Honor and Glory (1992) Movie Review

Zong heng tian xia (also known as Honor and Glory, Angel the Kickboxer, Power Heat and Naked Fists) is a 1992 crime action movie directed by legendary actionsploitation film director Godfrey Ho (here under the pseudonym Godfrey hall), this being his first American feature (he's also known in the subgenre for Angel Enforcers, Undefeatable, Lethal Panther, Princess Madam, Manhattan Chase and Terminal Angels), and written by Ho himself under the other fake name Herb Borkland. It stars Cynthia Rothrock, Donna Jason, John Miller, Chuck Jeffreys and Robin Shou.

The film follows FBI agent Tracy Pride (Rothrock) as she travels from Hong Kong to America in order to investigate a case of extortion and murder linked to corrupt businessman Jason Slade (John Miller), with the help of her partner, Dragon Lee (Shou). She reunites with her sister Joyce (Donna Jason), a news reporter who becomes her new partner as well. Both also cross paths with their absent father John, who basically left them to be raised by a kung fu master, played by real life sifu Tai Yim. They also meet with one of Slade's bodyguards, Jake Armstrong, whose moral compass makes him switch sides and join Tracy in her search for capturing the villain.

Now with enough time and resources to put together a full feature, Godfrey once again shows that he has the skills to be not only coherent but rather notable as an action director. The characters speak the language of martial arts and communicate with ease through movements and physicality. The best example of this is the small fight between Tracy and her sister once they see each other again while trying to snatch the car keys from each other. A little bit of their dynamic and background is expressed there without having to say much. A highlight.

The rest stands up to par, delivering some potent choreographies expertly executed and shot. While most copies of the film are somewhat shoddy, I think you can still see through the defects of the VHS version and appreciate the very sharp and striking visuals by DP Michael Law (Lethal Panther, Undefeatable). The fight sequences have a lot of energy and rhythm, allowing the performers to show off their moves and forms quite organically and swiftly.

The performances are very alright. None of them rise above what we have seen of them before or what we might expect but none of them are actually bad. The only issues I had with the film is that it was a bit more disjointed than I remembered, losing steam whenever the main plot wasn't in motion. The emotional or dramatic scenes are not particularly powerful either, and Joyce gets kind of underutilized in the second half of the film. Other than that, it's a very swift and short experience running just 86 minutes but getting to the good stuff fast and often enough to entertain.

Recommended for action movie fans and Rothrock enthusiasts.

Wildcat (2025) Movie Review

Wildcat is an American-British co-production, an action crime film directed by James Nunn and written by Dominic Burns starring Kate Beckinsale, Lewis Tan, Rasmus Hardiker, Alice Krige, Bailey Patrick, and Roxy Striar.

Originally titled Lioness, Wildcat is about an ex-black ops leader, Ada (Beckinsale), who reunites with her old partner when her eight-year-old daughter is kidnapped, forcing her to stage a dangerous heist against crime mistress Christina Vine (Alice Krige) in order to hatch a scheme to get her daughter back from the crime lord that has her child.

The film starts off with explosive editing and directing that gets you into the action quickly as a hook. However, this isn't just a cheap trick to grab your attention, there is an energetic quick pace that exists throughout the film, as well as a carefree attitude that makes things light. The hyperactivity of camera work and movement in some sequences break the dull talkiness of a lot of scenes that are in the middle of action set-pieces, ones that are actually quite solid and somewhat impressive with their staging.

Wildcat can be described as more stylish than substantial, with a slightly more playful tone and writing that seems very much self-aware of its condition of being a British action film that has its DNA in Guy Ritchie films but on a budget.

I will say that there's no real center of dramatic gravity to ground it in tone, there's barely any interaction between Ada and her child, so we don't really care for the central conflict. The constant flashbacks only mess things around even if they are important for backstory, and the fragmented chronology with somewhat confusing or simply disjointed or not needed time jumps is a bit jarring. To that you add that the real star of the film, while having her time to shine, doesn't really have the prominence and protagonism she needs, then you start to see the flaws and cracks. Beckinsale's sweet accent kind of makes up for some of the errors though.

The film is a bit more visually lively than usual, with interesting locations and less muted colors than the typical product of its kind. So it has a bit more going for it than what you would usually receive.

Recommended for the action movie buffs who enjoy a fun ride but not much else.

Shadow Force (2025) Movie Review

Shadow Force is a 2025 action thriller film directed by Joe Carnahan starring Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Cliff "Method Man" Smith, Sala Baker and Natalia Reyes. It was written by Carnahan himself and Leon Chills. It's also the first film to be released by the new Lionsgate Studios.

Kyrah (Kerry Washington) and Isaac (Omar Sy) are two ex-special forces group members, one known as Shadow Force, who live peacefully after deserting since they fell in love and decided to leave that life to raise their child, Ky. Assassins are constantly sent after them by their former director/leader Jack Cinder (Mark Strong), but after an incident during a bank robbery both end up on the run as Cinder closes in on them as he assembles the remaining members of the Shadow Force.

