A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Having really enjoyed Michelle Yeoh in her breakthrough film POLICE ASSASSINS, I was eager to watch this adventure film which by all accounts starred the actress in an Indiana Jones-type role. There were no real surprises in this film, which is a somewhat shallow action-adventure with a lot of laughs and a lot of explosions. The film is much-lauded for an early battle in which Yeoh uses her whip to take on various thugs, thus inspiring Jackie Chan in SHANGHAI NOON, and it's highly amusing stuff.The film is technically proficient, and there's no faulting the slick choreography of the many battles. The budget is a bit less than you'd imagine, and events often seem closed in, as you'd expect in a low budget cheapie. Director David Chung also did the excellent POLICE ASSASSINS but he seems to be slightly lacking in inspiration here; one of the low lights is an early dog fight which seems to go on for an age without anything happening, and when they kept repeating the same bit of supposedly-stirring music over and over AND OVER again, I was ready to tear my hair out. Characterisation is nil; Yeoh is the tough heroine, yes, but we never find out any of her motivations and she seems like a computer game character.There are some mildly annoying supporting characters in the film, including those played by Cindy Lau and Lo Lowell; they grate from the instant they appear. The only person who comes out of it with any kudos is Richard Ng, in a bumped-up role as the second lead; while he delivers the same type of slapstick buffoonery that we have come to expect from his acting roles, he's given plenty of screen time, including heroics in the battles, and he's as great as ever. It's left to the supporting likes of Hwang Jang Lee, Lo Meng, and Fung Hark-On to really get into their characters of devious Japanese bad guys; these guys – who I consider to be among the "unsung heroes" of '80s Hong Kong cinema - are as great as ever.The film takes a turn for the great about an hour in, turning into a running fight between the heroes and villagers against the might of the Japanese army. The martial arts bouts are crisply done and with plenty of great stunts, usually involving people getting thrown through scenery. There are some nice battles in burning buildings and things really go crazy for ten minutes or so as director Chung lets his hair down and has some fun. Things close with a nice extended battle scene as the walled village faces the Japanese army. Although it looks fairly cheap – reminding me of similar scenes in the no-budget Filipino film, DUNE WARRIORS – there are lots of shoot-outs, explosions, and various cool stunts/moments of slow motion as the bad guys get their just desserts and the heroes triumph. Hardly a surprise, but a nice rousing climax to finish off the film, ending it on a strong note.

Michelle Yeoh might not be a trained martial artist, but with her background as a dancer, lots of meticulous choreography and more than a little help from Hong Kong cinema magic, she is suitably convincing as a kick-ass kung fu cutie. Here, she plays a female Indiana Jones-style character, a daring aviator and mercenary who, with help from a secret agent (Derek Yee) and a wacky con-man/wanderer (Richard Ng), helps the people of a small Northern Chinese town to fight the evil Japanese invaders who want to build a poison gas plant on their land.As is often the case with '80s Hong Kong actioners, Magnificent Warriors suffers from a touch too much screwball silliness (mostly courtesy of comic relief Ng) and some lightweight flirting between Yeoh and Yee, all of which would be excusable if the action, of which there is plenty, was sufficiently exciting. Unfortunately, the countless explosive set-pieces and fast-moving fight scenes never really set the pulse pounding: there's lots of crash, bang and wallop, but very little that sticks in the mind as jaw-dropping, making it a frustratingly mediocre adventure overall.

This movie begins as a comedy about spies and a gambler who has to support them unwillingly, but in the second half it turns into a war drama with a rapidly increasing body-count. It seems to play (no exact date given) after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931. Obviously, as a Chinese production it can not be expected to be neutral on history, therefore is eager to show patriotic Chinese who burn down their home town before it falls into the hands of the enemy. "Dynamite Fighters", aka "Dynamite Heroes" on European DVD, seems a bit chaotic, but the action moves so fast you don't think much about it, and young Michelle Yeoh is tireless kicking everyone who doesn't get out of her way. I loved the opening scene when she is the pilot of an airplane and steals from those who have stolen from others. It's good fun most of the time, but in the end didn't entirely fulfill my expectations.

Magnificent Warriors is an enjoyable and entertaining movie with a lot to recommend it, especially the excellent, athletic prescence of the fantastic Michelle Yeoh. Still, it drags and feels a little limp in places. For instance, the two opening fights during the plot setup are explosive, impactful and a lot of fun, but after that nothing really happens action-wise until 20 minutes later.The film stop-starts all the way through, making it a bit frustrating for an experienced viewer. It's no more stop-starty or inconsistent than US or European action fare like Transporter or Red Siren, but it seems patchy and messy in comparison to other Hong-Kong adrenaline-rides like Full Contact or Yeoh's later Wing Chun. Both movies keep a consistent level of action without sacrificing their story lines.They also have strong, non-wacky story lines. Magnificent Warriors is a horrific mess in the plot department. Take Indiana Jones, substitute the Japanese for the Nazis and substitute Michelle Yeoh for Harrison Ford and you'd think it'd rock. You'd almost be right, but the director and his writers decided to try and make some political points with it and turn it into a patriotic pro-China movie...as such it gets kind of messy and biased.Still, it's a Michelle Yeoh film. If you're a fan, which I most certainly am, you won't be disappointed with this. Yeah, OK MW blows its two best fights in the first 20 minutes, but there's a lot of good solid action going on here, and though Yeoh isn't as central as I would have liked to preceedings (given she's the only one here who can act her way out of a paper bag) she has some fantastic set pieces and humorous lines to fight/charm her way through.If you like Michelle Yeoh, watch this, it's a good film and above all it's fun and she showcases both her fighting talent and her charm in equal measure. If you're indifferent to her and just want an OTT blast, there are much better HK actioners out there, you'd probably fare better with say Eastern Condors or Full Contact, both of which are off their rocker and full of chop-socky and gun-play.