AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Leofwine_draca THE BLACK SHEEP AFFAIR is a good example of an efficient, modern-day martial arts flick, with plenty of action and mindless violence to appease fans of this particular genre. However, it has to be said right at the outset that this film's plot is kind of silly. It involves a made-up country where, even in the subtitled version, people speak in silly over-the-top American accents. The plot is also rather threadbare, basically a running battle between two people, one good and one evil, but with a revolutionary background. They even use stock footage from the Beijing uprising in this film! Nevertheless, it delivers on the action front, and that's all that really matters.Chiu Man Chuk is the youthful hero in this film. He may be recognisable as the pale villain in Jet Li's THE LEGEND, where he was pretty good; he was also in the rubbishy and dull FIST POWER with Anthony Wong. Chuk is a tough, resourceful and energetic actor with plenty of martial arts moves under his belt, and it's a pleasure watching him fight. His opponent, Andrew Lin, is also very decent, and the scenes in which the pair duke it out are top-notch and ultra-entertaining. Shu Qi (from Jackie Chan's dire GORGEOUS) also stars, and has one great scene when she goes mad with a knife.In the main, though, this is an action-orientated film and there's much to enjoy. You've gotta love the sequences in which the balaclava-wearing henchmen jump out from behind chimneys to stage assassination attempts, and the subsequent scenes in which Chuk kills all of them. One OTT scene sees a van being attacked by loads of guys with rocket launchers, which is absolutely hilarious, as is the battle on the bridge that takes place afterwards. If only the movie S.W.A.T. – which seems to borrow heavily from this film – could have been as much fun! The martial arts battles use wirework to enhance them, really pushing the boundaries of believability. The good news is that they're great, with the focus on smashing up the scenery, something I always love to see. The battle in the subway station was so good, they copied it in THE MATRIX, but all the other fights are stupendous as well. The climatic showdown is very well achieved, and I simply love the bit when Chuk uses the machine gun on the helicopter – over-the-top isn't the word here. Yes, it's cheesy, but yes, it's also absurdly entertaining. Just ignore the slow and romantic middle bit and enjoy the beginning and outlandish ending of this hugely enjoyable film.

sarastro7 Another Meltdown was probably titled so as to capitalize on Jet Li's High Risk (1995), whose US video title was Meltdown. It has, however, nothing at all to do with Meltdown, other than being a Hong Kong produced martial arts action movie.Another Meltdown is nothing to write home about; in fact it is almost painful to sit through. It consists almost exclusively of clichés, is entirely predictable and is unintentionally funny from beginning to end. In a way, it is a typical action movie rental for a young male audience, harking back to the poorly made action movies so prevalent in the '80s.Man Cheuk Chiu, the guy in the lead, is actually not bad. He looks good, and he does have some pretty cool kung fu ability. Unfortunately, he doesn't get to show it much, and most of the action is rendered meaningless by the idiotic story (which takes place in a fictional former Soviet republic, "Lavernia"). Man Cheuk Chiu was very good in The Blade (though the movie itself was less good), and as the villain in Fong Sai Yuk. He needs some better roles, because he's a very cool type, who can perform some convincingly great kung fu.The movie as a whole is pretty much a waste of life, however, and I am generous when I give it a 3 out of 10 for the fight scenes and the acting skills of the leading man. And for being unintentionally comical. You want some good laughs with some friends who're already into bad action movies, this just might be the movie for you.

gridoon ....and a goofy, half-baked plot it is. When you set your movie in a fictional country named Lavernia (?) and expect people to take it seriously, you've definitely started off on the wrong foot. But when the film is not slowed down by its story, it does have some very good action scenes. It is mainly a showcase for Chiu Man Cheuk, who has a likable screen presence and is a graceful, impressive fighter; although he's not quite "the next Jet Li", why he never became a bigger star in the field is a minor mystery. The fight choreography is brutal and efficient, and the main villain (Andrew Lin) is impressive in his own right, but the final showdown goes too over-the-top for my tastes. The beautiful Shu Qi is mostly wasted, but she does have a great scene where she fiercely stabs a man to death. (**1/2)

moviecriticuk The storyline is basically about an exiled HK cop living in a fictional ex-Soviet country, and sounds like something from a Jackie Chan film. The action comes thick and fast yet theres something missing...However the swordfight at the end is definitely the best I have ever seen and it is a shame that it's so short as it really shows the talent of Chiu Man Chuk. The dubbing is absolutely dire, so I would recommending watching the DVD version with subtitles.