Jet Li’s latest is a curious film. It’s an action comedy about Fu (Jet), an ex-soldier who gets hired by a low-rent triad (Eric Tsang) to chase a $100 million dollar hit: to kill the King of Assassins, who was responsible for the murder of a powerful Japanese crimelord. Thing is, everyone and their brother is after the reward, including the Japanese guy’s son, who’s damn intent on getting that 100 million for himself.

Fu seems to have the ability to get the job done, but he’s too damn nice, which is a perfect fit for Jet Li the actor. This is actually the best character Jet Li has played in a while, eschewing his humorless acting for a gentler personality. This film effectively dodges the previously inescapable Jet Li bullet: no personality. Eric Tsang and Jet Li make a good team, with Tsang edging Li in the acting department. However, Li isn’t too bad, and we hear his real voice for the first time.

Gigi Leung shows up as Tsang’s daughter, a budding lawyer who takes a small shine to Fu. As always, she’s incredibly cute but she doesn’t do all that much. Simon Yam is on board as the cop intent on catching all the hitmen entering HK. There are some good action sequences that are weighed down by a sometimes confusing and slow plot. But, this film has a definite HK charm that it deserves credit for. This isn’t a thrill-a-minute exercise, but it’s quite worthwhile, especially for the chemistry between the actors. (Kozo 1998)