroine, whose father was killed by Dragon Head. This unlikely trio will then bring down the gang, eliminating all of their men. (93 Mins)

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Views: Tony Liu's super-fun crime thriller tells the tale of a small-time crook and buffoon (Alex Man) whose only friend is a child known as Little Monster. After the kid is killed by the man of a feared gangster known as Dragon Head, Alex forms an unlikely team of avengers that includes a formidable police woman and a powerhouse Japanese female fighter. Each of them have lost someone close because of the gangster, and together they set out to bring him down – no matter how many of his men get in the way! Like the majority of Tony's movies, The Dragon Fighter entertains with a paper-thin plot that is saved by some balls-to-the-wall crazy action and stunt-work from all involved. While Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima are missed and could easily have made this another classic team-up, I must admit that it was nice to see (and somewhat a change of pace) to have the likes of Michiko Nishiwaki and Carrie Ng join Sibelle Hu as the leading action starlets. Much like Angel Terminators 2 and Devil Hunters, The Dragon Fighter is packed out with gangsters in suits, girls with guns, and fast fight choreography that oozes early 90s Hong Kong cinema. Of course, all of this is backed by a great cast and a score that reminded me a lot of Yuen Woo Ping's Donnie Yen led action-flicks, Tiger Cage 2 and In The Line Of Duty 4...

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Alex Man, who was trying to match his previous years projects with the same amount of films (12) in 1988 and '89 including Crocodile Hunter, China White, The Last Duel, Framed, and Tony Liu's Devil Hunters, plays a little against type as the daft small-time crook. He still gets to join in with the action here-and-there, with his character bringing the majority of the comedy element to the film right through to the final scene. Miss Hu, who once again gets artfully doubled for many of her more tricky moves, looks great and still manages to pull off some nice kicks during her many action scenes – impressing with a dangerous fight scene that takes place upon a moving crane-lorry. I've always been a huge fan of Sibelle ever since I saw her in the classic My Lucky Stars and Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, as well as the Jackie Chan produced Top Squad – better known as The Inspector Wears Skirts – alongside Cynthia Rothrock. She's always been a treat to watch, and has been in some fantastic titles over the years through to her retirement from the industry in the late 1990s after a role in Yuen Woo Ping's Tai Chi 2/Tai Chi Boxer, and a lesser-known mainland production called The Rising Sun & A Sudden Clap Of Thunder in the year of Hong Kong's handover. Carrie Ng gets a fun role as Jessica, the girlfriend of Alex Fong who gets to kick, flip, and shoot her way through the film. Ng had been working in the Hong Kong industry for less than a decade by this stage, appearing in titles such as City On Fire, To Err Is Humane, Call Girl '88, Fury, Gunmen, Diary Of A Big Man, and much more. 1990 would see her explode onto the scene with roles in memorable films like Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon, The Dragon From Russia, Return Engagement, Blood Stained Tradewind, and this. The great Francis Ng seems to get a kick from playing slimy characters, and while he doesn't play a character here that's half as twisted as he was in Devil Hunters, he still comes across as a guy you just love to hate. It's crazy to think that he had only been on the scene for a few years by this stage, with The Dragon Fighter coming in as his 9th film at the time, and has since went on to star in a host of great titles and make a name for himself as one of Hong Kong's most prolific actors with over 160 roles to date. Much like Francis, Alex Fong was only hitting his 10th or 11th title with The Dragon Fighter although had already made quite the impression with his roles in the Iron Angels Trilogy alongside Moon Lee. Eddy Ko plays gangster boss Dragon Head, and while he doesn't get to bust any moves as such, Ko joins in for some of the wild gunplay on offer before going out with a bang in an OTT car stunt. But it has to be Japanese body builder Michiko Nishiwaki who steals the show with some bright green dungarees, a rocket launcher, and plenty of slick moves. Although she made her highly memorable debut 5 years before in My Lucky Stars alongside Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and her co-star Sibelle Hu, Michiko actually only starred in another four (Hong Kong) titles before this including In The Line Of Duty 3, the underrated City Cops, Princess Madam, and the classic God Of Gamblers. While it may seem that she appeared in a hundred films from there on in, Michiko actually only starred in just over 20 Hong Kong films before disappearing from the scene in the mid-90s to go West where she would work as a stunt-woman on Hollywood projects like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Blade, Man On The Moon, Charlies Angels, Rush Hour 2, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Mission: Impossible 3, and more. Her role in The Dragon Fighter is definitely something a little different from what fans had seen her play previously, and more than proves how much of an action starlet she really is when it comes to her fight scenes. Along with stars such as Shun Wai, Kam Hing Yin, Tin Ching, and Mak Wai Cheung, Western fan favourites Mark Houghton and Steve Tartalia also pop-up for a brief fight scene.

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I must admit, I am a fan of director Tony Liu's work. From his early days at Shaw Brothers with Holy Flame Of The Martial World to Bastard Swordsman and its sequel, and Hwang Jang Lee classics like Hell's Windstaff and Tiger Over Wall, to his more modern works such as this and Killer Angels, Angel Terminators 2, The Big Deal, Dreaming The Reality, Holy Virgin Vs The Evil Dead, The Dragon Fighter, and others. Of course, Liu had been acting well before his directorial debut of Tough Guy/The Black Dragon in 1974, starring in films such as The Great Plot, The Inn Of Mercy, and The Invincible Iron Palm. It was probably because of these bit-player roles that Liu decided to start writing and directing his own, giving him the chance to become more of a star and get stuck into the action. His first few films as a director (after Tough Guy) included Trail Of The Dragon, The Black Dragon's Revenge, and Magic Curse while still appearing in other films such as Action Tae Kwon Do, Bruce Lee & I, The Himalayan, Iron Fisted Monk, Broken Oath, Thunder Run (alongside Ray Lui), and many more over the years. He is joined by Tsui Fat once again as the action choreographer. Tsui was the director of 13 Cold Blooded Eagles and an actor of over 150 films which range from his days at the Shaw Brothers studios through to many of Tony Liu's directed flicks. Apart from his vast acting career, Fat would also be well known to fans of Hong Kong cinema for his action choreography on many Hong Kong films. This began on early classics such as the awesome Five Superfighters, The Fighting Fool, The Master, Kung Fu Vs. Yoga, and the patchwork Fearless Hyena 2. As the modern-age crept in, Tsui continued his work as an action-director for Tony Liu's Killer Angels and Devil Hunters, as well as earlier Donnie Yen vehicles such as Crystal Hunt, Cheetah On Fire, and Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead – some of which he also co-directed. Between them both, Liu and Fat present a fast paced and energetic piece with The Dragon Fighter that boasts a great cast, and some very memorable action scenes and martial arts battles!

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Overall: Packed with wild action, great martial arts battles, and a great cast, The Dragon Fighter makes for a fun watch more than once!

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Spectrum Films Blu-ray Extras: Introduction by Arnuad Lanuque, Video Essay by Julien Seveon, Trailer

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Watch my unboxing video of this Spectrum Films release HERE