Fatal Entry

FATAL CHASE-1992-This Hong Kong production is one of the most ineptly made low budget crime dramas I've seen. The dubbing and sound effects are so out of sync it almost seems no one cared if they matched at all!

The episodic story concerns two Hong Kong police officers (Robin Shou and Yukari Oshima) in The Philippines (where this was shot) hunting a crime boss named Torres (Dion Lam). Later after Oshima's character is killed the local chief of police (Waise Lee from A BETTER TOMORROW) helps out. The fights and direction are terrible but director Phillip Ko (who has a small role) did better with INTERPOL CONNECTION (also with Shou, Oshima and Lam).

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Rothrock

HONOR AND GLORY-1993-Tracy (Cynthia Rothrock), an FBI agent leaves Hong Kong for Washington DC to investigate something about a Soviet warhead detonator. Her sister Joyce (Donna Jason)) beats up a black woman in a parking lot. They both practice martial arts. Most of this badly directed and acted martial arts crime drama is Joyce investigating corrupt banking CEO Jason Slade (John Miler) who calls Ronald Reagan an "old bastard". Eventually Tracy gets involved and gets help from (the unfortunately named) Asian FBI agent Dragon Lee (Robin Shou later in MORTAL KOMBAT) when it turns out Slade has the warhead.

 The whole thing is very disjointed. It almost seems like two movies edited together but it was directed by Godfrey Ho the master of the Kung-Fu paste-up job so that could explain a lot! It even takes time to deviate from the time story to focus on Hideo (Richard Yuen), Slade's disillusioned bodyguard. It also features phony shieks and one actor waits for his cue. Like a lot of Shaw Bros. films at the end four good guys fight the main bad guy.

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Hong Kong again

INTERPOL CONNECTION-(Zhi zun te jing aka HARD TO KILL)-1992-Nearly an hour goes by and this is a standard cops vs. gangsters drama with Robin Shou as an arrogant Hong Kong government agent tracking a drug smuggler (director Phillip Ko) in Manila. There's shoot-outs, car chases and an annoying comedy relief detective, a real whining buffoon who still acts like a clown even after his partner is gunned down. However late in the story Yukari Oshima (aka Cynthia Luster) shows up as another Interpol agent who teams up with Shou for a decent martial arts finale that almost saves this badly made bore-fest (although Oshima moves are very good).

Stunt coordinator Dion Lam later worked on big Hollywood productions like THE MATRIX and SPIDER-MAN 2.

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Not So Legendary

STREETFIGHTER:THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI-2009-This is another entry into the Streetfighter video game franchise. It features Kristen Kreuk (TV’s SMALLVILLE) as Chun-Li, a dancer turned martial artist trying to save her father who is held prisoner by the evil Bison (Neal McDonough). She gets some training from Gen (Robin Shou who was in both MORTAL KOMBAT movies) and does a lot of amazing but phony looking jumps, kicks, etc. Michael Clarke Duncan is Balrog, Bison’s evil smiling henchman. She has a fight with Vega a masked assassin with Wolverine like claws who I think was portrayed by Taboo of the group Black Eyed Peas! Meanwhile two cops (Chris Klein and Moon Bloodgood) are hot on Bison’s trail too.

This really has nothing to do with the game except for some of the names. Otherwise, it’s just another derivative CGI enhanced martial arts mess. Former cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak directed other dubious action films like EXIT WOUNDS, FROM THE CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE, ROMEO MUST DIE and DOOM.