The film mostly treads on known territory and displays a very high amount of cliches and stereotypes that one would expect from such a premise (parents who are agents with a kid who is mostly unaware, comedic sidekicks that don't amount to much, one liners and a lot of exposition regarding the organization they work for) but never actually does much with the concept aside from following the expected plot points and narrative devices that action films of this kind often employ. It's decently shot but a lot of its cinematography boils down to functional uninteresting shots with a cold and realistic color scheme that feels mostly bland and uninspired.

It all comes to life in the expected climactic battle that shows some forceful and intense brawlings and shootouts between the mercenaries and killers involved that actually makes it feel a bit more personal and familiar than one would expect. Every punch, kick and blow can definitely be felt as the director has proven to be very competent when it comes to action sequences both choreography-wise and cinematically-wise, there's even a very interesting game between the senses (sound and image) that it's linked to a character's disability that's actually a bit inventive and helps the film stand out a bit.

For the most part, the family conflicts are contrived and reach their peak way too early while the rest develops in a dehydrated and deflated manner that is bogged down by a slow pace and stale visuals. The main heroine is a bit entertaining but you don't get to know her quite well. In many ways, this is the opposite of One Battle After Another in the sense that these are parents with a troubled past trying to escape it (even with the mother dating the bad guy previously) but having it come back to haunt them, this time mom and dad fought for the bad guys unintentionally. 

Only for action movie buffs but not recommended for anyone else.

Kali: Avenging Angel (2024) Review

KALI: L'ange de la Vengeance is a French production directed by Julien Seri, a Luc Besson alumni who debuted in 2001 with Yamakasi. At first it looks like a very typical action film but with some French elements, and while that description is not wrong I think it still has a little more to offer even if it's not really original. 

Lisa a.k.a Kali, played by Sabrina Ouazani (Taxi 5, Kung-Fu Zohra, Prière d’enquêter : Elli et Clément) is an ex-special Forces recruit whose life took a dark turn after the death of her child and her  relationship with her husband turned shaky soon after. She is informed that her husband was killed by a drug trafficking organization, Kali must now investigate her husband's involvement with them, was he in on their operations or was he investigating them? She will go to Brazil and use her skills and rage to find out, starting shootouts, street fights, blowing up grenades and torturing criminals in brutal ways. 

While the plot isn't anything special I think what sets this movie apart is the intimate angle it takes as it is sprinkled with heartwarming moments that, while a bit simple, still work and give a bit more depth to the story than the average action product. Although, the actual combat sequences with gunplay and fighting are well shot, properly choreographed and executed in an exciting manner.

The solid performances are able to convey hard emotions in very little time, almost as soon as the movie starts (in a very personal moment as well), you feel with the characters even if you don't really know them that much at this point. It's somewhat believable at handling the emotional responses. As I mentioned, there´s more emphasis on emotions and inner feelings than in action, which is why the movie sets up everything in the very first scene, the rest delves into the heroine´s mental state. 

The movie is about two things: Character study of a troubled woman and the corruption  investigation that leads to detective work. There's also a focus on maternity in the film, from two pregnancies and mothers and their children appearing all throughout the runtime.

Our protagonist is relentless and violent, I think this ends up working fine and gives her a hard edge. I do feel like we need more development through her actions or perhaps more substantial conversations regarding her backstory and her emotional state, most of it feels too cold to care fully. Maybe some flashbacks would have been nice like in Kill Bill (2003-2004). There is a compelling dream sequence that makes the movie stand out a bit more and I like the way they turned the deity of Kali into a more spiritually violent symbol rather than the bloodthirsty goddess she is usually portrayed as, when Kali says she is “The goddess of destruction and transformation,” this speaks about the protagonists´ both inner and outer strength. 

The cinematography is polished, the textures almost makes it feel like one of those old school and gritty crime thrillers, aside from the modern touches. The camera is dynamic, the editing cuts to the chase and the color grading is pleasing to the eye, integrating the color quite well into the shots, very organically, something that makes the images stand out more, all subtly too. Some of the color gels and neon lighting are very derivative of modern action cinema but it works well here because it's not overused. 

While the film is very well directed and acted it may have a plot that's too generic for most audiences, and some people have noted the stereotypical and unrealistic way Brazilians are portrayed in this picture, so have that in mind. Otherwise, this is a good entry to the action genre that delivers the goods and becomes more worthwhile than most of its kind because of it´s sentimental conflicts.

I also think it tackles a very interesting subject when it comes to action female leads: the fact that they are able to take a life and to give life at the same time. A dichotomy that´s fascinating and perhaps not as conflictive as it seems. Looks like Seri learned some lessons on deadly females from Besson.