Charming stranger Pai Chen (a solid and engaging performance by the handsome Carter Wong) arrives in a small town to settle an old score with nefarious local hoodlum Scarface Wu Hsu (essayed with deliciously wicked élan by James Nam), who runs an opium smuggling operation. Hsu is planning a drug deal with a rival crime boss that Chen decides to thwart. Feisty young lass Hei Lu (lovely and petite Angela Mao in sturdy two-fisted form) helps Chen out. Writer/director Feng Huang relates the simple, but effective and engrossing story at a snappy pace, maintains a tough gritty tone throughout, and stages the fierce and dynamic martial arts confrontations with considerable aplomb. Mao stands out as a fluid, graceful, and overall formidable fighter; the sequence in which she beats up a gross fat slob rates as a definite exciting highlight. Wong likewise impresses with his precise skills and agility. Best of all, the bad guys are quite slimy and hateful. A nifty kung-fu outing.
Review of Deadly China Doll
