I almost didn't watch this movie after seeing the cover photo and then the trailer. It came off so gimmicky and cheesy, I didn't want to waste the effort. However, from some of the positive reviews here, I decided to give it a shot.
As others have said, don't expect too much in sense of plot. So what we're looking at is the production value, cinematography, and the fight choreography. This film should be measured against other martial arts films, but more specific I would say against "video game" genre like Mortal Kombat, Streetfighter, etc...
So the fight scenes do not disappoint and I'm not just talking about the main characters. Pretty much each contestant in the tournament was formidable, convincingly played that you actually believe they are experts at whatever style they use. That is also another plus, there are so many variety of fighting styles instead of just all kung-fu or something.
I do have a few complaints, minor ones. Some of the fight scenes were too close, so you just see a bunch of up close arms and legs flying around. In martial arts sequences you usually want to pan out so we can see the whole thing. Sometimes in other movies, they zoom in b/c the actress doing the fight scene is not a real fighter so it is like a cheesy way of trying to make it look convincing. However, in this movie, all the fight scenes have both excellent zoomed out scenes and these annoying close ups, you can see these actresses are the real deal, they have been trained at least in the style they were performing.
The other thing is the amount of fake blood used. When there are too much blood, it becomes unrealistic and makes it look almost like a parody. You want gore and you want people to feel the fighters are taking a real beating, but don't over do it.
Overall, it is quite an entertaining film and it keeps you engaged through the end. I just want to make one note, Kathy Wu is amazingly hot and she stole the spotlight each time she's on screen.
8/10.
